Easter Pageant
Javelinas!
Provo Temple
Friday, September 14, 2018
Sept 10, 2018 ANOTHER new Comp and old pics....
Sept 10, 2018
I am going to send as many pictures as I can from the Camera today, Hopefully I can remember what they are all about.
Hey Mom, my week has been alright. My new companion is Elder Beltran and he is from Caldwell, Idaho. He has been out on his mission for 18 months and just like Elder Christensen he was in the Jackson Mississippi Mission before coming to the Texas Dallas Mission. His personality is usually funny and sometimes serious at the same time. He likes superheroes and some other movies. It is kind of nice to be in Paris another transfer because all of the people here are so nice. I'm sure in the next Transfer I'll be sent somewhere else but I believe there could be a reason why I am still serving in Paris. Maybe I am supposed to baptize someone while I am here, but I'll find out sooner or later.
Our Mission President wants each companionship to have a Family baptized by December 1st so we'll see how that goes. Elder Christensen went down to Mckinney to serve in a Spanish Branch which is good for him and the other Missionaries down there. They need the Spanish Elders. We found a couple new people this week in Paris. Each one is kind of interested. We are out of Book of Mormons and last Transfer we ordered 20 and we only got 5 so hopefully we'll get more this week at Zone Conference.
With Transfers on Tuesday, we had a ride with a member which was filled with laughs all the way back to Paris. It was pretty fun to talk to them again and it went way longer than I thought it would. We didn't do any service projects this week unfortunately, but I wish we did. Usually on Tuesdays we go to the Food Pantry to help out but Transfers were last week so we missed out that day. We did get to watch the Face to Face yesterday from Quentin L. Cook and there were a ton of Polygamy questions asked online. I almost feel like almost half of them were just on the topic of Plural Marriage. I did see some funny ones also.
I forgot that Alison Henson went on a mission to Chile, I thought she was already done with it months ago! Good to hear she got home safe from her mission. I don't need anything from home that you can send me unless you got a hold of that Rock N Roll Plush
That is a pretty neat quote from Thomas S. Monson, I never really thought about our faith in that way before. Anyways I hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon.
I am going to send as many pictures as I can from the Camera today, Hopefully I can remember what they are all about.
Sept 3, 2018 God has other plans.......and a leprechaun! (also car show pics)
Sept 3, 2018
Hey Mom, my week has been alright. There hasn't been too many new investigators this week, mainly referrals we are trying to get in contact with. No investigators made it to church yesterday unfortunately but it happens sometimes.
On Tuesday we went to a members house for dinner and the Husband was making what he called a bomb in front of us for some reason. Apparently they went down to Sulphur Springs to see the doctor to find out the Gender of their next child. The Husband was the only one who knew and he bought these bombs that blew up chalk to reveal if it was a boy or a girl. A couple other family members came over and he shot one with his rifle. It turned out it will be a Boy! Pretty cool Gender Reveal experience and probably the only one I'll see on the mission.
There are no miracles this week that I can point out right now, but maybe it will come to me before the end of the day. We don't do much on our P-days except go to the church and get our emails done. Sometimes we'll go down to Mt Pleasant to meet with the Zone, but they are all coming up to Paris today because the Cultural hall in Mt Pleasant has a problem with the Roof. Hopefully that get a fixed up soon. We sometimes go to Antique Shops at least once a transfer because there are a ton of cool items in there and this week there was a car show by the Eiffel Tower that we stopped by. Too many cars to take a picture of so I only got a few on me.
That's pretty cool that you went to a Dodgers game last week.
We don't have much planned for Labor Day and probably won't be getting food today either because of Transfers tomorrow. I'm staying in Paris again but Elder Christensen is going to Mckinney so I don't know what to expect during the next 6 weeks. There are probably a couple reasons why I am staying. The first one has to deal the massive amount of people being Deported to Mexico. One member said there was 300 workers from his Work that are being sent back to Mexico which is a ton, so I don't know how our Spanish Investigators are doing. The second thing could be that I have to baptize someone in the area before I go, whoever that is. The Last reason why I think I'm not going is because of a conversation after church yesterday. Someone from the Stake Presidency was talking to some Elders who are going to go on missions this year about their farewell talks. The Bishop and the Ward Secretary were even talking about all the Testimonies and talks they had to give as missionaries. I stupidly said that I haven't given any talks or testimonies since I've been out. The ward Secretary then told me that I was going to speak on October 14, but I laughed because I told them I'll most likely be transferred. I thought I could dodge that bullet but I guess the Lord had other plans for me. Have no idea what I'm going to talk about but I do know that one of the missionaries leaving will be speaking that day as well. At least I'll get to attend Elders Quorum for another six weeks and hear about a member looking like a Leprechaun.
That's cool that Leanne and Mike will be visiting Christian and Megan this week to see their first Grandbaby. Hopefully they'll have fun over there. Anyway I hope you all have a great week!
Aug 27, 2018
Aug 27, 2018
Not much has happened this week other than that crazy phone acting up last week. I guess we had two Investigators that we haven't taught in over a month come back to ask questions. They are both excited to learn more from the Gospel and want to be members of the church one day. We called one of them the next day and she told us that she didn't buy Tea for this week which is awesome. Our Ward Mission Leader (Grandpa) wants to meet with her in the next lesson.
I don't remember seeing any armadillos in Florida, but I continue to see roadkill every couple of days. I want to capture an Armadillo the same way as I want to see a Tornado. I do most of the driving right now and it's stressful at times not because of the other people on the road (even though new people in Texas don't have to take a driving test) but rather miles being used. We only get a certain amount of miles for the car each month and I'm doing the best I can to stay under.
I don't have a phone yet, I'm still using the Area Phone to get in contact with people because getting a device is kind of useless sometimes. If my next companion doesn't have a device then I'll get one or until the Area Phones are taken away. I want to serve in a bike area next even though I really like it out here. If anything I'd like to serve in the Lakewood ward which is where the Dealey plaza is. I'll get over there one day in my Mission. I guess the missionaries in that area also work with a YSA Ward which is something I wouldn't look forward to.
There is nothing really new about my companion and yes he is funny some days. I like to crack jokes a lot in any situation I'm in. I'll make food sometimes but not every single day. Trying to figure out how to lose weight and build muscle in some kind of way shape or form. It sounds like everything is going well back at home though. Kind of cool that you are all going to a baseball game thus upcoming week. Hope it'll be a blast! What else is new with you guys? Any new Lego Sets coming out in September or October? I thought there was supposed to be a new Cloud City coming out sometime this year. Anyways I hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon.
Not much has happened this week other than that crazy phone acting up last week. I guess we had two Investigators that we haven't taught in over a month come back to ask questions. They are both excited to learn more from the Gospel and want to be members of the church one day. We called one of them the next day and she told us that she didn't buy Tea for this week which is awesome. Our Ward Mission Leader (Grandpa) wants to meet with her in the next lesson.
I don't remember seeing any armadillos in Florida, but I continue to see roadkill every couple of days. I want to capture an Armadillo the same way as I want to see a Tornado. I do most of the driving right now and it's stressful at times not because of the other people on the road (even though new people in Texas don't have to take a driving test) but rather miles being used. We only get a certain amount of miles for the car each month and I'm doing the best I can to stay under.
I don't have a phone yet, I'm still using the Area Phone to get in contact with people because getting a device is kind of useless sometimes. If my next companion doesn't have a device then I'll get one or until the Area Phones are taken away. I want to serve in a bike area next even though I really like it out here. If anything I'd like to serve in the Lakewood ward which is where the Dealey plaza is. I'll get over there one day in my Mission. I guess the missionaries in that area also work with a YSA Ward which is something I wouldn't look forward to.
There is nothing really new about my companion and yes he is funny some days. I like to crack jokes a lot in any situation I'm in. I'll make food sometimes but not every single day. Trying to figure out how to lose weight and build muscle in some kind of way shape or form. It sounds like everything is going well back at home though. Kind of cool that you are all going to a baseball game thus upcoming week. Hope it'll be a blast! What else is new with you guys? Any new Lego Sets coming out in September or October? I thought there was supposed to be a new Cloud City coming out sometime this year. Anyways I hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon.
Aug 19, 2018 Investigators!
Aug 19, 2018
Hey Mom, I am doing alright this week. Not much is happening right now other than the weather being somewhat better than it was a couple weeks ago. We've met a couple more Hispanics this week which is pretty cool and I hope we'll be able to teach them. We have one old investigator coming back to meet with us. He actually came to Church this week which was pretty awesome and he wanted to meet us afterwards. However we got a text from him after church saying he didn't want to see us today. He stated that he took a lot in from Sacrament meeting and he needed to process it but would talk with us sometime this week.
Also I was driving home from a lesson on Friday night going about 60mph when I saw something in the road. I quickly steered out of the way and found out that it was an Armadillo. I didn't go back to get a picture unfortunately, but it still looked pretty cool. You don't see Live Armadillos in Texas that much because most are dead on the road.
That person who sent the photo to you is Sister Martin. Her daughter came back from the Seattle Washington Mission. They are really nice and actually may be moving to Arizona sometime in the future because She is looking for a new job. It sounds like you had a great time in Flagstaff, but its also sad to hear about the Wellmans getting a Divorce. That must be very hard for both of them and the kids and I wish the best of luck to them. Sad to hear about the lady you talked to on the way back from the trip. Hopefully she'll get better and fight through the tough times.
Hey Mom, I am doing alright this week. Not much is happening right now other than the weather being somewhat better than it was a couple weeks ago. We've met a couple more Hispanics this week which is pretty cool and I hope we'll be able to teach them. We have one old investigator coming back to meet with us. He actually came to Church this week which was pretty awesome and he wanted to meet us afterwards. However we got a text from him after church saying he didn't want to see us today. He stated that he took a lot in from Sacrament meeting and he needed to process it but would talk with us sometime this week.
Also I was driving home from a lesson on Friday night going about 60mph when I saw something in the road. I quickly steered out of the way and found out that it was an Armadillo. I didn't go back to get a picture unfortunately, but it still looked pretty cool. You don't see Live Armadillos in Texas that much because most are dead on the road.
That person who sent the photo to you is Sister Martin. Her daughter came back from the Seattle Washington Mission. They are really nice and actually may be moving to Arizona sometime in the future because She is looking for a new job. It sounds like you had a great time in Flagstaff, but its also sad to hear about the Wellmans getting a Divorce. That must be very hard for both of them and the kids and I wish the best of luck to them. Sad to hear about the lady you talked to on the way back from the trip. Hopefully she'll get better and fight through the tough times.
Our other investigators are doing alright, we had one move up to Wisconsin because of some Depression so he may not be back for a while. If anything I hope to find out where he lives so Missionaries can get in contact with him again because he needs the Gospel in his life. We are teaching a Girl who is progressing very well but has to take things slowly because she lives in a Group home and we've been talking to her through FaceTime. We also have that one investigator in Powderly who is continuing to take the lessons and enjoys what we teach and eventually she'll want to be baptized. We had two of our Investigators come to church and the Ward is helping the best they can to be kind to anyone who comes to visit. Sorry this Email took a while to write today, there were some issues on the Area Phone with some apps being deleted and unable to download because of this Church App Blocker going crazy today. Hope you all have a great rest of the day and I'll talk to you again soon.
Elder Christensen and Elder McMullan!
Aug 13, 2018 Act on your faith!
Aug 13, 2018
My week has been alright, not much has happened yet. We are looking for more investigators through members and sometimes knocking on doors in the neighborhood. It's going pretty well with Elder Christensen, we are doing the best we can to teach more people in the area. We have this Spanish family that we've been teaching or in other words, Elder Christensen has been teaching. I do the best I can with Google Translate to type something I want to say to them. If anything all the missionaries coming to the Texas Dallas Mission should be taught Spanish at the MTC because of the large population of Hispanics that live here. It would be very beneficial even if you meet with one individual who speaks only Spanish on the mission field.
We are looking at some part member families right now, two of them have baptismal dates on October 6 but will have to be pushed back because of General Conference. We've been trying to get some people interested in joining the church, but it can be very difficult if they don't act on their faith.
That's good that you plan on going to the temple more. It is important and needs to be done for our ancestors. I haven't seen the chickens running around the neighborhood recently, but they are around somewhere. Haven't cooked much recently, I usually make egg and Sausage sandwiches every morning for breakfast which helps me a lot. Elder Christensen hasn't cooked much, but that could change in the future.
I guess the only good thing that really happened this week is meeting with a lady in Clarksville, who opened up to our message of the Restoration. She actually lives in Paris and was visiting her grandma. We plan on meeting with her on Wednesdays whenever she is around. There was a lady that knocked on the church door this week asking for support. We told her the church donates to the Food Pantry nearby. We told her that we are there on Tuesdays and invited her to come to church. She told us that she already lives in Pattonville and attends a church there. Hopefully we will run into her again and get her interested in the Gospel and all the blessings it gives to people. A lot of people in Texas believe in God and Jesus Christ, but they don't want to improve their lives and would rather let someone else help them out. If only they would ask God to guide them in the right direction and not their pastor who won't do anything but put money into their own pocket. It's only their job, and that is why their hearts are far from God.
We had a high council man speak in Church yesterday which was good that talked about a minister and a man named Heber who returned from his mission in New York. The story took place sometime in the late 1800s where people wanted the Mormons out of the town. They decided to have a competition between a minister and Heber. If the minister won this compition then the Mormons would have to leave. If Heber won the competition then the Mormons can stay. However Heber wanted it a little bit more interesting by changing the rules so they cant speak but rather use hand symbols. It started out with the minister showing three fingers and Heber showing one finger. The minister then moved his hand around his head while Heber pointed to the ground. Finally the minister brought out some wine and Heber brought out an apple. Do you see what happened here? The people decided to ask the Minister how the conversation went. The minister said he showed three fingers to show the trinity while Heber showed one God. He moved his hand to show that God is all around us while Heber showed that he is right next to us. Finally he showed wine to show the symbol of the Saviors blood while Heber showed an apple to tell him about the original sin. He said that the Mormons could stay around. When the people asked Heber about the conversation he said that the minister showed three fingers to say that they have 3 days to leave. He responded back by saying no one was leaving. The minister then showed his hand in the air to show that all of them would be rounded up while he responded that they will stay right here. Finally they asked about the Food so Heber said that the minister brought out his lunch and he did as well. Pretty funny story, but overall it was a great talk. Anyway I hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to you again soon.
Aug 6, 2018 Zone Conference
Aug 6, 2018
I've been doing ok, not much has happened this week other than Zone Conference. We were told to contact Part Member families which is what we are planning to do on Sundays. I guess it was good to meet with the Zone again last week. A lot of missionaries say that being an Assistant to the President would be the most stressful thing to do on a mission. I don't see it that way. The most stressful thing to do on the mission for me, is to keep track of how many miles we use. We are only given 1600 miles a month and I do the best we can to stay under every single month. Unfortunately that doesn't work out every month because of not getting rides from members among other things. Assistants to the President don't have to keep track of miles but they have to do a lot of training's and other work. I'd be fine being called an AP in my last 2-3 transfers.
I forgot that Aiden will now be in 8th grade. Sure doesn't look like he should be...., same thing with Jackson being a Junior in High School. Doesn't even sound right.
That's good that Pierce is back in town, kind of surprised he will be working until January. I thought he would be finished with college by now at least.
Our investigators are doing alright. We had a scheduled baptism for Saturday, but it won't go through because she still needs to take a couple more lessons. We have another two with a Baptismal date on October 6.
We also helped build a Chicken Coop as a gift for another investigator who has chickens. We also have another investigator who wanted to come to church on Sunday but had social anxiety so he didn't come. I am driving right now, just being super cautious on how many miles we spend in a day. Most of the time its around 30 which is good. Elder Christensen is a little different from Elder Twitchell but I don't know in what way, I guess personality.
That's cool that Jackson and Aiden went to the Temple and he baptized him.
Giving someone the gift of the Holy Ghost usually doesn't happen to missionaries but I did that (while serving in Mesa) and I'm waiting to actually baptize someone, but it's not that big of an issue to me. I have not bore a testimony since I've been out. I don't really see the need for it in Sacrament meeting at this point when there are a ton of members in the ward that want to do it. I guess it only happens in lessons but thats about it. Hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to you soon.
Here is a picture of the chicken Coop we built and this bathroom from Sulpher Springs.
I've been doing ok, not much has happened this week other than Zone Conference. We were told to contact Part Member families which is what we are planning to do on Sundays. I guess it was good to meet with the Zone again last week. A lot of missionaries say that being an Assistant to the President would be the most stressful thing to do on a mission. I don't see it that way. The most stressful thing to do on the mission for me, is to keep track of how many miles we use. We are only given 1600 miles a month and I do the best we can to stay under every single month. Unfortunately that doesn't work out every month because of not getting rides from members among other things. Assistants to the President don't have to keep track of miles but they have to do a lot of training's and other work. I'd be fine being called an AP in my last 2-3 transfers.
I forgot that Aiden will now be in 8th grade. Sure doesn't look like he should be...., same thing with Jackson being a Junior in High School. Doesn't even sound right.
That's good that Pierce is back in town, kind of surprised he will be working until January. I thought he would be finished with college by now at least.
Our investigators are doing alright. We had a scheduled baptism for Saturday, but it won't go through because she still needs to take a couple more lessons. We have another two with a Baptismal date on October 6.
We also helped build a Chicken Coop as a gift for another investigator who has chickens. We also have another investigator who wanted to come to church on Sunday but had social anxiety so he didn't come. I am driving right now, just being super cautious on how many miles we spend in a day. Most of the time its around 30 which is good. Elder Christensen is a little different from Elder Twitchell but I don't know in what way, I guess personality.
That's cool that Jackson and Aiden went to the Temple and he baptized him.
Giving someone the gift of the Holy Ghost usually doesn't happen to missionaries but I did that (while serving in Mesa) and I'm waiting to actually baptize someone, but it's not that big of an issue to me. I have not bore a testimony since I've been out. I don't really see the need for it in Sacrament meeting at this point when there are a ton of members in the ward that want to do it. I guess it only happens in lessons but thats about it. Hope you all have a great week and I'll talk to you soon.
Here is a picture of the chicken Coop we built and this bathroom from Sulpher Springs.
July 30, 2018 New Companion!
July 30, 2018
The last week has been alright, we had Transfers and Elder Twitchell went to Wills Point in Tyler and I stayed in Paris with my new companion Elder Christensen. He is pretty nice, he came from the former Jackson, Mississippi mission which was dissolved and came over here after Shreveport came into the mission.
My new companion is from Moses Lake Washington and was born in 1999. He is pretty chill and has to adjust to the mission rules here in the Dallas Texas Mission. However over time he'll be able to use Spanish a lot more in Texas than he did in his old mission. It is kind of heart breaking to see this investigator go to prison. She was in prison before but after being out for so long they never put her into any Rehabilitation center to help her out. As far as I'm concerned I think the only thing that helped her was the Gospel and attending church almost every single week. I wouldn't be surprised if she bore her testimony at court about coming to the Mormon church and the jury not in favor of it because of their own 'beliefs.' I'll send letters to her periodically some way or another. The earliest she can get out of Prison can be in 15-18 years.
The investigators are doing alright. I am a little down this week because one investigator will not be around here anymore. She had to go to court on Monday and Tuesday and was found guilty and was sent to Prison for the next 55 years. The stupidest thing I heard is that one of the charges was biting a cop. That gave her about 10-15 years more. So much for everyone in this country being equal. If she did end up being found not guilty she could of been a Member of the church right now. I just hope that I'll be able to write letters to her because the whole situation made me very upset.
I didn't do anything fun last week other than go to Mt Pleasant for Zone PDAY to play a game called Signs. We've been playing this game every time we go down there and it gets pretty intense. Haven't done any 'floating' in a while either, but that'll change possibly this week.
Today I don't know what I am going to do. We might go to the Antique store again, last time we were there Elder Twitchell bought a Record from the Police that was signed by Sting. Maybe I'll find something cool there, maybe something from WWII.
We eat a variety of things out here, we ate a lot of Panda Express in the last two transfers so maybe we'll do it again today. Other than that I'll make this Tuna Salad thigh that a member showed me how to do. It looks weird but it tastes very good. We did cook a lot together (Elder Twitchell and I ) and someday I might make another 12 egg omelet. Other than that the investigators here are all ok. Haven't seen any problems with anyone at the moment but sometimes that can change.
That is weird that Grandma and Grandpa attend a Spanish speaking ward. I really think that they should attend a different ward to build up their testimonies or at least learn Spanish. I'm guessing that Pierce was able to understand what they were saying but no one else. It sounds like you are all having a good time in Miami, and I'm surprised that you went to the everglades. I'd like to go there sometime. There are a lot of things on my bucket list I want to do after my mission. However I want my testimony to grow and to not worry about how much time I have left. I feel like a psychiatrist sometimes as a missionary! Instead of pills, I ask them to read and pray about the gospel. Miami Beach would be pretty cool to see and go to. It doesn't surprise me that it was crowded at all. Were you able to see the high tides rise at all while you were there? Those are always so cool to see as the water changes and moves around. I guess that is cool that Joe got married, but at least he waited a couple years after his mission instead of marrying within six months. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your trip and I'll talk to you soon.
The last week has been alright, we had Transfers and Elder Twitchell went to Wills Point in Tyler and I stayed in Paris with my new companion Elder Christensen. He is pretty nice, he came from the former Jackson, Mississippi mission which was dissolved and came over here after Shreveport came into the mission.
My new companion is from Moses Lake Washington and was born in 1999. He is pretty chill and has to adjust to the mission rules here in the Dallas Texas Mission. However over time he'll be able to use Spanish a lot more in Texas than he did in his old mission. It is kind of heart breaking to see this investigator go to prison. She was in prison before but after being out for so long they never put her into any Rehabilitation center to help her out. As far as I'm concerned I think the only thing that helped her was the Gospel and attending church almost every single week. I wouldn't be surprised if she bore her testimony at court about coming to the Mormon church and the jury not in favor of it because of their own 'beliefs.' I'll send letters to her periodically some way or another. The earliest she can get out of Prison can be in 15-18 years.
The investigators are doing alright. I am a little down this week because one investigator will not be around here anymore. She had to go to court on Monday and Tuesday and was found guilty and was sent to Prison for the next 55 years. The stupidest thing I heard is that one of the charges was biting a cop. That gave her about 10-15 years more. So much for everyone in this country being equal. If she did end up being found not guilty she could of been a Member of the church right now. I just hope that I'll be able to write letters to her because the whole situation made me very upset.
I didn't do anything fun last week other than go to Mt Pleasant for Zone PDAY to play a game called Signs. We've been playing this game every time we go down there and it gets pretty intense. Haven't done any 'floating' in a while either, but that'll change possibly this week.
Today I don't know what I am going to do. We might go to the Antique store again, last time we were there Elder Twitchell bought a Record from the Police that was signed by Sting. Maybe I'll find something cool there, maybe something from WWII.
We eat a variety of things out here, we ate a lot of Panda Express in the last two transfers so maybe we'll do it again today. Other than that I'll make this Tuna Salad thigh that a member showed me how to do. It looks weird but it tastes very good. We did cook a lot together (Elder Twitchell and I ) and someday I might make another 12 egg omelet. Other than that the investigators here are all ok. Haven't seen any problems with anyone at the moment but sometimes that can change.
That is weird that Grandma and Grandpa attend a Spanish speaking ward. I really think that they should attend a different ward to build up their testimonies or at least learn Spanish. I'm guessing that Pierce was able to understand what they were saying but no one else. It sounds like you are all having a good time in Miami, and I'm surprised that you went to the everglades. I'd like to go there sometime. There are a lot of things on my bucket list I want to do after my mission. However I want my testimony to grow and to not worry about how much time I have left. I feel like a psychiatrist sometimes as a missionary! Instead of pills, I ask them to read and pray about the gospel. Miami Beach would be pretty cool to see and go to. It doesn't surprise me that it was crowded at all. Were you able to see the high tides rise at all while you were there? Those are always so cool to see as the water changes and moves around. I guess that is cool that Joe got married, but at least he waited a couple years after his mission instead of marrying within six months. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your trip and I'll talk to you soon.
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