Called to Serve

Monday, December 30, 2013

Happy New Year!!! Good Luck Kylie! I love You!!!

Hey family!!
So you're in Utah right now? Crazy!! I want to talk to Kylie! How was the farewell?!! I am so excited for her. She is going to be such a great missionary.

So this week was really awesome. I cannot remember what I did and did not tell you on christmas but I will just tell you what I know. I went to the Millers for christmas eve! It was sweet because they have to family traditions that we have. 1. We ate mexican food for dinner. (very delicious) 2. They gave some pajama pants for a present. (very comfy) (I don't know if thats how you spell comfy) (I also am not sure if that's a word) But it was great. and Elder Spencer and I built a skyscraper of a gingerbread house.

So then christmas morning we woke up, opened some awesome presents (thanks for the sweater Kylie) and then went to the Souths for breakfast! Then we went to the Cookseys for lunch and then we went and worked until I got to talk to yall! It was great!

We have had some great lesson these past couple of days. My conviction that Heavenly Father has prepared specific people in every area of every mission grows stronger every day. Alma 13:24. I know there is people in Oregon waiting for Kylies sincere and unique testimony.

So as far as transfers go........I AM STAYING! Can you believe it? Elder Spencer is getting transferred. I am staying and Elder Soelberg is coming over here with me! He served in Searcy the first 7 months of his mission and trained Elder Tate. I'm excited because Elder Soelberg is awesome! So ya crazy stuff. Anyways I love you all and am so grateful for all your support. I am so grateful for everything that has been sent to me! Thank you Grandma Udall, Aunt Trisha, and badger for coming and skyping with me! I love you all. Have a safe drive to Utah and back. TEAR IT UP BEHI!! HOORAH FOR ISRAEL!!

NOTE TO KYLIE:

Kylie!!! How do you feel right now?  nervous much?
KYLIE!!!!!! Yes i am staying in Searcy! its crazy. i will probably be here for the next 2 1/2 years. How was the farewell? how are you feeling right now?!!

If I had to give you one tip it would be this.....dont drink the orange juice at the mtc. but if I had to give you 2 tips.....I would also tell you to be patient with yourself. One thing I know about me and you is that we are super competitive about stuff and we are hard on ourselves. Just remember who's work you are doing and the authority of your calling! You are going to feel overwhelmed at times but keep going! Your heart is like a ball of clay. if its soft and humble the lord is going to mold you into something great and you are going to bless so many lives. if you harden your heart or settle you will just be.....a ball of clay. ha ha I love you Kylie. You are going to do awesome!! Proverbs 3:5-7

Monday, December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas!

HEEEEEY!!!
How is it going family! Man what a week! I have a lot of stuff to tell yall about this week so I will just tell you when I call you on wednesday instead of typing it all out. This week has been something else though.

 First of all we had christmas zone conference on wednesday in North Little Rock. President Petersen is awesome. He is probably the next apostle. It was a good conference. And at the end we got to watch a movie. Ephraims Rescue. Ever seen it? Its quite the flik. I would recommend it! But enough small talk lets get down to the needy greedy. (Nacho voice)

 So when it rains out in Arkansas.....it rains hard. Friday night up until saturday night it rained non-stop. We had flash flood warnings right and left. The best part about this is Elder Spencer and I are on bike week. We promised ourselves that we were not going to let the whether stop us from working. Last week when it snowed we didn't skip a beat. So whats a little rain? Well let me tell ya  this was no walk in the park. It was more like a ride in a river. But we tried to have some sunshine on our cloudy day and make the best of it. So we rode to our appointments and it was pouring. We had 3 appointments and they were no where near each other. Well.....all of the appointments dropped! No one was there when we got there.  A good mixture of cold rain and frustration was working in its way in as it seemed like nothing was going on. It felt like we didn;t get anything done that day despite us being out the whole time. The promise in Ether 12:6 rang true though as we did not recieve a "witness until AFTER the trial of our faith."

The next day was sunday and it was impossible for our hopes to be too high for our investigators to get to church since we didn't get to meet with any of them on saturday. Well sunday morning we prayed for them all by name and then got a ride to go get all of them. We were able to reach our weekly goal and get 6 investigators to church! What a blessing. Also Jessica (our new convert) gave her first talk in sacrament meeting. She sounded like she had been a member her whole life as she spoke about the Book of Mormon. It was amazing!! The spirit was so strong. I was thinking about the growth she has had as I watched and listened to her testify in front of the whole congregation that she knows the Book of Mormon is true. The real miracles happened last night though.

On the way to one of our appointments I noticed I got a little ahead of Elder Spencer. So I stopped and waited right in front of this house. Now Elder Spencer and I have tried to do things other than knock doors at night because either people don't answer or they get mad. But I felt so strongly impressed to knock on this door that I really had no other choice it felt like! So when Elder Spencer caught up we went and knocked and were immediately let in! When we got in there were 2 mexican families of good size all sitting in the living room. We stated our purpose as representatives of the Jesus Christ and asked if we could say a prayer with them. We then asked what they would ask the Savior for if he was there with us. They said jobs and physical health. We prayed and asked for those things for them and we blessed the home. I noticed after the prayer one of the fathers had tears in his eyes. We briefly taught them about the restoration and set up return appointments with both families. They were so humble and loving. I know and can testify they have been prepared by the hand of the Lord to accept the message of the restoration because it was nothing other than the spirit of the lord and led us to them. We probably pass by that house 3 or 4 times a day and last night they were ready for us.

Every obstacle we faced this week as a companionship and the riding the the rain and wind and having appointment and appointment fall through was all worth these miracles we saw yesterday! And they truly were miracles. I know just as Joseph Smith said that "Sacrifice brings forth the blessing of heaven." I love you family. Thank you for everything you do for me. Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope we all take the time to think about what the best gift would be to get Christ for his birthday. See ya in a couple of days!


Merry Christmas!

HEEEEEY!!!
How is it going family! Man what a week! I have a lot of stuff to tell yall about this week so I will just tell you when I call you on wednesday instead of typing it all out. This week has been something else though.

 First of all we had christmas zone conference on wednesday in North Little Rock. President Petersen is awesome. He is probably the next apostle. It was a good conference. And at the end we got to watch a movie. Ephraims Rescue. Ever seen it? Its quite the flik. I would recommend it! But enough small talk lets get down to the needy greedy. (Nacho voice)

 So when it rains out in Arkansas.....it rains hard. Friday night up until saturday night it rained non-stop. We had flash flood warnings right and left. The best part about this is Elder Spencer and I are on bike week. We promised ourselves that we were not going to let the whether stop us from working. Last week when it snowed we didn't skip a beat. So whats a little rain? Well let me tell ya  this was no walk in the park. It was more like a ride in a river. But we tried to have some sunshine on our cloudy day and make the best of it. So we rode to our appointments and it was pouring. We had 3 appointments and they were no where near each other. Well.....all of the appointments dropped! No one was there when we got there.  A good mixture of cold rain and frustration was working in its way in as it seemed like nothing was going on. It felt like we didn;t get anything done that day despite us being out the whole time. The promise in Ether 12:6 rang true though as we did not recieve a "witness until AFTER the trial of our faith."

The next day was sunday and it was impossible for our hopes to be too high for our investigators to get to church since we didn't get to meet with any of them on saturday. Well sunday morning we prayed for them all by name and then got a ride to go get all of them. We were able to reach our weekly goal and get 6 investigators to church! What a blessing. Also Jessica (our new convert) gave her first talk in sacrament meeting. She sounded like she had been a member her whole life as she spoke about the Book of Mormon. It was amazing!! The spirit was so strong. I was thinking about the growth she has had as I watched and listened to her testify in front of the whole congregation that she knows the Book of Mormon is true. The real miracles happened last night though.

On the way to one of our appointments I noticed I got a little ahead of Elder Spencer. So I stopped and waited right in front of this house. Now Elder Spencer and I have tried to do things other than knock doors at night because either people don't answer or they get mad. But I felt so strongly impressed to knock on this door that I really had no other choice it felt like! So when Elder Spencer caught up we went and knocked and were immediately let in! When we got in there were 2 mexican families of good size all sitting in the living room. We stated our purpose as representatives of the Jesus Christ and asked if we could say a prayer with them. We then asked what they would ask the Savior for if he was there with us. They said jobs and physical health. We prayed and asked for those things for them and we blessed the home. I noticed after the prayer one of the fathers had tears in his eyes. We briefly taught them about the restoration and set up return appointments with both families. They were so humble and loving. I know and can testify they have been prepared by the hand of the Lord to accept the message of the restoration because it was nothing other than the spirit of the lord and led us to them. We probably pass by that house 3 or 4 times a day and last night they were ready for us.

Every obstacle we faced this week as a companionship and the riding the the rain and wind and having appointment and appointment fall through was all worth these miracles we saw yesterday! And they truly were miracles. I know just as Joseph Smith said that "Sacrifice brings forth the blessing of heaven." I love you family. Thank you for everything you do for me. Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope we all take the time to think about what the best gift would be to get Christ for his birthday. See ya in a couple of days!


Monday, December 16, 2013

Happy Birthday to Kylie!!!

Happy Birthday Kylie!! I can't believe you are 19.......that is a little weird. You seem to short for such an age. Well I hope it was a good one.

 Man I wish I could remember all that goes on during the week. My record-keeping has been pretty sub-par lately. I haven't cracked open my journal in a good minute. Things have just gotten so busy! This week we had Zone meeting which I was thankful for because I didn't have to be in charge of it. President and Sister Petersen came to it also! In the meeting we were being instructed on teaching and the ZL's called Elder Spencer and I up to role play teaching in an investigator about prophets as a demonstration. It went well too! Elder Spencer is really coming along as a teacher! All we do in companionship study is role play over and over and it has really helped! My son is making me proud!

Anyways we have had some miracles happen this week. On wednesday morning right before we left the apartment for the day we had a companionship prayer where we asked specifically for the Lord the lead us to someone who is prepared and to help us recognize them. Well 5 minutes after that prayer we went over to a potential investigators house and she opened the door and it looked like she had been crying. Well...she had. She said that right before she heard us knock on the door she was like talking to herself/praying and asking for something to change her. She explained to us how she always went to church growing up with her family and how everything was going great and then she made a couple of wrong choices. She got with some bad influences and things started spiraling down. She said she really felt like was at the point of no return. She couldn't forgive herself for what she had done so she felt like she couldn't be forgiven. We taught her about the atonement and the how it is able to take any burdens, guilt, and sin away from us. I really did feel the love Heavenly Father had for her as we taught her on her porch. She truly had what Christ requires of us in order to use the atonement, and that is a broken heart and contrite spirit. The lesson was awesome and she is reading the Book of Mormon right now. Heavenly Father is preparing his children for us every minute of every day! That experience estalished that truth for me.

One more awesome experience: Elder Spencer and I taught a woman and her two children the restoration last saturday night. In that lesson the spirit really helped us know what to say. I think it was the best lesson we have taught together up to this point. But anyways at the end we talked about baptism and she actaully asked us if she could get baptized!! It was insane! That never happens to us. It was awesome though and it is only because the spirit spoke to her.

Ok last cool story and then I am done. So we are teaching this guy that is going to Harding and he is majoring in bible ministry and in his senior year. So ya he knows his stuff about the bible. Anyways we were teaching him about how Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bone. He quickly referred us to John 4:26 where it says "God is a spirit." Well we went to that and then saw the JST that says that its actually saying "God promised his spirit." Well naturally he did not believe the JST so he went to his back room and got his Greek translation bible which is older and more accurate and in that version it said the same thing that the JST said! The guy was so taken back by it! It was awesome! Its crazy how the changes in the bible have had that much of an effect. Where we can't even be sure of the true nature of our father in heaven. This is why the Book of Mormon is so important. It establishes the TRUTH in the Bible and expands on it. 1 Nephi 13:40-41.

Anyways thank you Grandma Udall and Nelson family for the letters! It means a lot! I love you all!


Monday, December 9, 2013

Bad Weather Week!


Hey Family!!

Hows the weather out west? It has been so crazy here!! It has just been a wild week. So to start off we had district meeting again on Tuesday where I decided to focus on PMG chapter 9. I really tried to emphasize working with the members because i know this area will never reach its full potential without are members kicking it into gear! So we decided to get a little creative with our finding and I am excited to try some new stuff! Anyways on wednesday it was like 80 degrees as a high, Thursday it 45, Friday it was 30. So it got cold pretty quick, not to mention Elder Spencer and I were on bike week. So it was snowing pretty hard on friday. President said he didn't recommend that we go out but it was up to us. So after it stopped snowing Elder Spencer and I got on the bikes and started working. There was no one outside! No one. This town shuts down when it snows. The roads and sidewalks were really icy though and it was no cake walk riding bikes on that stuff. Anyways we went to one appointment and when we came out my bike brakes were frozen. Then the back tire of my bike wouldn't even rotate anymore for some reason! So I couldn't ride it. By this point in time we were on the far side of town away from our apartment and our next appointment. No businesses were open and no one was driving so their was no chance of getting a ride. So I dragged my bike and Elder Spencer walked with his behind me and we walked across town in the snow to bike city where we locked them up in front and then walked 8 miles to our next appointment. It was unfortunate because we wasted a lot of time but it was alright. The next couple of days after that the roads were thick with ice! They don't have any snow plows or salt to get rid of it with here because this rarely happens. So getting from appoitment to appointment was quite an adventure!

Did I ever tell you about Kesha? Kesha who is an investigator we found, who really actually found us. We were knocking on her neighbors door when she came out and asked who we were and asked if we could come teach her! Since then we had not been able to get a hold of her but a couple of days ago she called us and said she really need us to come over. So we went over and taught her and her brothers the restoration. It was awesome. The spirit was so strong.

So anyways church was cancelled yesterday because of the ice and so President Berkheimer had a mini sacrament meeting at his house. It was just his family, Elder Spencer and I and Chris and Jess President wanted there but I asked if Kesha could come so she came too! So yesterday morning we had a sacrament meeting where me and Kevin (his son) spoke about being disciples of Jesus Christ. Jessica also bore her testimony of the restoration and it was so powerful. After the meeting was the best part because Elder Spencer and I were talking to Kesha about the Book of Mormon and then Chris and Jessica came and pretty much taught her all about it and told her how much of a comfort it is in their lives. I have't experienced more joy on my mission then in that lesson when I was just watching this take place. Jessica was just baptized last month, Chris is still waiting to get baptized. 2 months ago we were teaching them and they really were different people. Now they were teaching one of our new investigators about the restoration and inviting her to come over anytime to have study with them. What a blessing. I never felt so much pure joy in my life!! It was so great! Kesha now has a baptismal date for the 21st! So this week has been pretty awesome!

O and last night we were walking down the street and this guy picked us up and gave us a ride to our appointment and on the way their we taught him about the church. He said he had  bunch of friends that were returned missionaries. He owns the frozen yogurt factory here and said to come by on tuesday to tell him more! This last week we have found new investigators from helping from shovel their driveways, getting peoples truck unstuck, and getting rides from people! Its been sweet!  I love you all and thanks for everything. Thank you for the package!!  



Monday, December 2, 2013

Thanksgiving was a success!


WHATS UP AZ!

So this week was crazy. Full of meetings, food, revelations, eggs, and schizophrenia. Allow me to explain. So first of all I had district meeting on tuesday. We went over chapters 10 and 11 of Preach my Gospel. I tried to really emphasized overcoming concerns through listening and asking questions and finding underlying concerns. I did a demonstration where the missionary had to guide the investigator through an obstacle course to baptism. The catch was that the missionary only knew so many concerns (obstacles), and the missionary and the investigator could not communicate and the investigators had a blindfold on, and just for fun I threw and egg and a spoon in there. Anyways long story short the missionary was unable to get the investigator to baptism because he didn't know all the concerns because he didn't ask questions and listen. It was a really weird way of showing the importance of those two things. Anyways it was fun.

Afterwards I went on exchanges with Elder Soelberg who is my grandfather! He trained Elder tate and was in Searcy for 7 months!

So on Thanksgiving we had the turkey bowl in the morning! It was sweet! I wish I would have brought some cleets! It was fun a lot of fun though. Chris came and had a lot of fun. After that we went and ate our first meal with the rinners and berkheimers! Then we went and ate with chris and Jess! Then we went and at with the Raineys! We had 3 thanksgivings! It was quite a battle. The last place we went to, I was already full, and they made my plate for me and piled it up. It was a rough go but I did my best. We also had a lesson that night at the Raineys with 3 non members and it was sweet!

That night we went to teach an investigator. So he has social anxiety, bi-polarness, and schizophrenia. So It is kind of different teaching him. But when we went over thursday night he told us that he had gotten an answer and knows the Book of Mormon is true! So we set up a baptismal interview on friday night. Well friday night comes around and the zone leaders drive an hour and a half to get here and he never shows up. So the next day we see him at work and we stop in and talk to him and he said he had family issues to take care but wants to get baptized on sunday. So we set up the interview again on saturday night and he shows up 30 minutes late too it. Well right before the interview we go over the word of wisdom to refresh him on it and he commits to live it, right in front of the zone leaders. Then during the interview when they get to the word of wisdom he says he isn't going to live it anymore! And he just committed to me 10 minutes before to live it! Then my zl Elder Durham said that he must live it in order to be baptized and he got mad and walked out! So I was really dissappointed up to that point because we weren't having a baptism. So then he shows up to the church the next day and tells me he is excited to get baptized that day! I was like "you can't get baptized today, you are not ready." Then he got mad at me and left. Just as mysteriously as he came.....he left. It was a wild weekend.

I had my interview with President this week. It was awesome. He told me to read Alma 5 and Mosiah 5 at the end of the interview. I read it a few times this week and received some pretty heavy revelation! I love this gospel. Anyways I love you all and am grateful for your support! Thank you for the letter Nash! And thanks for your letter Uncle Dennis! 







Monday, November 25, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey family!!
So you are having some bad weather over in AZ? Well it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows here either. It has been a pretty cold week, not to mention it was bike week for us! Other than the weather it was a really good week for Elder Spencer and I!

First off....last friday was my 6th month birthday for my mission! So I got to burn a tie that night for the sake of tradition! I cannot believe its been 6 months.....it is going by way to fast! Anyways we have had the chance to see some miracles this past week.

Have I told you about our new investigators? They are Chris and Jessicas friends and ever since Jessicas baptism we have been working with them to get baptized, but before that they have to get married and before that she has to get a divorce from her last marriage. We thought it was going to take a couple months for all of this to get over and done with but we have been praying for it to speed up and yesterday She told us that she talked to the judge and it should only take a week or so to get it done! They are really excited to get married and baptized! Chris and Jess are just the best missionaries ever. They talk to everyone about the church! I love them! But ya so they are doing good.

Michael Scott wasn't able to come to church yesterday and we are still trying to figure out why. I hope he didn't accidentally step on a George Foreman!

We started teaching this guy  a couple of weeks ago and he came to church last week. He lives out in the middle of nowhere, he is about 50, and he owns about every gun you can get!  He is awesome to talk to though and is very interested in the Book of Mormon. The guy is really lonely and he has really lost hope in his life. This Gospel is going to change him. He is actually a referral from Ken Slade in the Quitman ward. He said he is related to all the slades in Arizona! Then again I think everyone is related to the slades in Arizona.

Bishop asked me to speak in sacrament on repentance yesterday and it was pretty fun. I love the whole speaking in front of people gig for some reason. Anyways remember how I used to have like anxiety and butterflies all the time before sports games? Well believe it or not I get that a lot out in the mission field too. It happens when I think about the goals we have and how bad I want to accomplish them! I start getting super stressed and Elder Spencer knows when it happens because I start walking around our apartment really fast and biting my nails. I hate when I get like that! But i realized when I get like that is when I think of my inadequacies and weaknesses. In my personal study a couple of days ago I read 2 Nephi 4. This is my new favorite chapter. In it Nephi is stressing hard with his weaknesses and shortcomings. But in verse 19 he turns his thoughts from himself to his savior and the stress goes away! Thats they key. Going from self to savior.

Well I am excited for this next week! Thanksgiving is on thursday so Elder Spencer and I get to play in the turkey bowl and we are getting fed A LOT that day! Its going to be sweet! Alright family thanks for all your support! Thanks for the letters! They mean a lot! I love you all!


Monday, November 18, 2013

He may never leave Searcy!!!





NEVER LEAVING SEARCY!

Ya so......I am staying one more! Thanks goodness! And I am finishing training Elder Spencer! That made my day because now I get to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas here.

What a week it has been here in Searcy! I tell you what. It has been full of surprises, cold weather, warm weather, crack houses, gang fights, blessings, Irish whistles, and challenges.

So it all started last Tuesday at specialized training. President Petersen  was here in Searcy training a bunch of missionaries that came here.When we had our little lunch break Bishop Mcgrath and Chris came in the building and so President got to meet with and got to meetChris that day! It was sweet! President loved him. President later told me he knew Chris was one of the elect by the way that Chris prayed. He said it was one of the most sincere prayers he has heard.  We play basketball every wednesday night at the church and we always get plenty of the local non members there and President Petersen said he is either going to come play with us this wednesday or next wednesday! How awesome is that! I'm pumped! But ya this last week Elder Spencer and I have worked really hard trying to prepare our investigator Michael Scott for baptism. Yes, that is really his name. Our ward loves him for that reason. Elder Spencer and I were able to find the sketchiest neighborhood in Searcy this past week! Thats where the crack house comes in. We were walking down the street and there was this house with like 6 cars in front of it and twice as many guys chillin on the front porch. So naturally Elder Spencer and start walking up to them. One guy sees us and says "Don't come over here! Please don't! I don't want to talk! Please!" and so I was like "wo,wo you don't want to talk about Jesus?" and he said "No thats not what I am about anymore. If you want to talk about this (holding up his beer can) or weed I will talk to you about that. Thats what I am about." So anyways we go to this house next door and talk to this lady and she tells us how we are in the worst part of town and there is gun shots every night and all that. I asked her what she was doing living in a place like that and she said her and her AR 15 run these streets. This was like a way older lady! Very sketchy street. Right after that house we heard a bunch of screaming and yelling so we went over there and there was like 15 guys in the middle of the street and when we went over there they all took of to their cars and peeled out and then 2 cops came right after them. It was crazy! But anyways......training Elder Spencer has helped me grow a lot as a missionary and a person. I have been really lucky with all of my companions so far. I feel like I have changed a lot since I have been out. Its crazy how different life is out here! I love it! I am so lucky to be able to spend all my time helping other people. I realized that that is why missionaries are so happy all the time. They don't worry at all about themselves. True happines as a missionary come when you abase yourself. In Alma chapter 4 it talks about how some people in the church became prideful and tried to lift themselves up. While others were "abasing themselves" and serving other. When I read that I went to the dictionary for the word abasing and it means to bring down low. So these people were actually bringing themselves down low and lifting others up. I have found on my mission so far that that is when I am happiest. When I am humbling myself ad helping to lift other. That is when I experience true joy.  Anyways....I am so grateful for all of your support. I love you all!! Cammie I am going to write your letter today! Yesterday was crazy!  



Monday, November 11, 2013

Jessica is Baptized!

ANXIETY ATTACKS!
So......I don't know what is happening to me next transfer....but I have heard a lot of rumors! A lot of things are supposed to change. Other Missionaries in the mission have been calling me all day to see if i know anything.  Bishop Mcgrath wanted me to ask President today in my email if I could stay one more so I did. I am having anxiety about it though.

So this week has been probably the best week of my mission so far. JESSICA WAS BAPTIZED!! It was amazing. It was the best feeling I have ever had in my life. I wish you could have been there to witness the spirit that was there.

Funny Pre-Baptism Story: So we were setting up for the baptism and it was going to start in about 5 minutes so everyone started trickling in. Well we invited one our investigators I told you about in one of my first letters. The one who thought his door was locked so he started trying to knock it down and then we went and just turned the knob and opened it for him....ya he is a big man about 35 years old. Well he came and was in the bathroom and i guess he got confused and instead of coming out the way he came in he went in the baptismal font door and fell in!! He was soaked from head to toe! So we had to run him home and get him changed before we started! He was pretty embarrassed about it.....so to lighten the mood I went up to him and said " if you wanted to get baptized you should have just told me!"........ha ha ya that didn't help.

Anyways after that little pool party we started the baptism and it was the best service. Bishop is the one that baptized her and she was just crying and smiling the whole time. Towards the end we had Chris bear his testimony and I have never felt the spirit so strong when he did. This is a big black dude, former gangster/hustler, hardened in the Little Rock ghetto, and he was up there crying and saying how much he loves this church and the Book of Mormon! It was so spiritual. Jessica shined. She was a beam of light. Chris waited for her to get changed after the baptism and when she came out they hugged for like 5 minutes straight. It was the best day ever. And their friends were there and they felt the spirit so strong and that night we had a lesson with them and now they are getting baptized on the 23rd!! What a miracle! This work is hastening. I seriously don't think I have ever seen a happier day than Saturday. I was exhausted that night from all the excitement. Now I got an idea how Ammon felt. I am just happy!! I love you all and thanks for all your support. Happy Veterans Day Grandpa! I love you all so much.


Monday, November 4, 2013

BAPTISM!!!

WHATS UP!!!!
Hows it going family?! Sounds like everyone is doing awesome! I love Kate's Halloween costume. Thank you so much for that package! I ate so much of that candy already! It was sweet!! (pun intended)

Anyways this week has been super awesome!! So My favorite investigator put a picture of me eating a neck bone on Facebook eh? ha ha funny stuff.

Last Tuesday i had District Meeting and it was......not that good. ha It was alright but just not as good as the first one. My ZL's and President Petersen and Sister Petersen came to it again! So I was pretty nervous. Everything went ok though. President loved my SALSA acronym and asked if he could use it. He is big on using acronyms too.

Elder Spencer and I have been humbled and blessed so much this week. Those things tend to go hand in hand. Its to the point where I get a little excited anytime we have a trying or humbling experience because then I know something awesome is about to happen! ha ha its weird. Anyways Elder Spencer and I were in a lesson with our investigator last friday and we were teaching about the importance of temples and why we have them. So we were giving our little spiel when all of the sudden she interrupted us and said "I guess I will just get baptized this saturday. There is no use in waiting." She was originally planning on waiting to get baptized when her husband does but she told us she does not want to wait! This totally took us off guard! All week up to that point we were trying to explain to her the importance of not waiting and she just wasn't budging. So we just decided to  back off about it. But then out of nowhere she tell us she should get baptized next saturday!!! We weren't even talking about baptism or anything! It just goes to show you that its not the missionaries that help people change and progress.....its the spirit! I wish you could see the change that has taken place in her. She is a totally different person from when we first knocked on her door. When we first started teaching her husband she wouldn't even come out and listen to us and she thought we were crazy people that were part of a cult. She was also just...never happy. She was truly just sad all the time. She is so happy now!! She and her husband just have a glow about themselves now and its amazing to see how their countenance has changed!

Anyways when she said she was going to get baptized I was like in shock......and then i did kind of a yell for joy and then got up and did a little touchdown dance and ya.....ha ha I couldn't help myself! The spirit was so strong in the room! Well..it was less strong when I started touchdown dancing but it was just awesome! I am so grateful I get to be here when she gets baptized! I sat behind them at church yesterday and kept trying to get them to bear their testimony. I told them i would make them caramel cakes (their favorite) if they did, but they wouldn't. ha ha

Things are going awesome here though! The trunk r treat was great and we were able to find some new investigators there! I have so many stories to tell you guys. Miracles are taking place out here in Arkansas! I'm sick of typing though so I'll just tell you them in like 2 years or something. Anyways thanks for everything yall do for me.

O one more story: This week was bike week and we have this rough dirt bike trail we go through as a short cut. Elder Spencer is not an experienced seasoned rider yet, and we were riding the trail at night and so I get through the trail and look back and my comp is no where to be found! So after trudging through the great Arkansas wilderness I was able to find him and he had ran into a thorn bush and got cut up pretty good. So after a short-lived laugh we bandaged him up! ha ha ELder SPencer is a good guy! He is really starting to adjust to missionary life and I love training him! Thanks for everything family!! I love you all. Thanks for the letter Camz, Kate, and Ryan! Preciate it!   

Eating Neck Bone

Elder Udall placing the Book of Mormon


Monday, October 28, 2013

S.A.L.S.A.

Well Hey There!
I cannot believe Kylie went through the temple!! Crazy.  Well let me tell you a little bit about this crazy week! So first off I had my first district meeting as a district leader! The sister missionaries in my district told me how they have had trouble with knowing what to say when they talk to people on the street and when they knock doors. They said nothing they are doing is working. So I decided to devote my district meeting to this concern. And since I have a new found love for acronyms I decided to develop one that i could use to demonstrate. SALSA! ha ha ya...let me explain.  So this SALSA acronym goes over 5 things that need to be done when contacting a person  for the first time. The first is S-short and powerful statement. This statement should include the restoration of the gospel. Then A-ask questions. This helps to get the person thinking. L-lead into testimony. PMG says we should always testify to invite the spirit. S-set up a return appointment. A-ask for referrals. Its important to ask everyone you speak to "Who else do you know that we can teach this message too?" So in district meeting we went over that and role played it a bit. And then we made home made salsa!! ha ha I called Sis. Berkheimer the morning of the meeting and asked for a salsa recipe. She gave me one and said I could go over to her house and get the ingredients. So I did and chopped up the onions and all the other stuff and put them into 5 ziploc bags and then after the meeting I had everyone get a bag and put their ingredient in and explain why it was important and then we mixed it up and had some chips and salsa! It was pretty awesome. I just thought I would spice things up a little bit. (no pun intended)

That night we had an appointment with a church of Christ family where their dad has been a minister for like 20 years. So when we get in there, we say an opening prayer, ask if they have any questions, and then first thing his son does is go over to the computer and pull up a site called Ex-mormon.org. We knew we were in for one at that moment. So they just started ponding us with these questions about this stuff they have read and frankly I didn't know what to say. So then I just said "Well we see that you have looked up stuff on exmormon and other MAN MADE websites but how has your Book of Mormon reading been going. It was"so shocking"when they told me they haven't even read a chapter of it yet.

Cool Story: We have a recent convert who is the coolest dude ever. Me and him have gotten to be really good friends. Before his baptism he had drug problems and just a couple weeks ago he slipped up again and ever since then he has been avoiding and the church. We have prayed constantly to know how we can help him. Finally last friday night we were driving around and all of the sudden the spirit came over me really strong and so I pulled over and we prayed to figure out what it was all about. During the prayer all I could think of was this newly baptized member! So we went straight to his house and he let us in for the first time in 2 weeks. The first things he said was "I'm so glad you got my text." We told him we never got a text from him though. He said he sent one right before we came over, apologizing to us and asking us to come over. He looked at his phone at the text never sent. So I guess Heavenly Father decided to send me a spiritual text! ha ha it was crazy though because the spirit was able to direct us at the exact moment where we needed to go. What a blessing! 

One of our investigators is awesome. He is 26 years old and  He is almost done with Alma in the Book of Mormon and he quit smoking in 3 days after we taught him the Word of Wisdom.

Chris and Jess are my favorite people in the world. They made brownies for the wards last baptism and Chris went to the stake priesthood meeting in Little Rock with Bishop. I love the experiences out here. O love the people I meet everyday! More then anything though i love how involved Heavenly Father is in this work and in our lives. I am beginning to understand a little bit of what my Heavenly Father is like. I know he loves us all more than we can comprehend. I know he wants us to know truth. And ACT upon those truths!!


There is only 7 missionaries in my district! Being a ZL is a lot more fun but its still cool. I didn't get a jacket yet. elder Boyer left his so I just wear it. where did cammie move too?

Chris and jess and so awesome Mom. They are people I can truly say I love on my mission. I am pretty sure they have grown my testimony more then i have grown theirs. ha ha So we had missionary sunday yesterday right? and i was kind of in charge of the whole thing. and then 2 hours before sacrament meeting I hear our main speaker president oliver, president petersens counselor, cancelled on us! it was pretty hectic yesterday but it worked out!

They made me sing in a musical number with all the sisters! i protested it in ward council but everyone voted against me! and then after sacrament everyone came up to me and asked why i looked like I didn;t know what I was doing. so annoying. Me,  elder spencer and the sister missionaries. me and elder spencer have the worst voices. its a rule in our mission that we sing a hymn together every night before we go to sleep and you should hear us sing! ha ha it sucks. but ya this week should be good. we got some investigators going to trunk r' treat. Bishop is going to hire Chris at Bike city too!!
I Love You All and Miss You! Thanks for everything you do!!


Monday, October 21, 2013

These pictures crack me up! I didnt get one picture with him in it! Maybe next week!

Elder Udall's Study Desk


Elder Udall's Wall

Sign Elder Udall made for his investigators.
He said people always walk in and out of their house during lessons.
They told Elder Udall they use the sign even when the missionaries arent there.

Hey there!
So it sounds like yall have had a pretty good week. Mine was one of the better weeks I have had on my mission, and one of the harder ones. It seems like those always go hand in hand.

Anyways this last week has been full of ups and downs. So last monday we were planning on having a lesson with our investigator that night about repentance and why his baptism needs to get pushed back a little bit due to some issues. It was kind of a make or break deal. He hates talking about it so I was worried he would get offended or lose hope or something. So I fasted that day that the Lord would prepare him for what we had to tell him. I was so nervous for that lesson! I was pacing around everywhere in our apartment in fear of getting dropped by an investigator that we have gotten so close too. Well when we got to his house, right away he just started talking about how grateful he was for this gospel and the chance he has to start over. He told us that he was willing to do anything for it and he was pretty much just teaching us the lesson we had to teach him about repentance. So when we told him about the probation stuff he understood and was ready! The Lord completely prepared him for that lesson! It was awesome.

So he has to wait a little over a month before he can get interviewed by Pres. Petersen to get baptized but he is doing good! His wife is doing good to! Last week we brought her the 15 step no smoking program, cinnamon mouthwash, grapefruit juice, and a kool aid pie! The first 3 things were for her to quit smoking. The kool-aid pie was just to cheer her up! And not to toot my own horn but.....I make a pretty mean kool-aid pie! Anyways She can get baptized just as soon as she quits smoking!

Elder Spencer and I have had so many tender mercies this week! So on Wednesday we had an appointment to teach this girl, and I lost the address to her house! I knew the general area though so we went over there and decided to just knock every door until we found it! Well the first door we knocked on wasn't it, but the lady who answered started talking to us and I asked her if she had ever heard of the Book of Mormon and she said that she has read it! So then I asked what she thought about it and she said she knows its another testament of Jesus Christ! This completely took me off guard and so I said "wait.......what?" and she was like "well isn't it?!" and I said ya it is! ha She is a methodist but we are going to go back and teach her more this week!

Elder Spencer and I have made it a goal to talk to everyone we see this week no matter what! No matter where we are or what the situation is and how awkward it might be!.....and believe me sometimes it has been awkward. ha ha but awkward moments make for good laughs!

Anyways...a lot has happened this last week. I wish I had time to tell you all of it. Elder Spencer is learning quickly and is starting to come out of his shell. The Searcy area is just awesome. Tonight we are having dinner and a lesson with an investigator family we found last week and tomorrow night we are teaching a friend of our Stake Presidents inside his home. It was awesome because President Berkheimer went out with us saturday night and all of the sudden he pulled out his phone and called his friend and asked him to come over to be taught by the missionaries and the friend accepted. Good stuff! Anyways I love you all and hope you are searching for those missonary oppurtunites everyday!

P.S. I got a letter from Semore! it was pretty cool. it has been getting pretty cold here at nights now. I am getting myself a jacket today for sure.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Elder Udall and Elder Spencer


Elder Boyer, Kevin Berkheimer, Elder Udall

Kevin Berkheimer. the stake presidents son. He is going in his mission pretty soon! He always goes on splits with us and stuff and we eat at his house like 3 times a week. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMZ!! How was it? Did ya do anything crazy? Did Grandpa call you and tell you that you're grounded?

 My week was pretty dang awesome! Elder Boyer left me and got transferred to Hot Springs. On Wednesday I went to North Little Rock where I picked up my son!!! His name is Elder Spencer from San Diego Cali. He is a pretty cool dude! He is like an exact twin to my former roommate Ty Stroupe. He is really smart......electrical engineer major.....robotics team captain....the works! Its crazy how smart this guy is! He also knows his stuff about the Gospel so that's nice. So on Wednesday when we got back to Searcy we went straight to the apartment and dropped off his bags and then went straight to work! So Elder Spencer is kind of a shy guy, and he was like in a trance his first day. So naturally the first thing we do is go out street contacting. The first house I take him to is Brother Williams, for the sake of tradition. Brother Williams and I pre-planned this. So I tell Elder Spencer that this house was a referral and that the guy here is known to be a little crazy. So we walk up and Elder Spencer knocks on the door and then Brother Williams comes out with this huge samurai sword and yells at us and I take off hoping that Elder Spencer would run to but he just stood there all brave and what not. He wasn't even scared!

 Anyways the rest of that day we went walking and talking to EVERYONE! This was pretty hard for Elder Spencer because he is just really really shy but he stuck it out. There was one instance on that first day where it was pretty awkward. So everyone told me before I started training that no matter how awkward it gets when my greenie is talking to someone (or in my case not talking to someone), that I can't intervene because he has to learn how to do it himself. So at this one door we knocked on this person that opened it and asked who we were and then it was just silent......for like 30 seconds.....and I was just standing there looking at Elder Spencer....and he didn't say anything! ha ha so then the lady just closed the door. ha ha Elder Spencer has been doing so good though! He has been working to overcome his fears and has really improved! I love training. It has taught me so much already and has pushed me to know the doctrine better and be completely focused. Elder Spencer's testimony has strengthened mine and he has definitely helped me! We have absolutely nothing in common but I have already learned to love the guy and am grateful for the chance I get to help him! 

 Our investigators are doing good though. Chris and Jessica are the bomb!! I love them. They have progressed so much. They read the Book of Mormon on their own together and they always talk about getting sealed in the temple now. Last Tuesday me and Chris had a mormon rap battle and it was sweet! The video of it is on Elder Boyers camera though so you may not ever get to witness my skills.

 One of our investigators named Patrick was supposed to come to church yesterday but didn't. Then he texted us at 4 in the afternoon and said see ya at church! ha ha He thought the service was at 9 at night instead of 9 am. So i just told him we had a service at 6 pm that he should go too. So he ended up coming to our mission prep class night for all the priests! He was so confused! But we ended up teaching him the Plan of Salvation afterwards and the spirit was able to testify to him! We are now trying to help him prepare for baptism by helping him quit smoking. Its the best thing ever to watch the spirit change your investigator! Nothing could make anyone happier than helping someone find this gospel and use the atonement. (Alma 29:9) Thanks for the letters you have sent me! Thank you for everything. I love you all and appreciate the support. Austa!

Part of an email to DAD:

Kylie is going to be such a good missionary. I saw a picture of Ryan and he
already looks so much different.he looks way older. its alright though
because i can still beat him up. training is crazy. its fun and it has
helped me become a better missionary. So when are you going to sell the cows soon? are you still
really busy at work?
I gotta go. I love you. thanks for eveything. can you keep my investigators in your prayers for me? I really want them to get baptized.

 

Monday, October 7, 2013

You Gotta Be From Arizona!

HEY FAMILY!!

So we beat St. Johns eh? BOO YA! That's good stuff. Tell Ryan Good job on the game!

Well this week...was something else! So we had zone meeting on wednesday and that was pretty good! President wanted us to focus on chapter 3 and chapter 10 of PMG for it. So for the first part Elder Boyer and I decided to focus on the D&C 11:21 and the importance of studying chapter 3 everyday so we know the doctrine. To demonstrate the importance of this we made a huge maze in our cultural hall with a little gate on the other end which represented "the straight and narrow gate of baptism." Then we had 2 volunteers, one representing the missionary and one representing the investigator, we put blindfolds on both of them and told the missionary to lead the investigator to baptism. It was so funny! They were both just running into everything. So then we went over the importance of knowing the doctrine in and out because otherwise its just the blind leading the blind. It was a fun meeting! Not a lot else happened this last week though.

Cool story: We went to an appointment in a neighborhood 2 days ago and the appointment fell through. So Elder Boyer told me he felt impressed to walk up the hill and knock on this one door. So we did and this girl answered and looked at me and said "you gotta be from Arizona!" And I said ya how did ya know? She said that she knows a lot of Udalls from Arizona. Apparently she lived in phoenix and tucson and went to law school at U of A! So we talked about good ol' AZ for a bit and then she started telling us how she had a lot of friends that were returned missionaries but she was methodist and had been her whole life. So we introduced the BOM to her and gave her a copy and we are going to teach her on Wednesday! I'm pumped for it!

Also this week Chris and Jessica told us they are both ready to be baptized!! That totally made my week!  Jessica watched general conference yesterday and said she cried during all of President Monsons talk. Its amazing how sensitive she has become to the spirit. She has come such a long way!!

So....here is the low down on the transfers! We got the call this morning and Elder Boyer is out! And I am training here in the promised land! ha ha I am pretty nervous about it though. I am finally going to get to drive so I am excited about that! I just hope my son is ready to work! It has been fun serving with ELder Boyer. 3 months is a long time to be with someone within sight and sound 24/7. We had our little tussles here and there but we made things work with each other. He may end up being my ZL next transfer so that would be pretty sweet!

Its getting cold! I will probably get a jacket this next transfer! Tony is doing good! he watched one session! he has got work to do but he loves the BOM! his favorite character in it though is King Laban because "he goes hard." He liked how king laban took all of nephi's treasures and still kept the plates.  he still has work to do.

I gotta go pretty soon! Elder Boyer and I are gonna go play risk with a part member family today! ha ha so last night we came home and our kitchen and bathroom were flooded. the girl living behind us overflowed her washer and it flooded our place. not cool.

Anyways....... thanks for the package Merrils!! It was awesome!!! And thanks Christie and Trev for your package!! That Truman G. Madsen disc is bomb! My mind was blown within 5 minutes of listening to it!  Thank you for everything. I love you all. Next time we talk.......I'LL BE A FATHER!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The Book Of Mormon Is A Ball Of Light!

HEEY!

So ya this has been a crazy week! I know what you are thinking......its Tuesday! But President had a funeral to go to so instead of having Zone Leader council on Tueday he made it on monday and so all the zone leaders have their P-day today instead.

This past week has really been amazing though! Last Tuesday Elder Boyer and I went to the District meeting in Lonoke and it was good! After that we went on exchanges with them so I got to stay in Lonoke with Elder Wheatley, one of our district leaders. It was sweet. He told me he wanted to focus on finding, and so we started doing that right off the bat. We were able to get some referrals from some great members there. We also did some spiritual harvesting and set up a couple of return appointments. Probably the coolest part about being a zone leader is exchanges because we get to go work with other missionaries in our zone for 24 hours and meet new people in a new area. Elder Wheatley is from Provo and he is a really cool guy! My mission has helped me to learn to love meeting new people. I am really starting to love just talking to people I have never met.

Anyways Wednesday night was awesome! Bro. Brown invited Tony, our investigator, and his girlfriend and kids to come over for dinner and FHE. We were able to teach them the first lesson and it was great! After that we took Tony to the church to play some ball with our members. We were able to get 12 non-members out to basketball that night. They were so good too. Next step:get them there on Sunday!

These last couple weeks Elder Boyer and I have become much better friends. We have become really close to each other and to the people in Searcy, to bad transfers is next week! Anyways, like I was saying, we were able to go to zone leader council in North Little Rock yesterday. It was so good! Our mission hit our goal of 56 baptisms for the month! That might be low for other missions but thats something thats never been done in the ALRM! It was sweet. At the meeting we set a goal of 60 for next month! The meeting was so awesome. President has that same effect on people that Coach Semore had. He makes you want to work as hard as you can and reach your full potential. After that meeting I just wanted to pull a King Benjamin and get up in a tower and talk to everyone in Searcy!.....but I couldn't find a tower....so instead I went to a chinese bistro.

Story time: President told us that he wants all missionaries to carry a little blue copy of the Book of Mormon EVERY WHERE we go in our hands. So When Elder Boyer and I got back to Searcy we went to this chinese bistro that everybodys been raving about and sat down and ate. This guy came and sat down at the table next to us and I started talking to him about the church. As I was talking to him I opened up my fortune cookie and this was my fortune "The book shall be a ball of light in one's hand." It immediately reminded me of the BOM I had with me and so I was able to introduce it to him and give him that copy! Ever since I have been carrying it a copy of this book everywhere it really has been a "ball of light." I used to hesitate about talking about the BOM to some devout church of Christ people when I contact them on the street. I would try to relate to them by explaining that we believe in the Bible and stuff. I don't know why I was like that! This book is a "ball of light" to ANYONE who will sincerely read it! It has really changed my life and I realize now how much people need this book to get to know their Savior, to find a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26)

Anyways.....after zone leader council my buddy who is a ZL in Mississippi said he put in a good word with Pres. for me to go there! So i thought I would probably go there next transfer. But after the meeting I went up to President and just asked him what is happening ot me at transfers (not really expecting an answer), he looked at me for a good minute and said....you're training. This totally took me by surprise. I said "training....in searcy?" then he hesitated for a good minute again and then said "Yes!" It was weird because it seemed like he just kind of made that up on the spot but thats what he told me so I may be training here next transfer! Who knows!

Anyways hopefully this email works today! Thanks for the letters Grandma and Grandpa! There is and Elder Rushton in this mission to! Crazy! Mom thanks for the cookies and everything! They were so good! I love y'all!

I can't wait for Kylie! she better be studying PMG and the BOM everyday! she will be a great missionary! Anyways.....i gotta go but I love you! have a great week! next monday we will know if i am getting transferred or not!
                                                     
The Johannsens! They live out in Beebe and they had us over for dinner! Sister White put a whole bunch of pics of us on fb i think so maybe you can find them there who knows! Our ward is the coolest though! Mom......thanks for getting me out here. This mission was necessary for me. I love this work. I love you and our family too. I hope you are reading every day with each other.
 Fell out of my chair!
 Elder Boyer in front of our favorite Donut Shop.  They gave us free donuts!!


Monday, September 23, 2013

THE MOST STRESSFUL/SPIRITUAL WEEK EVER!!!

Hey Family!
So how was your week? Mine was the most stressful/spiritual week ever! I'll save the best for last so i'll talk about the stress part first! So if anyone ever thinks that as a missionary the spirit just follows you around 24/7 no matter what......you are wrong! I thought that for a long time but a missionary has to strive for that spirit just like anyone else. This is why effective studies are so important. If you don't have a spiritual experience when you study where you are learning from the spirit it can throw off the rest of your day. So it can be really stressful as a missionary when you feel like you do not have the spirit with you, because you can't teach without it. (D&C 42:14) Times like that are hard but they are necessary because they teach me the importance of constant prayer and constantly "treasuring up the word" in my heart. Helps me stay focused! Anyways...Elder Boyer and I were able to have some bomb experiences the last couple of days! It all started with one of our investigators named T who is a straight up G! Well he used to be...but now he is livin' the family life. He has a girlfriend and 3 kids together with her. He also had a baptismal date for this next saturday. So we knew before he got baptized we needed to teach him the law of Chastity and either get them married or one of them moved out. We were pretty nervous for this lesson because it was kind of a make or break deal. So we went over there on friday and we had plan to teach him a different lesson, not the law of chastity, but the spirit told us we should teach him it right there so we did.....more like the spirit did. We didn't do that much but thankfully the spirit was able to testify to him and it is a commandment of God. He told us he needed to obey it and he wanted to so he could get baptized! It was awesome!! I don't think Elder boyer and i ever talked less in a lesson and yet I don't think more was ever accomplished than in that lesson. I literally watched T get taught by the spirit, I saw a change working within him. My testimony and faith in the spirit grew a lot during that lesson. I had another cool experience with T after church on Sunday. So during church I felt prompted to set up an appointment with him and Bishop for right after 3rd hour. I didn't know why or what they were going to talk about but I knew they needed to talk! So after Priesthood I brought T into Bishops office and us 3 sat down and started talking for a little bit. Bishop Mcgrath asked T if there was anything he needed and then all of a sudden T teared up and started telling Bishop about his life and how he wants to be better but he doesn't think he can. Bishop told T that he sees him being a Bishop one day, and this completely shocked T. I don't think anyone has ever had confidence in him like that before. T started crying and Bishop and I almost did too! This is a guy that had lived a life out on the streets in a gang since he was like 12! Now he is 35 and he was able to find hope in himself changing. It was a pretty crazy experience. One more spiritual story: C, the balla, the homie, our awesome investigator,  finally was able to get his wife J to church today. J is pretty awesome but super hard headed. She refused to go to church and she is just really stubborn. Her personality reminds me a lot of Christies for some reason. ha ha I don't know why. But anyways I am pretty sure she is one of the people I was supposed to find on my mission. She finally went to church yesterday! So last friday when we were over at C and J's they got in an argument about something and J was like punching C (another reason she reminds me of Christie), and ya, C and j do not get along well at all. But when they went to church they were both able to feel the spirit really strong and it brought them so much closer together! They really were 2 different people after church. And we went over to their house yesterday evening and there was a new spirit in their home. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and it the spirit completely gave Elder Boyer and I the words to say. Afterwards J asked for a Priesthood Blessing to quit smoking. If you could have seen the look on our faces when she asked for that blessing! When we fist taught J about the Priesthood 2 weeks ago she just laughed out loud and told us we were insane! Now here she was asking for a blessing. I have been able to watch the spirit change peoples heart right in front of me this week! It has been so awesome! I love these experiences I am having. I love the people I meet out here and am so grateful for them! I love you too family and pray for you individually throughout the day. I am so grateful for all you do for me. Remember to strive for a spriritual experience everyday. SEE YA!

Monday, September 16, 2013

My sister got her Mission Call!

OREGON?!!!! THATS CRAZY!! She is going to love it!! Wow and she reports on New Years huh? That's pretty wild. I am so excited for her!! She is going to be such a great missionary. I am going to try to write her this week!

So this last week has been a roller coaster ride. We had our first zone meeting on Tuesday! Elder Boyer and I wanted to make it fun and motivational so we decided to have a theme......and it was super heros! ha ha It was pretty cool. Anyways President Petersen always makes acronyms for everything so Elder Boyer decided to base our meeting off the acronym SUPER. S- studies, U- using the Book of Mormon, P- prayer and fasting, E- extending invitations, R- relying on the savior. We decided that those things are what made a "Super Missionary" and so we based our meeting around those 5 things and went into depth about each one of them. I was pretty nervous to have to talk for an hour in front of the whole zone but I wasn't that nervous until President Petersen showed up! Him and Sister Petersen just walked into the meeting right when it was starting. I guess sometimes he just drops into zone meetings unannounced and of course he goes to the first one I am in charge of. It ended up being really good though thanks to the spirit. He loved the little activity we did too. We borrowed a long rope from one of our members and during the zone meeting we had everyone go into the cultural hall. We called up Sister Jardine (the smallest sister ever) to play tug-o-war against Elder Duron and ELder Cassler (2 of the bigger elders in our zone). Of course she lost so then we explained how she could not be a super missionary on her own. She had to do those five things. So we had 5 Elder with the letters S-U-P-E-R on their chests go on her team and help her and they won. Cheesy I know but it got them all into it and President and Sister Petersen loved it! So ya the meeting ended up going really well and President said it was one of the better ones he has been too and he is going to steal our acronym form us! ha ha

We didn't go on exchanges this week though because it was bike week for us and we didn't want to have to make someone do that. This bike week wasn't that bad though! The whether this last week has been so nice! There has been almost no humidity! It reminds me of fall up in Eagar.

O did I tell you 2 of our sisters have gone home for mono? And another one is about to soon! Elder Boyer and I gave her a blessing last night and I am pretty sure she is taking off tomorrow. I really hope Elder Boyer and I don't get it.

So last wednesday before ELder Boyer and I left our apartment we said a prayer together and asked to find someone that day who has been prepared for us. As we were riding our bikes that afternoon...nothing was happening! We had talked to so many people and had door after door slammed! Then we saw this guy sitting on his porch and we rode our bikes over to him and started talking to him. His name is Tony and We invited him to the church that night to play basketball with some of our ward members. He came and brought 2 of his friends! He was scared to go in the building at first but we got him in and he loved it! He came to church last sunday too and stayed for all 3 hours and participated a lot in gospel principles and Elder quorom. Our ward did such a good job of fellowshipping him. After church our Elder quorum president Brother Brown (the coolest member ever), ran him down and invited him to family home evening for tonight. So tonight I am going to teach Tony and his family the restoration at Brother Browns house! I am pumped! I say I because Elder Boyer won't be there. he has to got to Cabot and stay with one of our Elders that has the chicken pox.

Earlier this week we had a dinner appointment with some investigators that was really good. They are a young couple and they both teach at Harding. They know there bibles really well and we taught them about the Book of Mormon and they committed to reading and praying. They made us the best brownies ever too!

Also we had a lesson in Bro. Busbeas home. He is in the stake high counsel over missionary work and we taught 3 investigators in their home on Friday night. The spirit was really strong, especially when Bro. Busbeas family started bearing their testimonies at the end. I know all 3 of the investigators felt the spirit. It is amazing to see the spirit change a person during the course of a lesson. One of the 3 investigators excepted a baptismal date and we are working with the other 2. I love teaching in member homes! Family.....I hope you are constantly inviting missionaries to have lessons in your home and investigators to come be taught in your homes. Lessons are so much more effective this way. When you are teaching the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in an environment where the spirit already dwells, miracles happen! This is why its so important to center your homes around Christ and constantly be having family prayer, scripture study, and home evening. You can tell if families are doing these things from the moment you walk into a home. That's why I am so grateful the Busbeas are doing those things! They provided a perfect environment for the spirit to teach. Man I love missionary work!

This is a picture of a football plate of food that Brother Davis made for me.  He is one of the coolest members ever!  He and Dad would be best friends!  They both like the same things, Football, Working, and Food!  He is so Cool!  That is one guy I am really going to miss when i am transferred.                                                                    


Anyways I love you all. Congratulations Zach!! Feel free to write and tell me about the ol' ball and chain. Family, I love you all. Thanks for all the support you give me. Aunt Becky thanks for keeping me updated on Macy! She is amazing. Grandma thanks for writing me. That letter meant a lot! And thank you great grandma Slade for the card! Talk to y'all in a week!


Monday, September 9, 2013

Riding with the President Petersen



HEEEEY FAMILY!!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!! Wow 25 years huh? That's crazy!!! Well it sounds like everything is going good in AZ!! I can't believe Kylie has already been assigned. She is going to South/Central America! Anyways this week has been one heck of a week. First off, one of the Sister Missionaries in Searcy got sent home for mono a couple of days ago. And the other sister is getting tested for it. Sister Wilcox is one of the sisters who served in Searcy before I got here that got sent home for mono. And now she is back out and back in Searcy! So we are pretty much known as the mono area now. So this last Tuesday I was able to go on my first ZL exchange and it was with Elder Merrill from Show Low! He came over to Searcy with me and it was a lot of fun. He actually goes home after next transfer. he ahs been out for like 21 months. Me and him had a lot of fun together though. I got to drive too for the first time in months! And guess what.....yes....I got pulled over! Not for speeding or anything like that I just forgot to turn my lights on when we were driving that night.ha ha Elder Merrill had a good laugh about it. Anyways on Thursday we had a Mission Council meeting in North little Rock for all the ZL's, Sister Training Leaders, and AP's. During part of the meeting the AP's asked me to do a demonstration for them. So we all went into the cultural hall of the church and they gave me a basketball and they said i had to dribble up and down the court 5 times making a basket each time, and they were going to time me. So I had to do that in front of everyone in my church clothes! And after that they put 3 tables in the middle of the court and they said this time I had to dribble around one table, under another, and over the last one while going up and down 5 times and I had to try to beat my last time. So I had to do that. I didn;t beat my last time though. My pants almost ripped down by the knee from sliding under one of the table but Sister Petersen fixed it. ha ha it was funny/embarrassing. Also during Mission Council President Petersen said that he was going to devote all his time to us this month to go out and teach with us whenever we wanted him too. Then he looked at my comp., Elder Boyer, and said will you use me this month?.....And Elder boyer said no!! President Petersen was kind of taken off guard and so he said why not? and Elder Boyer said "You scare me." ha ha I was so embarrassed. Afterwards we talked about it and decided we better use him. So the next day which was friday we called him and asked if he could go to one of our baptismal date investigators appointments and he said he would. So he drove out to Searcy and we went to the appointment and Lashinda wasn't there! She didn't show when we took President! So we decided to go drop in on some of our other investigators and we went and saw Daryl and had a really good lesson with him about the Book of Mormon. Him and President really got a long too and talked about hunting for ever after the lesson. This week has been pretty hectic. One thing I really struggle with out here is not being hard on myself. When things don't go right or when we get rejected I have the tendency to do what no one should ever do, and thats blame it on myself. It creates a lot of unnecessary stress. That is one thing I have been working on! So a couple of days ago we went out with Brother Busbea who is over missionary work in our stake. We decided to go over to the Beaumans home. they are a part-member family. The wife is a member that is less active, but the husband is not a member and they have 2 little kids. We talked with them a little bit and they invited Elder Boyer and I to lunch on saturday. So we went back Saturday and ate and then talked with them a little bit about the Book of Mormon. They both had concerns about the Book, especially the wife, and she is the member! As it turns out she had received a bunch of anti-mormon literature from a friend. So she was really skeptical. The husband was really receptive to what we taught and he has been wanting to go to church but the wife has not been helpful. And she is the member! She told us she is not going to push him to join the church because she has had a mom and 2 sisters who have married converts and then got a divorce. We then taught them about the Book of Mormon and how it can bless families and bring them closer to each other and to their Savior. They ended up coming to church yesterday!! It was awesome to see them there! And all the sacrament meeting talks were on the temple and eternal families!! It was perfect. I have really come to realize this last week the power in the Book of Mormon. I have been studying PMG chap. 5 and it talks about this power in detail. We have had investigators drop us and we have dropped investigators because they won't progress. All these investigators have on thing in commom though.....THEY HAVE NOT READ AND PRAYED ABOUT THE BOOK OF MORMON! This Book is so powerful. The Bible gives the account of Jesus's life and the atonement, the Book of Mormon explains how it works and how we can access it. I know that just as Joseph Smith said that we will get closer to God from reading this book and abiding by its precepts than by any other book. I have really come to love the Book of Mormon because through it I have come to know my Savior. Anyways.......a few days ago we were looking for Lashinda and could not find her anywhere. We drove around and found her sitting on the curb of the street with her face in her hands. We parked and went over to her and I saw that she was crying. We talked to her a little bit and she explained how she was going through a rough time and her and her fiance were going to seperate. I decided to read her Mosiah 24: 13-14 and promised her that as she is baptized that the Lord will lift her burdens and give her strength, we also testified to her of the love Heavenly Father has for her. I don't know how it effected her but i was really taught by the spirit that day. I know that Heavenly Father has a personal relationship with each one of us. When we come to earth we forget that but we are reminded as we strive to follow Christs example and make and keep covenants with God. WHAT A BLESSING!! I love you all. O and by the way tomorrow is our fist zone conference! I am freaking out! Elder Boyer and I got some cool stuff planned though! Anyways....thanks for everything that you all do for me. I love families. Especially mine! I am so grateful for all of you and how you help me. I am so so grateful I get to be with you all for eternity! Alright i'm pretty sure i'm getting carpel tunnel so i'm out! Deuces!