Called to Serve

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!





Monday, September 2, 2013

Seven New Investigators!

Hey what's up family! So what is up today?? This is elder Boyer!!! I am serving with your son elder Udall all I gotta say about him is that he is the man the myth and the legend he is tearing it up here in Searcy. People actually like him considering that he is a red head. But hey we're gonna baptize soon so don't worry about us were Doing good! Keep it real. E. Boyer.

Hey this is Elder Udall now! So this is going to take forever to type because I'm doing it on bishop Mcgraths iPad! Anyways.......are Kylie's papers really in? That's crazy!,! I am going to have to guess..........Argentina! Or somewhere in South America for her. That's exciting stuff!.

So this week was awesome/busy/stressful! Elder Boyer and I got called as zone leaders so we have a lot more responsibilities now. And it's pretty much impossible to get to bed on time! Some awesome things happened this last week though! I got a blessing from a woman! Ha ha crazy story. So we met this girl and she told us she has read the Book of Mormon 3 times and knows its true and we were like.....sweet! So we went back to teach her a couple of days ago and it turned out she was pretty....interesting. We having a hard time convincing her that she does not have the priesthood and like halfway through the lesson she just stood up and started like giving me a blessing. It was so weird. I didnt know what to do so I just sat there.

Last Thursday was really awesome though! Well at first it wasn't because all of our set appointments dropped that morning. So we decided to fast to find investigators with real intent and since we had nothing else to do we walked neighborhoods that whole day and worked straight through lunch. We found 7 new investigators that day and got return appointments with all of them! On a Thursday afternoon! Which is typically the slowest part of the week! I know without a doubt that when you make sacrifices and humble yourself The Lord is going to do his part. It was seriously a miracle. We also  were able to find a family this week,  Luwayne, Lashinda, and D'aveon! They are really nice and sincere        
And they came to church with us this last Sunday! The craziest part is that Lashindas mom moved here last week from Denver and she is a member and we just happened to find them that same week!! This is why without the spirit this work would be hopeless. I know Heavenly Father led us to that family.

Arkansas is so much fun to live in this time of year!!! On Saturday  EVERYONE had Razorback shirts on. Seriously everyone in town. And everyone had razorback stuff on their lawn and porch. It's like Christmas for college football! It is so cool! Anyways how's is everything going in RV? Sounds like Ryan's game was a nail biter! How is Kate doing in middle school? How does Kylie like EA? Cammie I wrote you last Monday and your letter has been in my back pack all week! I am sending it today! How's Christie and trev doing with school? Give me the details! I love you all so much. I miss you but there is no where I would rather be, and nothing I would rather be doing. I love this Gospel and the hope and happiness it gives people! I have seen it change people out here and bring quality into homes and families

You asked if i had to travel alot more.  Yes! as a zone leader i go on exchanges every week with the district leaders in my zone and i go on one with the AP's. this week we are going to jacksonville. i am supposed to help them and give them advice and stuff on these exchanges but out of everyone in our zone i have been out the least amount of time so i dont know what i could possibly teach them!

Kylie is Gosple Doctorine Teacher! she better not be flirting with anyone! especially thatcher boys. i did my first baptismal interview a couple of days ago. it was awesome. it was for this girl in lonoke who is about 18. i told her she was awesome and she said i am the 2nd person to ever call her that. i asked who the first was ans she said the missionaries who started teaching me. it made me sad because she has a hard life but she is an awesome girl! she also prayed for the first time at the end of our interview. she didn't want too but i told her i wasn't leaving until she did! ha it was good stuff.


thats so cool! dad is awehnfhbdbrhbfdgtrhfdbcjhfngchgsgmdxjfjhcvjmkjhvhgmdfhgmxkyxmhgcgjhxk,c h,gcmhfgzhnlskadvnl/askjnvl/sjadbvl/jasdbvl/asjdbvl/asjdbv/asjldbvl/sajdbvls/jdbvwl/jdBVWd/hiouhjmgxymhckhcvkjb hey elder udalls mom this is elder boyer your sons companion. yeah I am pretty cool. But your son is cooler than i. love ya lots. elder boyer.........lkadsbfjhasdvfjhlsbfjkvbszkvjbsdjkvcbsdkjvb sakj kjsb kjasbvckjsadcb vbksjavksjvb kjasdfvhgsaoudbfhlaksdvbnkja/sfdbvkasjd.vbkasjdvbaslj/dv
hey sorry! elder boyer stole my computer! i gotta go though! I am so grateful for you and dad and your examples! i hope you are able to have a missionary lesson in your home soon!

Tell Cammie i am sending my letter today!! man I love that girl! she is going to be the best mom one day!! I love you all so much! Later!