Mission photo (week #36)

Hot Pink: my companion

Dark Blue: My District

Teal: Missionaries that I've served around and became good friends or acquaintances 

Purple: MTC companion

Purple/Blue: Previous Companion before current one

Yellow: Mission President and Wife

Orange: Elder McKay and Sister McKay (Elder McKay is the one that gave the talk, The Immediate Goodness of God in the last General Conference)

Service Stories (week #35)

Today, my companion and I helped a nonmember help another nonmember take some old furniture to the dump. We had another nonmember help us, because he had a fully functioning truck that we could use. We tried to get all the furniture into one load which we did, but going down the highway was kind of sketchy. We had two mattresses, one of them very bulky, one boxspring, two bed frames, two dressers, and a couple of other bits and pieces. Counting the height of the truck, the stack was at least 9 feet high. The guy helping us tied it down and then we were on our way. Doing that this morning kind of tired me out, but we got it done. 

The guy we were helping is trying to keep a pest control business afloat, but he's getting close to giving up on it. He currently has no other job, and he's taking care of six kids. We're not always entirely sure how to help him. We had him meet our mission president, and the mission president thinks that he's a special one.

.................................

This week has been interesting to say the least. I did some things that I never would have thought would have been mission material, ha, ha. My companion and I finally got to visit a guy that is not a member that likes the missionaries. He had gone on a mammoth vacation for the past two months and so we were not able to see him for the longest time. Finally, he returned and then he asked us to help him help one of his friends clean up some old property that was intended for sale. While we were helping, we the nonmember talked to us about a talk show that he helps out with called "The Mystery Hour." He got into it one time when his motorcycle got stolen. I forgot how that exactly tied into him being involved with it, but anyhow, cutting to the chase, the director of the show asked him to be on the show to which he said that he would prefer not to be on it, and instead help out on the behind the scenes. So they let him do that. At first, it simply started out as a basement gig, graduated to some space on the radio, and now, it's fully televised in seventeen markets across the country, most of them in the midwest and south and one isolated one in Oregon. 

So this nonmember asked us to help him on the show, and so we agreed to help him. It was weird. My companion and I were kind of like his "runners." He had us tape off seats in the theater, and he had us usher people to seats. After doing that, it was basically pretty laid back. We watched two entire episodes of this show. I had never really seen a talk show, so I got to see how they make them. They had cameramen filming the stage from three or four different angles. The audience is there for laughing noise. A lot of the jokes were not super funny, but the audience is encouraged to laugh as hard as they can even though something may not be so funny. I though the way some of the people laugh was pretty funny.(Ho,ho,ho,ho.) I also got to meet one of the actors in the lunch room. I didn't even know he was going to be on the show, ha ha, but it turns out he was from Orlando, Florida. I had never heard of him. His first name was Orlando and he's supposed to be a well known comedian. He asked us about what we do as missionaries. I also got to meet the screenwriter and stuff. They also had one of the actors from the movie "Sandlot." The nonmember said that he had tried to get Lindsey Stirling, but he said that she was too expensive. 

The show was kind of like Studio C a little. Not as good, but similar vein of production. It was kind of fun to see the makeup stuff and the room where the actors hang out and stuff and the hustle and bustle. There were lots of technicians and cameramen. Anyhow, I thought that Analia, Erica, and Ethan might like to hear about that. They film the show in the downtown in Springfield. It kind of has a cool feel to it, but you got to be careful around there. 

Recently, we also had a zone conference with a seventy, Elder McKay. Elder McKay was pretty clear about his message. He wanted us to step up our efforts. He said that this mission could go from a twenty five baptism mission to a ninety baptism mission. He also discussed a few other topics about the scriptures and teaching. It was a good meeting. The Ava elders stayed with us after zone conference because the truck got in a wreck again. This is the third wreck that it has experienced in it's first year of service. Ha, ha. This time, it was a deer.

Zone Conference (Week #34)

Aug 12, 2019

Face to face with the family (Week #33)

August 5, 2019

Another leadership Conference (Week # 32)

July 29, 2019

Friend from Ava (Week #31)

July 22,2019

I hope that everyone has had a great week. Something really cool that happened is that one of the recent converts in Ava that I became good friends with has moved from Ava into the area that I am serving in now which is Chesterfield Village. Now, we contact him just like when I was in Ava. I thought that this was a pretty cool thing that happened. Also, I have attended a Ward Council for the second time in my entire mission. Last week, my companion and I found five new people to teach. This week we found one. That's the up and downess of the mission. We bike half the week, and drive the other half. On p-days, we do our shopping at walmart, and then we get together with other missionaries at the stake center to play Settlers of Catan. There are three wards that meet at the stake center: Republic, Southern Hills, and Chesterfield. Republic and Chesterfield are Elders' areas (or testosterzones as the elders like to call them) and Southern Hills has recently become a Sisters' area. It used to be that both Chesterfield and Southern Hills were covered by one set of elders because both areas are so small geographically, but now that's changed. 

I really enjoy all of your letters and thanks for continuing to send them to me. The work is moving along as usual. I love you all, and hope that you all will have a great week.

Games! (Week #30)

July 15,2019

 I will have learned more games than I care to remember.  I wasn't expecting that missionaries would be playing these many games. But you know, a lot of the people around here love entertainment. Sometimes, playing games is the best way to relate to others even though games are not your favorite things to do, but I'm adjusting. So far, I have learned how to play 

Magic: the Gathering

Settlers of Catan

Exploding Kittens

Train Robbery

A Space game that I can't remember the name of

D and D

Trash

And then some games that I know already

Slaps

Uno

And other various card games. My trainer loved games. His dad was a judge for Magic tournaments and so he knew everything there was to know about game theory. He taught me how to build a Magic deck and how to play against opponents and stuff and beating them. I have built a Dragon deck that I have been carrying around the mission. How it goes is that you have a life that equals the no. twenty. Then you have    mana     which is pronounced like mana in the Bilble with Moses and the children of Israel and so forth. The mana is basically your cash money. 

Then you have creatures. You pay for the creatures with the mana. 

You also have magic spells that you can cast. You also pay for that with the mana.

All of this is represented with cards. 

The goal of the game is to destroy your opponent by subtracting his twenty lives to zero. When it's zero, he's dead. You accomplish this by paying for creatures and spells and then throwing them at your opponent. Each of the creatures and spells have special abilities so they do their thing depending on how you want to use them. Anyways, it's supposed to simulate how it feels like if you were a wizard. At first, I didn't enjoy playing because you know how I am, but then one of the missionaries in my zone came on exchanges and he said, "I don't think that you have caught the magic of the game yet, and the reason that you haven't caught the feel yet is because you haven't built your own deck yet." It was kind of funny because it was like magic philosophy, and I built my own deck and still didn't like it any better really, but anyhow ha, ha, I have adapted because some of the nonmembers like to play it. Some of the missionaries like getting really powerful cards from nonmembers for free. Some of them are really expensive. Some cards cost fifty dollars depending on the quality of the card and its abilities. 

Anyhow, I will probably just play these games while on my mission and when I come home, I will return to my gamefree lifestyle. You can learn some interesting things from people, ha ha. There is a couple that we are teaching. One of them was Russian, lived in South Korea, and then married a member there and moved to Missouri. The member knows a lot about cryptocurrency and bitcoins. A lot of its explanation is beyond me but it was kind of intriguing. I learned from him that the first purchase done with bitcoins was a pizza for ten thousand bitcoins. Don't worry, I won't be setting up any bitcoin accounts, ha ha. 

East Zone Conference in Springfield (week #29)

July 8, 2019

Adjusting to the new area (Week #28)

 July 1, 2019

I've been adjusting well, but it's definitely a culture shock even though it should be more familiar than I should expect. The area that I am in now is basically the exact opposite of my last area. A good comparison to Chesterfield is Mandarin. There are lots of very nice neighborhoods with sizable houses in several subdivisions. My companion and I live close to the middle of our area. Also, it probably isn't even a tenth of the size of the previous area that I was in. There are probably just as many members  in Chesterfield as there are in the previous area if not more. There are a lot of young families and families that are sending sons off on missions. It's pretty easy to run into members in this area. Many of the members just live a few blocks from one another. All the people are very nice and remind me a lot of Oakleaf ward. We have done a lot more tracting than I've ever done before because there are so many houses. My new companion and I get along just fine. We share a vehicle with the sister missionaries that live in a neighboring area. We do not have a lot of miles to use, so we ride our bikes most of the time. I really enjoy riding bikes. There are sidewalks everywhere, so we usually use those unless there is no sidewalk, then we ride with traffic. It's pretty busy on the roads. There are a lot of people that live here. The city though is actually relatively clean. A lot of the members that I have met say that they enjoy living here. My companion and I are not yet clear on what plan we should develop for progressing the work most effectively here, but we're getting there. My companion has only been in the area for five weeks, and I've just arrived. President Strong has placed a lot of emphasis on creating area plans recently. We've kept ourselves pretty busy. 

Chopped Wood (Week #27)

June 24, 2019

This is from my last area, we helped this guy in chopping wood for him. All the wood behind him is missionary chopped.

Elder Flynn leaving Ava (Week #26)

June17, 2019

Pictures (Week #25)

June 10, 2019

"Fate" (Week #24)

June 3, 2019

One of the things that I have been wrestling with personally is how to help others understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ and grace. I have been studying the scriptures a lot more as a result. I have been learning quite a few different things. One of the things that I have been discovering is that many of the people that we work with have concerns iwith fate. Some people seem to think that they are consigned to a certain fate mo mattet what choices  they make. I have sometimes felt like that before, and I had kind of just shrugged off those thoughts and just kept going. Now these people are making me pause and face the concern. It's also interesting that our mission president really, really spearheads a theme of accountability, responsibility, agency, freedom, and just taking control of your life generally speaking. He often talks about taking a comfort path versus taking the pain path- meaning- the consequences of the comfort path lead to pain, and the consequences of the pain path lead to comfort, well not really comfort as in carnal security, but comfort as in maximizing growth, finding peace, reaching full potential, and having more choices. In the end, it's actually easier to take the pain path even though the comfort path appears more appealing- it seems comfortable, but the end result is pain, and the farther one progresses down that path, the harder it is to choose the right path. It also becomes more painful for one to get set on the pain path the father along the comfort path one goes. Ultimately it's like that scripture in 2Nephi:27- 27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. Anyhow, those are some of the things that I am learning. The mission president has told me that fate is not part of the doctrine, so I am very thankful about that.

P Day (Week #23)

May 27, 2019

I've been doing well. I have a new companion, and right now we're just taking a break from the normal rigour of the week. Two of the people that we are teaching came to church this last Sunday so that was pretty awesome. I'm pretty tired today. Luckily, we're taking it easy today. 

Other than that, there isn't very much to write about today. I have been better about writing in my journal for the past two days so there should be some things recorded in case I forgot about them. The weather is always very unpredictable. There's been lots of tornados recently, but we've been kept very safe from them and other storms. One of the people that we teach is a powerline worker. Last week, he accrued 82 work hours. Yesterday, he was pretty dead. 

Giving a Book of Mormon experience (Week #22)

May 20, 2019

I am not being transferred from Ava. I am staying another transfer. My companion , however, is being transferred to Mountain Grove just north of Ava. My new companion will not be a zone leader. This will be the first time in which I have a companion that isn't a zone leader. My mission president says that he is a really good missionary and that he has only been out one more transfer than I have. In the meantime, the companion that I have now is staying the zone leader for the stake and will just work from Mountain Grove which is closer to our stake center anyways. The mission president has been meaning to do that for a long time. 

Also, yesterday, one of the coolest things happened. My companion and I were down in Gainsville, and we were just heading out to go back to Ava when a guy comes out of his house to walk his dog. A lady that had requested a Book of Mormon a long time ago lived in the house that this guy was coming out of. We had tried to visit her before, but no one answered the door. When we walked up to this guy to talk to him, we explained that we intended to give a Book of Mormon to the lady that lived inside the house. They guy then introduced himself and said that he was her husband. We then asked him if he would give the copy of the Book of Mormon that we had for the lady. He not only agreed to do that, but he also said that he would read the book and even pray about it. He then said that we could come back next week to see him. It was the fastest turn of events that I have experienced so far in the mission. We were bracing ourselves for him to tell us off and stuff and we just barely explained what the Book of Mormon is and the guy had never encountered us before, but he decided that he wanted tor read the Book of Mormon. That made my companion and me both happy. 

We've been doing good. We have been finding more and more people to teach. We are going to be very busy this week and probably for the next few weeks of this coming transfer. I know that all of you have been praying for me. Thanks for your prayers. The Lord has been giving my companion and me a lot of work to do and I am thankful for that.

Elder Flynn Pictures (week # 21)

May 13, 2019

More Country pictures (Week #20)

May 6, 2019

Pictures of the country (week#19)

April 29.2019

Spring in Ava (Week #18)

April 22, 2019

Easter Pictures (Week #17)

April 15, 2019

More pictures: Zone Conference (Week #16)

April 8,2019

I'm still in Ava, Missouri (Week #15)

April 1, 2019

Dear Family,

It was really nice to read your emails. Thanks. The vegetable garden sounds cool. I have met some people around here that love gardening, crocheting, knitting, canning, quilting, sewing, and other things. The area around here now is starting to remind me of the Berenstein Bears tv show. Some of the people remind me of characters from that show. We meet with a lot of the older women in the ward. They all have lived exciting lives that I would never have expected. There is one member who is elderly. He is ninety-three years old, but he is incredibly active for his age. He only eats vegetables because he is convinced that meat is poisonous. He helped us lift a large entertainment center onto his truck the other day. He used to work for NASA on the lunar expedition projects too as an aerospace engineer. He also served in WWII towards the end of the war. He was a technician that helped lubricate and maintain turret anti-aircraft guns. By the time he finished training and made it to the front though, the war was almost over luckily. Interestingly, he has a mild case of Asbergers so he is very intelligent. He is very good at fixing things. Most amazing about him though is that he is always willing to drive us places and feed us. He has a big heart and strong commitment to the Lord. His next three neighbors are also members of the church interestingly enough. These neighbors support one another. The other neighbors nickname him dad, or like to call him that because he is always serving them. 

I have a new companion now. My other companion got transferred out, and I am staying for at least another transfer. Who knows how long I will be staying here. It's a great place though. I have really grown to love it. Hopefully, we can fulfill the Lord's will for this area for this transfer. I am glad to hear that everything is going well back home. I hope that Analia passes all her exams. I do not believe that I can call Grandpa because the announcement says only immediate family members.Tell Grandpa my best wishes. I love you all. Until next time...

Bingo! (Week #14)

March 25, 2019

It has been a busy and exciting week. As missionaries, we did lots of service last week. We served at a senior center and participated in a bingo game. I knew that it was a form of gambling so we just participated for fun so that we could fellowship with the people. We have met a lot of interesting people. All of them are retired and elderly so they have a lot of stories to share. 

I have met a person that has traveled all around the world. She had been in Africa and used to see Giraffes in her backyard. She has also been to Antarctica and knows what an emperor penguin looks like in person. She also is of native American ancestry. She is now in ole Missouri and will remain here probably for a good while. She says that living in this area is tough for her, and that she needs our help in certain things.

 I have also met a person that has just about done everything that could be done in life. He flew a plane at thirteen, and for several years, he worked on the oil rigs in the gulf. He even met a fellow employee who became a famous songwriter. I don't remember the name that he gave me, but he said that this guy would sometimes be so wrapped up in his music that he would sit hovering in his work helicopter above the launch pad on the rig. I also heard from him that during a hurricane, they weren't able to evacuate fast enough and so they had to stick it out on the rig. He said that the swells were huge and that at one point during the storm, he looked out over the horizon, or what was left of the horizon, and saw more than thirty water spouts churning up the sea. That was probably pretty scary to he honest. He also recounted how he did some risky feats when ships and boats would pull in at the rig. The life he is currently living now is a drastically peaceful contrast to what he lived before. Now, he farms. He said that he lives in Missouri now because land is cheap. 

I have also noticed that some of the people that I have met have traveled a lot and been to a lot of places. I have also met people that have pretty much lived in and around Ava their entire lives, which to me can also be hard to believe. One person that I have met used to work at an old uniform making factory. She told me that her family lived away from town and so when they needed groceries, her father would take what she called a potato sack which was very voluminous and then he would walk twenty miles to town. He would load it to the brim with various necessities and then he would walk the twenty miles back, walking through the woods over the steep hills because roads were not yet fully established. If I remember correctly, she said he would do this at least once a week. Anyhow, I find it amazing that these sorts of people can be found in a small community center in the middle of a small Missouri town. If you just took them at face value as elderly bingo players, then you wouldn't be able to tell what they've each been through in life.

Things are starting to look very green now. The trees have not yet budded their leaves fully. Today, our stake had a zone activity. I say stake because there are two or three stakes in our zone which is the East Zone of the mission. Currently, I am the only missionary from the eastern United States in our stake. The other missionaries are mostly from Idaho with the rest being from California, Arizona, and Utah. It was fun but tiring. I am glad to be headed back to Ava once again. Transfers have finally arrived. I am staying in Ava, and my trainer is being transferred to train another missionary in Rala. He is going to serve in a YSA branch near a college campus. This is the first time that he will be a missionary on a campus. I told him to beware of people like Mustafa... ha, ha. He only has six more weeks and then he's headed home. 

I will be receiving a new companion who will also be the new zone leader of the stake. Another elder is also being transferred to Cassville MO. In addition, a few other missionaries are being transferred so things are starting to look a little different now. The number of people that we will be able to teach is starting to grow a little bit more. Honestly, it's just hard to contact people because of busy schedules. I hope that I can remain humble enough to be able to teach effectively. 

General Conference was unusually more poignant to me this time. I suppose that is because of being a missionary or at least trying to be one. President Nelson was pretty clear about repentance and the hastening of the gathering of Israel. I noticed that there seemed to also be emphasis in particular on building homes as refuges. I then realized that emphasis has always been on these things all along. They are even more highlighted now though I guess.

My driving info went through, and I am now driving. One thing is for certain. These roads are definitely less busy than the ones in Jacksonville. They are, however, not in any means as flat. It's somewhat fun driving on the hills.  I am thankful and glad that I am part of a family like ours. I hope that God protects you all and keeps you safe, and I know that He will as you build faith in Him. Conference seemed to also emphasize building faith in Jesus Christ. The prophet and the apostles seem to want us to really, really rely on the Savior. 

Anyhow- I have started to see that some people do not have families in which they are assured loving relationships. I want to let you know that my testimony is growing, and that I am doing my best each day to strengthen it. Thank you all for your prayers for me. I love you all, and I will pray for you.

Love,

Elder Flynn

Sweets! (Week #13)

March 18, 2019

 I am glad to hear that all of you are praying and reading your scriptures daily. I like to remember scriptures too. I try to remember scriptures so that I don't have to make anything up when I talk to people about the gospel. There is power in reading and speaking verses from the scriptures because the scriptures are the Word of God. I actually read this morning in my scripture study this verse which I have read several times but it is still a good verse: 1 Nephi 15:23-25- And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree? And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. Wherefore, I Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things. I just really liked this scripture when I read it this morning. 

Anyhow, we now have our truck back. It is fully repaired and fully functioning. The mission office won't let my companion drive anymore so now I am the designated driver. I just need to finish my paper work to be the designated driver. We are both glad that we have the truck back. We will be able to go farther into our area now to see people. Last week was full of service. I think that last week, my companion and I each got nineteen hours of service which is just under double what we are supposed to get for each week, which is ten hours of service per companion. What we did was cleaning out and repairing this nonmember's house so that she could sell it. There was plenty of work for us to do. This house was all the way in Ash Flat, Arkansas- about two hours away from our area. The elders from Mountain View and the elders from Mountain Grove were helping out as well. Ash Flat does not have a set of elders. Ash Flat has a senior couple serving there. They are very kind. They bought us all  breakfast on Saturday morning before we went back out to work on the house. The place that they took us out to eat at was this interesting country restaurant that served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They had a wide selection of very delectable pies and giant cinnamon rolls. Man, those rolls looked good, but they were too big for me to eat by myself and while one of the elders wanted to split one with me at first, we decided to just eat strawberry cream pie instead. That day, we ate lots of sweets. The nonmember had kondike bars, drumstick ice creams, brownies, and chocolate cake. That was probably okay. I didn't get a stomach ache or anything like that, and this week is a no treats week because the entire mission is still doing the fitness challenge and this week, you can get five extra points if you don't eat sweets for the entire week.

The landscape is finally greening up because spring is getting closer. It's still a little chilly outside most of the day, but it's getting increasingly warmer. I am pretty excited for the warmer weather. It will get busier around the town square because of the warmer weather. More people are out and about. There are a lot of trucks carrying round hay bales that come through town. People also seem to become more cordial with the warmer whether. The sun has been out much more frequently which always lightens my spirits pretty good. I am looking forward for General Conference. The missionaries in the mission are all circulating theories about what is going to happen this conference. I don't like any of their theories, but either way... we'll see what will be said. I still am praying for the family. How is "Come Follow Me" doing? I have heard some interesting experiences from families that have been doing it here in Ava. Some say that they have had an initial rough time with it. Others seem to have just gone forward with it smoothly. I hope that it's working out okay for you. I have to admit that I haven't really been doing it. For some reason, I have lost my manual and so I am using my phone instead. The mission president encourages us to study it. It's not a huge priority like Preach My Gospel or the Book of Mormon in terms of studying for missionary work, but President Strong wants us to do it more so I am going to try harder to do it. When I have done it, I have found it to be great. I love you Mom! I hope that everything is going okay. 

Love,

Elder Flynn

FaceTime this week (Week #12)

March 11, 2019

The Missouri River (week #11)

I made it through transfers. I am glad that it worked out the way it did. I have to admit that I wasn't quite ready to leave Ava if I were assigned somewhere else, and I like my trainer. But all in all, I am doing fine. The weather is nice outside. It's very cold, but the sun is out in full. 

 We recently had a zone activity the other day. I don't remember the place where we had it but the area that we were in was very nice. Some of the landscape reminded me of where Grandma and Grandpa live. There are a lot of rivers around here and lots of little creeks. The water in a lot of them is clear and has this very nice blue hue to it. The water is freezing though, but they are the perfect rivers for trout and bass. I'll send some pictures of the place we went to for the zone activity. It was still a little chilly, and we waded in the rivers with bare feet to get to some cool caves on the hill side across from the shore. That water is soo cold. I honestly don't know how I did that. I never thought that I would wade in a river in Missouri in winter, but luckily my feet didn't fall off. Because a few of the elders in my zone are reading from Saints, I thought that wading across the river gave a taste of what some of the pioneers did excepting the fact that the pioneers did it in snow and went across much larger rivers. Anyhow, it was pretty cool. 

I am going to be in Springfield for three days while my companion is attending a meeting in Bentonville. Lynne G. Robbins is going to talk to him and other zone leaders and district leaders. Before I know it I will know the Republic area in Springfield almost as well as the area in Ava. I will be with my MTC companion again which I find interesting. Anyhow, you are right. I have felt a bit homesick, but I am doing my best to focus on the work. Hopefully, whichever companion I am with this week, I will be able to work in helping some more people learn about the Gospel whether they are in Ava, Springfield, Mountain Grove, or Mountain View. I want to let you know that you can feel confident that the Lord is watching out for me. I will pray for the family. I love you Dad, and I love the family. I know that the Lord will be with you in your new calling. Hopefully, it won't be as stressful as when you were a Bishop. Until next time...

I have so many stories jumbled up in my head right now, that I don't know where to start, and I can't remember a lot of them. I met a lot of new people last week, talked with people that I had met but had not talked a lot with before, and met with people that I am starting to get to know better. There are people of all types around here. Last week I had started to experience a little bit of what people who have lived in Missouri feel when the whether is not always at its best, but the work goes on regardless rain or shine and sometimes literally so. My companion and I are still on bikes, but our truck should be coming in fully repaired in the next two weeks or so. 

Thanks for writing to me. The family's letters are really rays of sunshine for me. I know that sometimes I do not write much, but I have to admit, writing letters can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. I am still going to try to do my best. 

My companion and I have managed to develop a relatively promising teaching pool in Ava. We have been on exchanges though a lot. First I am in Ava, then in Mountain View, then in Mountain Grove, then back in Ava, and then at West Plains again for District Council. This week, my companion has to attend a conference for zone leaders and district leaders in Bentonville for three days, so I will be in Springfield again. We are all over the place, but we do our best to do effective missionary work wherever we are. 

Right now in Ava, my companion and I are planning to hold a knitting night with the idea for members and nonmembers to get to know one another and strengthen one another so that perhaps we can gather some people to teach the Gospel to. We are hoping that we can get enough people to be a part of this event and we also want it to be consistent. Either way, I am feeling healthy. We are well fed and taken care of. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers. I will keep you in my prayers also. I love you Mom.
Love, Elder Flynn

Abandoned house in Ava week #10)

Here is a photo that I did take while in Ava. It's an old abandoned house with briars taking it over. There are actually quite a few abandoned houses around here.

My companion is in the picture. We took this picture while tracking.

Missionary training meeting (week #9)

Elder Flynn

I am pretty tired today. My letter may not be very long, but I will try to remember things as I write. I am not being transferred. I am staying in Ava and so is my companion. This week, we will be driving down to Bentonville for a meeting.

In Bentonville, they say sometimes that the milk costs only sixty or forty cents a gallon depending on where you go. The walmarts are everywhere there, and there are huge warehouses for walmart too.

I am happy to hear that everything back home is doing well. It will probably be awhile before it warms up here in Missouri but the weather has been bearable more or less lately. The sun has finally come out for a while. 

There are lots of deer around here. My companion and I were biking back to our apartment one night and we spooked at least half a dozen of them. Sometimes we have seen them in small herds out in the open on both sides of the road while riding in the car. Just as long as they don't hit the car or us while riding our bikes.

Because of the more pleasant weather, Ava has livened up a bit more. We have talked to more people when not tracting now. Hopefully that continues to increase. I know that I have still not taken pictures of the area, but it's just been kind of hard to find good locations to snap good pics. All in all though, the terrain is nice to look at and fun to drive on. In the town square, they have an arts and craft shop, a few salons, some small eateries(like specialty sandwich shops), and a movie theater. The movie theater plays free Christian films like I Believe, and I Can Only Imagine. I haven't seen any of them but I know this because we talked to the manager of the theater who recently bought it from someone else. She says that she really isn't in it for the money. For her it's more of a community service; thus free Christian movies. She said that we were welcome to share our beliefs anytime at a certain social that she holds. I thought that was intetesting.

Back in Ava (week #8)

I am now back in Ava. I got a little sick yesterday for some reason, but I am feeling better today. The past two weeks were very busy for me. My trainer and I went on exchanges with another set of elders in Mountain Grove. It was very nice up there. It was the second time that I participated in missionary work with three other missionaries. What happened was first they came to live with us for a day, and helped us in our area and then they stayed with us overnight. 

The next day, we traveled to their area and stayed overnight at their place. The idea was that more missionaries in one area would be able to speed up the work in that area. Because the entire West Plains Stake is basically rural, I got to do some service that I never thought I would be doing. For one, I helped muck out horse stalls (that was interesting). I also helped split wood for the person who owned the horses. In the evening of that day, in downtown Mountain Grove, I attended a gaming society meeting or something like that. The other three elders I was with introduced me to a game called Magic: the gathering. As one player put it: "It's like hypercomplicated chess" except with playing cards. Only two of the elders knew how to play, so the other elder and I watched. It was a card game tournament. Our goal with attending these game nights was to find people who want to hear about the Gospel.

In Ava, while the work used to be a little slow, it has now started to pick up thanks to the exchanges. My trainer also has managed to find some community organizations to do service, which is great because we now need to do ten hours of service per companion. We have found some people that we might be able to teach the lessons to. Hopefully, some of these people pan out. 

Today, my trainer and I are taking it easy a bit. I am still recovering from being sick, but I think I will be able to go back out tomorrow. I gave a talk yesterday in church. In addition, I am now an escort for an eagle scout who is a nonmember. I will be escorting this Wednesday at a court of honor for six new eagle scouts. Some of the people are nonmembers so we might be able to find new people from that event.

I got the bike intact on the mail. Nothing got damaged except for a rear reflector, but I think that the rear reflector got damaged when I pulled the wheel out of the box. As for assembling the bike, I got lucky. There were two other elders from another area with me because my companion and I had gone on exchanges with them. One of these elders liked building things and he offered to help me assemble the bike. Thanks for sending very detailed instructions. With the elder's expertise and your instructions, the bike is fully assembled and in good working condition except for the broken rear reflector. All of the elders really liked the bike. One of them called it the king of bikes. Thanks for sending the wheel guards. Believe it or not, there are a few dirty roads around here and I know that the bike will come in very handy. I am also glad that you purchased a mountain bike because the terrain is a little rough in some areas. 

The building where we live now is basically a giant warehouse type building with work offices in it. There is a game room and a karate room. It also has a kitchen for the office workers with lots of food left over from previous missionaries so we are well provided for. I have also met a few people out here that like to take their vacations in Florida or that used to live in Florida.

Snow and Ice (Week #7)

A lot of things happened this week that I never really saw coming. My trainer is a zone leader, so he has a lot of responsibilities, many of which I don't fully understand yet. One that I do understand though is that he had to conduct zone conference which was last week on Wednesday. We left early in the morning to drive the one hour trip to the Stake Center in Sringfield. It had snowed the night before, so there was snow and ice on the roads. The roads are very curvy because the terrain is very hilly. Especially on z highway, which was a backroad we took. On the way, we came to a very sharp turn, and my trainer could not make the turn. We plowed straight into a road sign and landed at least 30 or so feet off the road. My trainer said that it was the scariest experience he ever had. We were unscathed and ninety percent of the truck was intact. I am thankful that the Lord protected us from harm. 

The right side of the truck on its front was badly mangled. The right fender, the right headlight, and parts of the bumper were destroyed. The front axle also got bent out of alignment, and so the truck wobbles when it drives. Luckily though, the truck is not beyond repair. I kind local helped us drive it off. He said that the truck was drivable. As a result, we made it to Zone Conference.

Right now, my trainer and I have been marooned in Springfield for a few days. We leave tomorrow morning. 

Mission Map (Week #6)

My Mission President and His Wife (week #4)

Dear Brother and Sister Flynn,

   Your son has arrived at the Mission Home, has been well fed, and will sleep there or at the home of a nearby member who loves to pamper our missionaries.  Attached, as “proof of life” is a snapshot of your tired but excited missionary with President and Sister Strong.  Tomorrow morning, he will receive his (prayerfully considered) first assignment, then one of the mission vans will transport him to his first location!  He will be able to email you on Monday with his new address.  Let me reassure you that President Strong assigns his best missionaries as trainers, so your son will have a cream-of-the-crop companion.

   

MTC pictures (week #3)

I am leaving to Arkansas tomorrow. Today, I am doing laundry and packing. I haven't mentioned it yet in my other emails, but it has snowed a lot last week, and there is snow everywhere that has not yet melted. For the frst and second or so week while being here, it snowed almost every day and possibly every night. Some of the flakes were huge. My favorite snow day, I think, was on either the third or second Sunday. All the missionaries went to attend mission conference (stake conference for missionaries) in the gymnasium. On the way out, we were returning to our class rooms and there was a long line of branch presidents and their wives along with hundreds of missionaries walking towards T4, one of the main buildings. Many of them had pitch black umbrellas up against the snowflakes which were falling very rapidly. Everyone was kind of a blur with all the snow falling. It looked pretty fantastic. 

There are two new mission training buildings, and they are very modern architecturally speaking, and they are great places to learn and study. The rooms inside let in lots of light and there are ponder spaces located all over the buildings. Some of the ponder spaces have music boxes that play soothing rearranged instrumental hymns for you to listen to while you study. There are six floors in each building. There are also giant murals on the walls. The murals are snapshots taken from church films. I suspect some of them come from the new Book of Mormon movies coming out.

In T3 though, you can only go to floor three.T3 is for workshops and helping people who don't know about the Gospel.

I can't wait to meet the mission president. Here are some pictures: