My Last Missionary Zone Conference (Week #97)

 Monday, October 19, 2020

Today in Oklahoma, it's pretty gloomy and rainy. There is a mushroom factory nearby that often smells in the morning. The smell is different almost every time because they feed the mushrooms different waste materials. A lot of the trees' leaves are yellow, orange, and red. We're probably not going to go to Joplin today because of the rain. I think that I just had my last zone conference two days ago. I looked around, and I did not recognize any missionaries that I previously served with. Very few missionaries that I had served around are in other places in the mission and may go home around the same time. I realized that I was one of the missionaries at the zone conference that had been out the longest. That was kind of a dose of reality. 

Turning Twenty-one! (Week #96)

Monday, October 12, 2020

 I have been 21 for almost two weeks now,  and I still can't believe that I have been alive for that long. I was able to receive the birthday gifts that you sent. Thanks for the birthday gifts and cards and for wishing me a happy birthday. As for new developments in my area, the work is progressing, and I think the trend is still going up, just as slow as ever.  I think that I'm starting to get a better grasp of what things will be effective to do here. I have been finding some more success interacting with people over facebook and particularly in my area which is great. I've been able to have a few decent Gospel conversations with these folks.

This week was also interesting  because I got to be quarantined again. I had gotten in contact with a member in the ward that just now got covid. Luckily I'm officially out of it tomorrow. The mission let us visit with other missionaries today regardless. Other than that, I think that's most of what has happened to me this week. 

I'm Staying in Miami, OK (Week #95)

 Monday, October 5, 2020

So now I actually have a few things to talk about. I am staying in Miami so I think that I will for sure finish my mission here. My trainee is being transferred. I am getting a new companion that I already have met wich is a first for me. I will start looking for a bike box promptly. I have not received my voting ballot yet, but I'm looking forward to getting it. Miami has started to look noticably polarized with Trump and Biden posters, fliers, and signs everywhere. 

It's getting pretty chilly up here. I'm not looking forward to cold weather. Conference was very good. There were a lot of talks on unity, getting along with others, and working through adversity . President Nelson's talk was pretty good. I have felt a small resurgence of energy. I could be doing a lot better as a missionary I think, but I am not doing the worst. At least I hope not. Being a missionary continues to become more challenging for me, but by continuing to make consistent efforts I think that I can finish strong. There are still some people that I need to help in this area. 

Thanks for continuing to pray for me. 

Teaching and Serving (Week #94)

Monday, September 28, 2020

This past week has been a decent week for missionary work. If things work out, we might have a few new people to teach this week. We have a few unique service opportunities come up this past week such as digging a trench to find a sewer line leak and cleaning up a broken down fence. We'll also have more service lined up for this coming week. I'm hoping that everything will work out and I pray for strength everyday to keep going and to keep my head up. 

I've sometimes thought about why the calling of a missionary is even a calling because it is members that are encouraged to find people who are ready to hear the gospel.  It's also the members that do the most reaching out and ministering. What has helped me to see why the calling of missionary is a separate calling is when my mission president said that it's like the role of a Nazarite in a sense. The nazarites where supposed to follow the same commandments that all the other Israelites were supposed to follow, but they had to live up to certain standards that were different such as not cutting their hair and never drinking alcohol. Missionaries kind of do live according to a different standard similar to the Nazarites just not in the same way. That helped me see how missionaries are different. 

Beat by a Mower! (week #93)

Monday, September 21, 2020

This week has passed safely. I'm looking forward to this coming week. We're teaching more lessons now. We've decided to ask members if we could teach practice lessons with them so that we can stay in the right mindset. The work is maintaining its slowness. But we think that it will help members become more involved in missionary work somehow, and it helps us stay focused and improve our teaching skills too. 

The trees are starting to turn different colors now, and it's gotten cooler. I am not excited for this winter. They say that Oklahoma winters can be rough sometimes.

 A funny incident happened not too long ago while we were mowing someone's lawn. We were using the person's lawnmower, and we were having trouble getting it started. A kid was telling us how to do it because there was a special trick to it. I thought he meant to grab a metal wire that extended to the starting cable. I didn't understand what he was saying, and so I adjusted it. As I did, I noticed that every time my companion jerked the starting cable back while I adjusted the wire, the engine started going. It was working, and then I adjusted the wire all the way, and I got a huge jolt that coursed up my arm. It threw me back, and the mower started with a bam! I guess it was connected to the spark plug or something because that shocked me really good. My right arm was sore for the entire evening. Ha, ha!

Zone Meetings Pics (Week #92)

 Monday, September 14, 2020

I am excited to go through this coming week. I have some ideas  I want to try for missionary work. 

I've enjoyed the last few chapters in 3 Nephi from the past section in Come Follow Me. I think that it would have been a great time to be a believer at that time. I read in Doctrine and Covenants that "signs follow those that believe." It also turned out that the non-believers didn't seem to expect that those signs would actually happen.

The Wheat and the Tares (Week#91)

 Monday, September 7, 2020

The highlight for this week is definitely church starting back up in our area. I don't think it's been just missionaries that have been feeling tired. I think a few of the members have been tired as well. Because it was a fast and testimony meeting that day, the ones that went up to bear their testimony were very emotional, and I can't blame them. 

I've been asking myself questions lately, and one of the questions that has been foremost in my mind is who are the ones that are truly faithful? The Lord gives a parable about the wheat and the tares. It's interesting that he chooses this scenario for His parable because when the crops are first planted, no one can identify the tares successfully from the wheat. This can only be done during harvest time. So the wheat and the tares grow together. This has led me to think, what if there are members that are not actually faithful? What if the people that we have looked down on or think are not good members of the church are the ones the Bridegroom has in fact chosen? Then again, what if they're actually what we think they are? How do I know if I am faithful? How do I know that I can stand before the Father without my conscience convicting me? It says ye shall know them by their fruits, and it's supposed to be simple. How can you know if the fruits you give are actually good? How many people actually just go through the motions and their heart remains unchanged? I don't know. I actually don't think we'll ever truly know till harvest time or when the Lord comes. Then He will separate the wheat from the tares.

Social Media (Week #90)

 Monday, August 31, 2020

I liked talking yesterday. I really like being able to call at least once a week. I never would have thought that it would be possible on my mission. My mission seems different when I started versus now. I'm glad that the mission has changed over time. I've become more familiar with Facebook. I'm not sure I'll ever want to use Facebook again when I return though. I have also heard that Facebook is no longer a common social media platform that people use right now. Some say that Instagram or snapchat is more popular, but I wouldn't know because we're only allowed to use Facebook. It sounds like the younger people use Instagram more than Facebook. I think the weather is starting to get a little cooler in Miami. Not by a lot, but I think fall will be here very soon. 

Our mission is starting a new proselyting initiative called "Be One." I'm not really understanding the vision behind it entirely. The goal is to help individuals, families, and communities become more united with Christ. I think missionaries have been trying to do that since day 1, but I think that if I figure it out a bit more, its purpose will be more clear. This month's goal for the initiative is to help people prepare for General Conference.

Staying in Miami, OK for six more weeks (Week #89)

 Monday, August 24, 2020

I am doing good. I am staying in Miami for another six weeks. My companion is also staying with me. This will be the first time I train for a full twelve weeks. I don't know how many transfers  I have left, but I'm not really trying to keep count. I finished my BYU endorsement application too. The work in Miami has been picking up slowly but steadily. We're getting to know more people and we're in contact with more people now. I am excited for this next transfer, and I think that much good will come out of this it. 

Great Missionary Help! (Week #88)

 Monday, August 17, 2020

Last week was about the same as the first few weeks of this transfer but I have a good feeling about this week. I think that we're going to start seeing the ball move a bit faster. We're excited to try campus work. I think it will definitely add variety to the different activities that we're trying. We also have pool of people to teach. Not all of them are nonmembers, but a few of them are less actives. The mission is emphasizing less active work right now. 

The missionaries in this stake are really good. The mission President complimented our stake at interviews about its stability. That kind of gives us confidence. I'm really enjoying the area that I am serving in. There's nothing particularly spectacular about the area, but the people are great. I'm feeling as if now is a great time for me to be a missionary, but I don't want to speak too soon, haha. I like the weather here right now in OK, but it's going to change here real soon. I saw a tree the other day that's already turning red. It has been hot, but not extremely hot. It's been hovering around the eighties and seventies for the most part except in midday. Plus we are usually inside a car or building most of the time anyway with air conditioning. I am just glad that it's summer so I'm enjoying it while it lasts. 

Our mission President said that when winter comes, basically most of our outside service is going to dry up. I think he's right haha. He suggests that we get a strong less active pool to work with in preparation for the winter, so that's what we're going to take up a notch this week. We're already trying, we just have to make this a more important focus. 

My Missionary District (Week #87)

 Monday, August 10, 2020

Missionary Video Clip (Week #86)

 Monday, August 3, 2020

Thankful to My Family (Week #84)

Monday, July 27, 2020

 I'm glad to still be out. Thanks for sharing ideas that I can do to better fulfill my missionary purpose. My companion and I have talked about a few ideas that we can do to make short videos that we can post to our facebook page. I hope that all of you are doing okay. I love you all and I just want all of you to know that I'm doing okay. Thanks for sending me letters weekly. You do better at that than I do. I am grateful that I have such a supportive family. 

Drawing on a Tree (Week #83)

 Monday, July 20, 2020

Serving in Miami and Neosho, OK (Week #82)

 Monday, July 13, 2020

Miami and Neosho are both unique places with many good people. We have an apartment in Miami and an apartment in Neosho. Occasionally, we've stayed overnight in Neosho. Usually we're in Neosho for service projects, or for a member dinner. 

The 4th of July was fun to watch last week. It was a full moon, and we could see the fireworks exploding in the sky around it. I am getting a new companion this week. I know nothing about him. All I know is that I will be training again. I am praying that all goes well with this. My companion is going to go to Neosho with a spanish speaking companion. We will stay be in touch because we are in the same district.

Just now, I locked us out of our apartment. We had to climb through the kitchen window which fortunately was open. That was a relief, because all of our keys except for the car keys which I had were inside our Apt. That was really a tender mercy.

Preparation Day (Week #81)

 Monday, July 6, 2020

We are cleaning our apartment today.

My New Companion (Week #80)

Monday, June 29, 2020

My new companion was born in Bolivia and raised in Utah. We were cleaning in our regular outfits just for this one time though. We were helping this sister trim a rose bush at the ward activity.

The Sacred Grove in My Area and Quarantine (Week# 79)

 Monday, June 22, 2020

Pictures Of Oklahoma and Quarantining (Week# 78)

 Monday, June 15, 2020

I am doing good. Quarantine is not the most fun thing in the world, but we received some hopeful news that we might be able to go for a hike. We're crossing our fingers hoping that this will be the case. On the positive side, our apartment is very clean, and we have plenty of food to eat. There are also other missionaries living close by that are assisting us with errands too. 

They are doing missionary work now almost entirely on our phones. Because I'm using my phone so much, I'm realizing that I could have done a lot of the same work when the virus wasn't even around. Maybe I could have found more opportunities. Who knows. 

Oklahoma (Week #77)

Monday, June 8, 2020

 I am settling into Oklahoma pretty well. For service last week, my companions and I did lots of indexing. It's basically the same as doing lots of paperwork. We are trying to find other service opportunities in the area that we can try. A fun one that missionaries have done in the past was doing service at a unique place called the Coleman Theater. It's a playhouse that's been around since the early nineteen hundreds. The missionaries would volunteer to clean the outside of the building and do other basic maintenance. The theater is closed right now because of the virus. 

Yesterday, I viewed a post that our mission President put on our mission Facebook page. The post was a video about the community service missionaries have been doing in the different regions within the mission. The people in it were mostly leaders of service organizations. They were talking about how beneficial missionaries have been in helping their organizations. I was pretty excited to see an organization head that I had known in Springfield. Everything he said about missionaries was positive. That made me pretty happy. 

Check out 3 Nephi 15:9.