Mission Update -- 7/15/09

Good update this week. It will be fun to see if he is transfered next week. It sounds like he thinks he will be. He's been in Frankfort for 4 transfers now. Here's his email:

Hello Family,

Thanks for the line of authority! That's pretty cool seeing who's on there. Thank you Uncle John! He hasn't got the Priesthood yet, but will get it next Sunday (probably my last in Frankfort). [Brad had sent us an email a couple of days ago saying that he was going to ordain Bob a priest, so he wanted his priesthood line of authority. Ed's brother, John, had that information on hand, so he sent it to Brad.]

Also, thank you everyone for the birthday gifts! I really loved everything (especially the signature and picture of Slo-Mo...hahahaha)! [Slo-Mo is one of our Mission Beach "characters". We see him every year when we are on the beach, and this year we had him sign a birthday banner for Elder M. and took his picture holding the banner.]

Wow, Dad says I'm getting transferred to Indiana... The consensus here in the district is that I'm going right up to the heart of the South Side for this big Gladys Knight fireside we're having next month... It's supposedly going to bring in 1000 referrals for the mission (the amount we typically get over like 6+ months). It's going to be crazy. I've really felt like I'm going up there too, but we'll see. I really hope I don't go to Indiana, but if I do, I'll do all I can to make the work move on over there!

Ok, here's the answers to the questions Dad sent (some of which I've already answered...):
1: Did I get both T-Shirts? No! I only got the one that says Club Ed. I have no clue what happened to the one from the bottom of the canyon!
2: Have I given them away? No, but hopefully someone else is enjoying the one I never got.
3: Did I get the letters from the kids in Santa Fe? Yep! Thanks for sending them! I enjoyed them, and I have never got 14 letters in one day before I got all those!
5: Do I cheat in Frisbee Golf? I used to do jump shots, but found out that you're not allowed to within 10 meters of the basket. So the answer is not anymore!
6: Did I ever thank Mom for my birthday gifts? Yes.
8: How long has Elder Hunt been out? Next transfer is his last.

Alright, there you go! The questions have been answered.

It's pretty crazy... I've almost been out for a year! Time really has flown by. I've been in Frankfort for almost 6 months. I'm almost going into my 4th area. I've now been 'senior companion' for the majority of my mission. I'm getting OLD! It's kind of sad seeing that this really is going by so fast. I'm excited for what's coming up next though!

Alright, well enough of that. Thanks for letting me know what's been going on at home. I'm a little disappointed that yous all (that's what Chicagans say instead of "y'all") didn't make a pizza for my birthday! [We had told him that we were going to make Chicago style pizza on his birthday. We ended up not doing it because we're still looking for a deep dish pizza pan!] That's alright though. I had a pretty good birthday here. I'm glad that all's well for Caitlin. I'm also glad Savannah's service went well. Thank you Dad for sending me a program.

Ok, well here's some of what's been up here:

Last Wednesday we had Zone Activity! It was really fun! We played A LOT of basketball. After Zone Activity, we went out with President Fredin to visit Adam. Adam's a less active member, and we had a great meeting with him. We also tried to stop by some other less actives, but didn't have any luck.

Thursday was pretty neat. It was my Birthday! We went over to the church at 8 AM to help Denny DeLaney, who's the nonmember husband of a now active sister, chop down a huge tree. It was crazy. He brought a backhoe, a chain saw, and a dump truck. It still took 4 hours! Elder Hunt and I just loaded up the sticks as they fell. It went pretty well. After that, we had lunch and got ready, then went over to visit Sharon Kodatt. After that, I showered and we got ready for dinner! Dinner was great. Elder Hunt's got a picture, so I should send it soon. I got a rib eye steak, which was superb. After dinner, Brother Giese took us over to the Cravens, where we had a new member lesson.

Friday was pretty great. It was the last day before Bob's baptism, so we had a final lesson with him. It went well, and he was definitely ready. We had our planning session and lunch, then went to visit Joaquin, who hasn't been coming to church ever since the Elders Quorum made up a rides sheet. He's doing alright. We had a good visit about daily scripture study. After that, we went over for dinner and a lesson at the Vines' home. They're great. NASCAR was going really close, so we could hear them driving. It was pretty crazy. We also saw Tony Stewart's car at Office Depot in our area (he's a pretty good driver). After the Vines, we went over to the Weichingers and had a good visit there. We set up a return appointment, then went over to the Youngs' home. We had a great visit about daily scripture study again. We've been getting people to develop daily assignment calendars. I'm sending you your own very soon, so be prepared!

Saturday was great! Before Bob's baptism, we went really early to the church to let some sisters in to clean it. We also stayed, and helped them clean the church. After a few hours, people showed up for Bob's Baptism. Everyone came into the Relief Society room, where Brother Vines conducted. We had hymns, a prayer by Kehaulani, a talk by Brother Erickson, then dismissed for the baptismal room. Bob is a pretty big man, so we were a little worried about the baptism. Elder Hunt was definitely lent some power from on high, and the baptism was very smooth. We had a fairly recently reactivated brother that got the priesthood not long ago as a witness, so that was neat too. As Bob and Elder Hunt got changed, Christine Guymon (the girl from my classes at BYU) lead us in some hymns. When everyone was in, Brother Swenson gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and President Hunsaker gave a welcome. We then had a closing hymn, and a prayer by Sister Swenson. Pretty exciting day. After that, we had a cancelled appointment, and couldn't get much going until the evening, when Lisa Young called us and said she had someone over. Her brother was in town, so we went there for dinner, a lesson, and service. Lauren just got back from girls camp, and was a zombie. It was pretty funny. It reminds me of that time Caitlin stayed up all night at a sleep over, and Mom didn't let her go to a birthday party. Cait was saying all sorts of weird things, and had no clue she was delerious!

Sunday was really good. Actually, it was really really good. We had 90 people in sacrament meeting! That's wild. It included 4 investigators, 1 potential investigator, 4 recent converts, and a good chunk of less actives / recently reactivated members! President Hunsaker's daughter, Elizabeth, brought a friend... Which is pretty funny because he told me a few months ago the second coming (or something else that extreme) would happen before she brought someone to church. I wrote her a big congratulations letter inviting her to invite her friend to take the missionary lessons. It was pretty funny, but serious too and it went pretty well. After church, we had an incredible MCM... 7 members and us! That's pretty great. The whole Branch is going pretty wild because of all the success here. The month of June equalled the last 3 years totals for baptisms. July has come off to a great start. We've been getting referrals too! 4 in the month of July so far, including one that is incredible that happened later Sunday! Ok, so back to the narrative of the day. After church, we had lunch with Brother Giese. He fed us some Italian Beef, which is pretty much a staple of life here in Chicagoland. After lunch, JoAnne came back to church for a new member lesson with us and Brother Giese. After that, we taught the Swensons a lesson about daily scripture study and helped them make a daily scripture assignment calendar. Then, the unbelievable happened. JoAnne called us and said she got us an appointment to teach her mother! The lady that was anti for the longest time, but as a fulfillment to prophecy accepted JoAnnes conversion, is now investigating the church! We taught the Restoration, and it went really really really well! She's noticed the change in JoAnne, and accepted our message. She's going to read and pray, and now we've got a return appointment tomorrow night (where JoAnne's going to bring 2 friends, and we're going to bring President Carlson of the Stake Presidency)! It's pretty great.

Monday. Monday was alright. We had District Meeting, which went well. After that, we went to the Browns for an appointment, only to find Amber was at Six Flags and Megan was at lunch. Bummer. We came home and made some calls and stuff, and tried to get things going, but nothing much happened. We studied, and ate, and prepared for our next appointment. The next thing exciting that happened was us going down to Peotone. Jacob Carlson came and picked us up to go down there. It turns out non-member Jean's non-member Mother was in town, so we had a double duty lesson. We had a really great discussion about the Restoration, and she committed to call the number on a pass a long card to get a copy of the Book of Mormon (and thus, missionaries in the home). We had a great Chinese food dinner, and a good time. After that, we had the long drive home.

Tuesday was pretty great. We started it off with an appointment with Brother Forrest and JoAnne for a new member lesson. That went well. We had a couple cancelled appointments, so did some stop bys. We had a great visit and lesson with the athiest, David Cullinin. We got a return appointment, and it all went pretty well. After that, we went to the Spencers for a Mexican dinner. Brother Spencer is going to come with us for a new member lesson with the Cancialosis on Friday, and Chris Spencer is going to come with us for 2 lessons tomorrow, so we went over how to teach those for their lesson. After dinner, we went to go visit and teach the Witts. We had a good, if brief, lesson with Jordan Witt, who's not a member. After that, we went to visit and teach the Logsdons, which went quite well. After that, we stopped by Trish, who had investigated the church a while ago. We had a great lesson, and set up a return appointment. Awesome. At that point, it was time to go home.

Today should be good. We don't really have any plans, but I've got a load of laundry in, and already took a nap. We don't have any appointments for the evening, which is pretty unusual, but will probably call the Greys and visit them. Should be good.

Alright, well thank you all for all that you do. The Gospel is true, and I'm so privileged to be able to share it with all I can. I hope you pray for, prepare for, and step up when you have missionary opportunities. This really is the greatest work there is. I'm grateful for the Savior's love, and love to help others apply the Atonement to their lives. Take care and have a great week! Study the scriptures, and forever repent!

Love,

Elder Bradley E. McMullin