Mission Update -- 8/19/09

Sounds like another great week in Illinois! It also sounds to me like Elder M is very busy. It's exciting to read about all of the things they are doing. I want to know more about the Gladys Knight fireside! Sounds like they received lots of referrals, so that's fabulous.

Oh, at the end of his email, he refers to Phillips Park. I looked it up, and it's a park in Aurora (city he lives in now) with a zoo, gardens, and a golf course.

Here's his email:


Hey family,

This week has been great! Sounds like it's been pretty good for you too! Except I haven't heard a bit of news from Caitlin or Tay... How are you two doing?? School has started, right? That's gotta be pretty exciting!

Well, I've been doing well. I survived teaching Zone Conference and had a couple of great baptisms. We also had a couple nights of staying up SUPER late because of the Gladys Knight Fireside, and woke up extra early too!

Well here's the day by day:

Last Wednesday was pretty good. I can't remember what we did the whole day, but the evening was good. We went over to the Stavrons for dinner, which was great. After that, Brother Stavron took us over to Brother Christensen's home, where we split. I went with Bro C to a part members home, and Elder Denter went with Bro Stavron to visit the Gamboas. We had some good lessons, then came home.

Thursday was pretty good. We started it off with an interview for Jeremy. The Prestbury Elders came over to do that. After that, we all went over to Nancy's home, where she was interviewed too. After that, we had some lunch and did some planning for Zone Conference. We made a commitment checksheet for the Zone, and made it into a contest. I'll send you a copy of that, which I think you'll enjoy. After some planning, we went to visit Amanda. After that, we taught Solomon. After that, we went to the Neuders' home for dinner and a lesson. They're a really nice family.

Friday was pretty great. We had a great overall Zone Conference, which is great. The hardest part by far was managing time. We're instructed to have a lot of involvement from other missionaries, and sometimes they take way too long. After Zone Conference, we went to Prestbury to exchange with them. Elder Sorensen came with me to Naper 4. We went to dinner at the Glavianos' home, and took Ezra Nair. That went well. After that, we went to visit the Zacas. Kayla, a 10 year old in need of baptism, was excited and invited a couple friends in for a lesson. It went well, and the other kids want their families to be taught now too. Pretty cool.

Saturday was pretty good. We had to deliver a ticket for the SUV fireside [Gladys Knight fireside -- not sure what SUV stands for????] early in the morning, which took a while. After that, we got ready to swap back. As we were about to swap back, we realized we had no money for parking. We went to McDonald's to get some change, and there got stopped for having a fake $1 bill! Elder Sorensen got ripped off somewhere and had a counterfiet! It was pretty cool, so we went to a bank to get it checked out, where they said it was real, but we don't think it really was. We were super late to lunch where the other Elders were to switch, then all were comparing dollars to the fake, and ended up wasting some time. When we were done, we were ready to get Elder Williams, who came back for the baptisms. We then went to the church to turn on the water. It turns out that the air conditioner at the church was out, and the water was all hot. The whole baptism room was a sauna. It was pretty funny seeing Jeremy and Nancy step into the jacuzzi of a baptismal font! It was also a really great service. After this, we stayed up really late because we have people call into us every night. The second showing for Gladys Knight started at 8:15, and was in Hyde Park. We got to bed at about midnight...

...Then woke up at 5:30 to get ready for PEC. It went well, as did ward council. We also had a great church service. Jeremy and Nancy were both confirmed. After that, we did some studies, then went to teach Nancy. After that, we went over to the Clarks' for dinner, which was great.

Monday was great too. We started it off by teaching Kim at the Neilsens. She is not really progressing, but hopefully will start progressing soon. After that, we taught Solomon. After that, we had a cancelled appointment, then did some stop bys and finding. After that, we went to the Tevagas for dinner. Sister Tevaga is the best cook in Naperville. They're polynesian, and know how to cook! After that, we went and taught David.

Tuesday was pretty good too. We left the house before studies to pick up the Gladys Knight referral packages for the Zone. Our Zone got 22 referrals, and we got 4, which is awesome! One of them is the parent of a kid we tracted into that became a new investigator, but never progressed, and we never even mentioned Gladys Knight too! Crazy. Anyways, after that, we went to teach Jeremy. After that, we worked at the Hesed House. After that, we taught Mike C. After that, we tried to deliver some media referrals. After that, we taught Amanda. After that, we taught Nancy and her family. After the lesson, they offered us dinner, so we ate some steaks there! When we were at their house, a friend of their kids came up, and we taught him. He is really interested, and we set up an appointment to teach his family. That's pretty much the day.

Today should be good. We've got Zone Activity today. We're going to Phillips Park (look it up!). It's got volleyball, football, and a Zoo. After that, we've got splits with the ward, then exchanges with the Assistants. I'm going to the APs area tomorrow with Elder Aragon, who's from Phoenix. Should be good.


Anyways, I'm doing great, and am loving my time serving the Lord. Take care and know I love you!

Adios,
Elder Bradley E. McMullin


PS: A family just moved into our ward named the Matuchs. Brother Matuch was baptized by Mark Dorf, who's in our ward... right? They showed me a picture, and he looked the same. If he's in our ward, tell him Brother Matuch's doing alright! [The Dorfs were in our ward, but moved some time ago. Too bad. Brother Dorf would probably have liked to hear about Br. Matuch!]

PPS: We've got a Brother Davis in our ward that knew President Christensen from the Tempe 10th ward really well too. He was a Bishop over in the Tempe South Stake, and worked with him. Crazy.

PPPS: We've got a family that wants to move to Arizona and live on 47th and Elliot.

PPPPS: I WILL SEND PICTURES TODAY OR TOMORROW IF I FORGET. I'VE GOT SOME GOOD ONES!