Mission Update -- 10/21/09

Things are going well! Elder McMullin's new comp. sounds like a great guy. Here's the update:

Hello,

Thanks for the email! I love to hear from you. It sounds like things are going well too. That's exciting Diane and Pat are coming down. That will be fun to take them to church to see Mookie's family! How is Grandma Boy doing by the way? Hopefully well. I got a halloween card from Randy, and have got to write to Snowflake! I'll get right on that. Please tell Randy and Lana I say hi too.

Well, things are going well here. The work is going so well. Elder Ahlman is my new companion. He is a great missionary. He's from Sandy, Utah. He really likes the Gospel, and football. We get along really well, and both want to work hard, so life's great. I talked to Elder Denter yesterday, and he is missing here, but he is doing well. We've got him baptizing Kayla, so he'll be coming back, which will be fun. The next day I'll be confirming her a member of the church.

Anyways, here's some of what went on this week:

Thursday was good. We went to transfers. It was crazy packed. There were so many transfers. President Roach was there too, because there was not a single missionary that came in this transfer. We've got a few coming in next transfer though. I took some pictures there which I'll send next week. This is Elder Gardner's last transfer. I really can't believe that. He says he's going to come to Arizona though & will see us and Elder "Snowflake" Stratton, which would be fun. After transfers, we had an appointment, so we came straight home to Naperville. We had a good day. We got tubed a couple of times, but then we had an appointment with a lady Elder Denter and I found a couple days ago. We were walking out of an appointment and she was sitting on a bench with her dog. We said hi, and she showed us how her dog could sing, then agreed to take lessons. So, Elder Ahlman went to the apartment complex and got buzzed in by her. We then went to what we thought was her door and knocked. A man told us to come in, so we did. It was the wrong door, but he wanted to learn about the Restoration. So we told him we'd come back soon, then taught the Singing Dog Lady, Alba. She ate it up, and agreed to meet the next day, and come to church on Sunday. We then went to teach Lorenzo, the man at the wrong door, and he agreed to continue learning and come to church too! We also did some stop bys and taught Brandon, and a few other people.

I don't have my old planner with me, so I'm not sure of all we did, but I'll give you some.

Friday was great. We taught a ton of people, and things just kind of worked out all the time. I can't remember who, days kind of mesh together out here without a planner. We did stop bys and tracting too though. Let's just say things went really well.

Saturday was pretty much the same as Friday. Great. We did have MCM, which was good, and a visit with the Adams. Sister Adams is now going to be our dinner calendar coordinator, which should be great!

Sunday was good too. It was pretty neat. We had our meetings and church, which went really well. A young woman brought 4 friends to church for a comparative religions class. We taught them, and answered a lot of questions for them. They enjoyed it, and hopefully will want to learn more. We're getting them copies of the Book of Mormon, and some other media. We had some good investigators there. Brother Pope is incredible. We had a lesson about templework, and he loved it. It was funny, the Zacas were running really late, so we ended up staying for the sacrament of another ward with them. That was pretty interesting. They marched up to the front row, so we followed them there. Darwin came, so it we were nervous they'd be wild. I made some quizzes for the talks, and gave them a prize if they got enough questions right... That kept them pretty calm. We had a good rest of the day. Sunday ended one of the most lesson packed weeks ever.

Monday was pretty good. We had district meeting, which went well. After that, we went out to tract for a while. We then took lunch, and decided to make a new map. That went kind of well, but we eventually just decided to use an old one. We then went out to do stop bys and find. We went to an appointment with the Gaffneys in the early evening, which went well. We gave a couple blessings, which were appreciated. We had Sister Brown with us there, which was nice. After that, we hurried over to the Capeners for dinner. We had pancakes, which were good. After a lesson, we went over to the Zacas, once again with Sister Brown, and taught Kayla and Sister Zaca. They're doing really well, and are excited for the baptism. They're going to bring in the extended family for the baptism. After that, we headed home.

Tuesday was another good day. We taught Amanda in the morning. She committed to talk to her boss and get Sundays off from work (she just got the job, and is in training). After that, we went to the Hesed House. They had us going on the computer to find potential jobs for the residents at the shelter. While information was printing, I went onto family search to look at our family history. I found out something incredible. Willard Glover McMullin, my Grandfather's Great Grandfather, the first convert in the McMullin line (as far as I could find), helped build Pioche Nevada. I'm not even kidding. After going on a mission to England, traveling west, and helping build the Saint George Temple, he moved to Pioche, Nevada and helped build it. You ought to show that to Diane and Pat. (see www.worthens.com/node/15) Well, the rest of Tuesday was really good too. We taught Mike C after the Hesed house. After that, we went over to visit Alba, and it started to get really good. She watched the Joseph Smith movie and liked it.... And accepted a baptismal commitment, and set a date for November 28th! Awesome! After that, we went tracting, and found a couple investigators. We also stopped by the Langston's home and were able to teach Charles, and give him a blessing. Eventually, we went to dinner at the Israelsens' home, which was good. After that, we went to teach the Matucks, who are doing well. That ended a good day of proselyting.

Today should be good. We're going to teach Alba at 5, and are going to the Popes' home for dinner and a lesson at 6:30. We're excited for it.

Well, you all take care. I love you, and appreciate all you do for me. Have a great week, and send me some pictures of the cruise! Send me a picture of Matt Bentz and his fiancé too!

I know the Book of Mormon is true, because I've prayed about it and got an answer. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. The Restoration is so important. Because of it, our lives can be improved with the knowledge and power of the Restored Gospel. I love our Savior, and am grateful for the opportunity to serve Him. Look for opportunities to help others gain a testimony of Him and His Gospel. Never be afraid to share your testimony. If any of us err, it is on the end of not being bold enough. A true measurement of one's conversion is their desire to share the Gospel with others. Keep it up, and endure to the end!

Love,

Elder Bradley E McMullin