Mission Update -- 11/11/09

I love Wednesdays!! Here's Elder M's weekly email:


Hello Family,

I hope all is going well. I hope you are enjoying the beautiful warm weather out west. It has been nice here lately, but today it's getting cold. I thing winter is coming for good now.

Well, everything's going great. Here's what's happened this week:

So, last Wednesday was great. We did some Zone Conference preparations and got ready for the week. We also went to the Stake Center to play basketball and football. I got a hair cut too. After all that, we went to dinner with the Adams. They invited over a friend to meet with us. We had a great lesson, and Carrie understood the Restoration, and decided she loves missionaries. It's really nice to have a dinner with people before you teach them, because that makes it 0% awkward. Not that it's awkward to just have a lesson, but it's pretty nice to develop a relationship first. She committed to come to church, read from, and pray about the Book of Mormon. After that, we went to give a blessing to the mother of a woman we tracted into. She was in the hospital, about to die. The blessing was one of comfort, and helped her to leave in peace (she died a day and a half later). It's pretty incredible, because this experience was basically prophecy fulfilled. Dad emailed me earlier this day and said,

"ELDER BEM, someone there in your area/zone needs to hear from you this week. It could be an investigator, a member, or it could be a missionary that needs some support. I am confidant that you will be somebodies angel this week. When you are in service of your fellow man, you are in the service of your God."

After we gave Glory Griffin a blessing, and had a prayer with all of their family, Denise (the lady we tracted into), took us aside to thank us. She said, "You came at exactly the right time. I see my two angels right in front of me." She expressed a lot of gratitude, and told us she wants to start coming to our church. The whole family was very grateful, and very positive - especially as we reassured them of hope in Christ through the Plan of Salvation.

Thursday was a crazy day. We woke up really early. We got dressed and ready to go to check cars for the Chicago Zone Conference. We met Elder Gedeborg at the mission office at around 7:15. We drove up to Chicago, and had a good time up there. It was nice to see all of the missionaries there, and to hear Elder Denter, and his companion, Elder Price, teach their Zone Leader Training. We only saw a bit of it though, because we were checking a lot of cars. One companionship baked us some cookies, so we gave them the top prize (they also had a clean car). That was pretty funny. After that, we drove back from the mission office and went to teach the Akrongs. They are progressing very well. We also went to dinner at the Popes and had a lesson there. He cooked us some Greek Beef Stew, which was awesome. After that, we went to have another prayer and lesson with the Griffin family. They were once again quite appreciative.

Friday was another long day. We woke up early again so we could drive down to Joliet to set everything up. Zone Conference went really well. We had great participation, and all learned a lot. Our Zone is doing extremely well. I don't want to boast, but it's the best Zone in the mission by far. After Zone Conference, we came back and did some stop bys. We got tubed, but still had a good day. We then had dinner with the Weislers, who are a great family that just moved into the ward. After dinner there, we went over to the Zacas for Kayla's baptismal interview. She passed with flying colors. Oh yeah, something crazy happened too. Elder Gates and Elder Houston (Prestbury Elders), got in a car accident. Elder Gates lost his driving rights, and Elder Houston didn't have any... So they had to emergency transfer Elder Houston out! Elder Williams came back to Naperville, and is now in Prestbury. We were really disappointed to see Elder Houston leave, but are happy to have Elder Williams.

Saturday was good. We went early to the Stake Center to meet with our Ward Mission Leader and help set up for the baptism. The Zacas were somewhat late, but they made it and it went well! We had Sister Brown give a talk, and she asked Kayla if she was scared. Kayla said, "yep!" After the baptism, she told everyone, "I'm not scared anymore!" It was awesome. Darwin is doing great too. He's a 9 year old boy, and is somewhat (actually incredibly) wild. After the baptism, we went on exchanges. Elder Williams came with me, and Elder Ahlman went with Elder Gates... To La Porte. Elder Ahlman had a baptism to go back to there. They had to book it over there, because that is incredibly far away. It went well though. Elder Williams and I went to Sister Drebenstedt's birthday party, which was great. Kim was getting a little nervous for a while, but we talked to her and she's doing great. After that party (and dinner), we drove over to the Rosas for dinner. We had a great dinner there, and a good lesson. They're great member missionaries. We've been giving members a challenge... One that I'll give you too. Make a list of 5 people that you can share the Gospel with. Then invite the missionaries over, and come up with plans of how to best share the Gospel with them. Do it, and tell me about it. Anyways, after visiting the Rosas, we went over to visit Brother Adams. He's ill, but is doing OK. They're coming to Arizona, and say they'd like to meet you. They're thinking of moving to a home on Elliot and 47th... So they'll be close by.

Sunday was great too. We had all the early church meetings, then went to make sure the Zacas were coming early. We ended up shepherding the kids to the car, and then caravanned to church. I was able to confirm Kayla a member, and it went really well. She was pretty excited. After church, we went over to the Housers. They had some Greek food for us. It was really good. We also had a great lesson with Kim, and set up her baptism. We've got Brother Houser baptizing her, and Brother Neuder confirming her. Having members do the ordinances is ideal, so we're excited. She's excited too. She gave us her coffee, and is ready to go! After that, we came home to do our weekly plan. We also did some finding too. After finding, we went to dinner at the Hoyts. Brother Hoyt is from Snowflake, and had Grandpa McMullin as a teacher! That was pretty wild to find out. Dad, do you know the Hoyts from Snowflake? They're an awesome family, and we had a good time there. They're also great missionaries. They're making a list of 5 names, and we're coming to help them develop plans to contact them next Sunday. After that, we did some stop bys, I believe. It was a good day. Mark Pope is getting excited for his baptism too. I'm not sure if I told you before, but he's flying his friend from Arizona out to baptize him. They've also got some relatives coming, and it is going to be great. It will be on the 5th of December.

Monday was a pretty good day. We had a couple of cancellations in the morning. We went tracting, and had the slowest day of tracting ever. It was ok though. We then went out to lunch with a companionship in the Zone. I challenged a missionary to improve his planner, and offered him some hamburgers if he did. His planner was incredible, so we took him to Taco Bell instead of McDonald's. After that, we had an appointment with Amy. That went alright. She is progressing, but not quite as fast as we'd like. We're going to continue teaching her though. After that, we went to teach the Akrongs with Brother Cooper. That was a very short visit due to some illness in the home. After that, we stopped by David, but missed him. We then went to visit Nancy, and had a lesson there. They're doing alright. Sister Drebenstedt likes Brother Cooper a lot, so it was great having him in the home. After that, we dropped Brother cooper off, then went to dinner with the Newcombes. They invited a neighbor family over for dinner and Family Home Evening. The Newcombes are an exemplary family. They are so great, and we had a wonderful time over there. The family had a good time too, and appreciated the lesson. They don't want to progress, but it was a completely positive experience. Even though the Gospel was rejected, the friendships were not damaged at all. If anything, they were strengthened because love was shown. The time is now to share the Gospel.

Tuesday was OK. We had Amanda in the morning. She didn't come to church, so we had to lay the beat down. Actually, we just made sure she knows why it's important to keep commitments. We just went through the reading that she slacked on. She wants to progress. After that, we drove over to the mission office for District Meeting, and Presidents Interviews. That went really well. After that, we exchanged with the Spanish Elders. I stayed in Naper 4, and took Elder Melton. He's awesome. We went to visit a lot of people, and had a pretty crazy day. We rushed over to visit Mike, and ended up teaching one of his neighbors. Shiela is a prophetess, street minister, and has a history of knocking out men. We built off of the truth she has, and explained our purpose is to help people gain revelation... specifically to find out that God truly has Restored His Gospel. She got that, and is going to read from the Book of Mormon and pray about it. She's a good woman, and we hope to see her progress. After that, we went to visit Alba. She's doing alright, but is one to pray for now. After that, we went to teach Kim. She's doing great. She's off coffee, and is doing great. She's drinking Coke though, which has been good to take care of the headaches she has in the morning. After that, we went to visit the Gaffneys, but they tubed us, so we went onward. We went over to the Gamboas for dinner, and had some great Mexican food there. They are making a list of 5 friends, and we'll work with that list next time we see them. After that, we went to teach the Matucks. They're doing great. They got a car now, so they'll have transportation. We gave them some study assignments, and answered some questions. After that, we came home for the evening.

Today should be good. We're going to the Robbins' home for dinner tonight, then going on exchanges with the APs. Elder Wilson is coming here, which should be good.

Well, I hope you have a great week! I am loving my mission. Things are going well. Please pray for my investigators. I'm grateful the Lord has blessed Elder Ahlman and I with so much work. I pray he blesses you with missionary opportunities every day. Well, I love you!

Sincerely,

Elder Bradley E McMullin