Mission Update -- 11/25/09

November 25th was transfer day (I thought -- turns out it was the 23rd), but Elder M did not get transferred. Another 6 weeks in Aurora (Naperville 4th Ward). Here's his update:

Hello Family,

Happy Thanksgiving! It sounds like everything is going OK. Taylor, you get feeling better though. Sorry about your head, Dad! Hopefully you'll stop looking like Frankenstien soon. [Ed bumped his head into a wall in the dark and ended up with 12 stiches!]

Well, things are going great here. Transfers have come and gone. I'm staying here. Elder Ahlman and I went to pick up the new missionaries from the airport, which was fun. We got a new one in our district... Elder Gates is training Elder Dearinger. Elder Dearinger is a recent convert who grew up in Ukraine and Russia, then moved to Washington State. Both he and Elder Gates played professional soccer before their missions! We're pretty excited to have Elder Dearinger in our Zone and District. The Geneva Elders are the same still too. We had a couple of Sisters transfer in, and also a couple of Elders.

This last week was pretty good though. Here's what happened:

Wednesday was pretty fun. We played basketball and football in the Stake Center gym. We also got some pizza. It was an overall good Zone Activity. I also got a package from Mooker, which was pretty neat. After that, we went to visit Lorenszo, who tubed us. We did meet a woman at Maple Terrace that has got great potential though. We started talking to Chiquita (just like Chiquita Banana) in the hall, and ended up teaching her. After that, we went to the Popes for dinner and a lesson. We took the Naper 6 Elders with us because they won a Zone competition we held. We had Chicken Marsala. It had wine in it. President Duffield (from the stake presidency) and his wife took the Popes out for dinner a few nights before, and asked him if it would be ok. He told them, "If you eat it with a fork, it's not drinking... Is it?" Pretty funny. The alchohol cooks out too, so we were good. It was pretty funny, because our lesson was going to be on the Word of Wisdom too. Anyways, after dinner we played "Spiritual Jeopardy." Sister Pope made a really fun game for us to play. After that, we taught the lesson and went home. Brother Pope is doing incredibly well. He's excited about the Gospel. He had read to Helaman in the Book of Mormon, finished the Conference Report, read some of the Joseph Smith manual, and has started Preach My Gospel. He is awesome.

Thursday was pretty good. We spent a good chunk of the day at the mission office. We got cleared to drive the truck & trailor, and also the mega-van. It was ok. After that, we drove back home and went to teach. We did some stop bys in Maple Terrace. After that, we went to pick up Christian Stratford, who is one of the young men. We took him tracting in Aurora. We found a lot of Spanish speakers, and one new investigator for us. Our new investigator is Scott, who is a Kung Fu master and karate teacher. After that, we went over to read the Book of Mormon with Jeremy. Jeremy is doing great! He's now looking for opportunities to do service for the work. He's already been doing the library, home teaching, and working at the Bishop's Storehouse, but he wants more. After teaching Jeremy, we dropped Christian off at home, then went to the Beans. We had a good time there. We went in to teach, and ended up helping them do service. We tried to move this couch down some stairs and out a door, but it wouldn't fit. We then proceeded to "own" the couch. We had a hammer, a saw, a box cutter, Stephen Bean's fist, and our feet to kick it. We absolutely dominated this couch, and got it through the door. It was pretty wild. After that, we had a lesson. They're a really fun family, and are just like Elder Gardner (who is now home!). After that, we went over to the Jones family's home for dinner. They made us some great Texas food. It was delicious, and we both ate way too much. We had a great time there. They're having us over again next week, and we're going to help them make some plans for sharing the Gospel with their friends.

Friday was pretty good. We went to help Sister Glaviano move some stuff in the morning. After that, we went home and had our weekly planning. We went to Maple Terrace and also tracted, which was pretty good. We had some cancelations, so it was a fairly slow day. We did teach Krista and her mother though, which went really well. Krista is going to race us to the end. They had just gone to see New Moon the night before, and were pretty out of it, but they're getting excited to beat us in reading the Book of Mormon. We also had dinner at the Gamboas' home, which was great! Sister Gamboa made us some Posolé, which is very good. We also taught a friend of theirs that was over there. They do a great job at missionary work. A family we taught at their home a week or two ago (with Sister Gamboa being a translator), and subsequently referred to the Spanish Elders just accepted a baptismal date! 3 of them are scheduled for baptism next month. After dinner and a lesson there, we drove to Wheaton for our swine flu shots. We got them for free from the county health department.

Saturday was alright. Things have been pretty crazy because of preparations for picking up the greenies. We went and did a practice run of going to the airport. That took a while, but was important. We did some tracting and stop bys after that. We also taught Chiquita again. She is awesome! Both her, and her twin sister, Nikita, accepted baptismal dates and are preparing to be baptized on December 19th (both have been keeping commitments since then, and are doing very well. Chiquita absolutely loved church)!! We're super excited. We had dinner with Nancy and her family, which went well. We also got transfer calls that night. It was a pretty atypical day, but was a good one.

Sunday was good. We had the meetings before church, which went well. The Lord has been blessing the Ward with some incredible missionary fervor. It was great to see how well everyone fellowshipped Chiquita, and a few others that came for their first time. Mark Pope had a good time at church, and gave productive insights during class, as always. We're still in awe at how strong his testimony is. He's explained to us how he knows it now, and cannot ever unknow it. The Lord has really answered our prayers, his prayers, and those of everyone else praying for him. After church, we went home and did some preparation work, then went out to teach. We did some stop bys, and ended up teaching Sister Apodaca. We taught her about the dangers of pride, and becoming humble. After that, we went to the Beans to help them out with some service. We then went to dinner at the Clarks' home. They're an awesome family. We helped them make some plans for missionary work. After dinner, we went home and did some transfer planning.

Monday was insane. We left early in the morning to go to the mission home. We then went to transfer meeting. Elder Ahlman and I helped load up the luggage of the departing missionaries. It was good to say goodbye to Elder Gardner, and the others who were leaving. After that, we drove to O'Hare, then sat around for a while. When the greenies arrived, we packed their stuff into the trailor, then all went back to the mission home. We stayed there, and had some Giordanno's with them and their trainers. It was very fun. One greenie is going to Bourbonnais with Elder (Lobo) Stratton. He's pretty lucky. Another is going to Stockyards. That should be interesting. Anyways, after going to the mission home, we went to the mission office and ended up helping them move a lot of cars so they could be taken to a Colorado mission. After all of this, we didn't have much time left in the day. We went back, and had a cancelled appointment. Our only teaching opportunity was at dinner with the Capeners. That went well. They made some specific plans and commitments to share the Gospel with others. They're also having Jeremy and his family over for Thanksgiving. That should be awesome! It will be Jeremy's wife's first real contact with the Church. His daughters are going to start coming to Church next week, so this could very well turn into her investigating too. We're excited for that.

Tuesday was very good. We had a morning appointment with a media referral. I had given her a pass a long card a few days before, and she called the number to get a free DVD. It is rare for that to happen when you give them to random people, so this was exciting. She loved the Restoration, felt and recognized the Spirit, and committed to coming to Church starting in December. After that lesson, we went to the Hesed House. That went well. After the Hesed House, we went to read the Book of Mormon with Mike. We also taught a new investigator from the building named Vera. She's the nurse there, and we're excited to begin teaching her more. We also taught the Zacas, which went very well. They were asking deep questions about the Plan of Salvation, which was great. We then went to teach Roger, who is doing very well. The Lord has been working on him for a while. He made some significant changes in his life within a couple weeks of us first stopping by his home. He's accepted the Restoration, and has gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He's progressing, and we're excited for that. After teaching Roger, we went to read the Book of Mormon with Jeremy. After that, we went to visit the Gaffneys. We then went to the Popes for dinner and a lesson. Mark also showed us his guns, which was fun. He's got some nice shotguns you'd like, Dad & Grandpa.

Today has been good. We taught Amanda this morning. We've got some appointments for the rest of the day too. Tomorrow will be our P-Day. The mission is emailing today though, because libraries are closed tomorrow.

So, things are going well! We're getting excited for Brother Pope's baptism, and everything else! The Lord's blessed us a lot, and we're excited to see His work progress.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! I love you.


- Elder Bradley E McMullin