Sounds like Elder M. and Elder Gonzalez are doing well. Here's the update:
Hello Family,
How are you all doing? That is pretty crazy that school is just about out! Good job! This next year will be pretty exciting for everyone. So, what are some fun things you're going to do over summer?
I've been doing well out here. We've had some great things happen, and a lot of fun experiences. Here's some of what's been going on:
We went to the Field Museum last week after emailing. It was pretty fun. They have some neat things there like mummies, dinosaur bones, big jewels and much more. We then went to Edwardo's to get some delicious Chicago pizza. After that, we went over to Melbria's home for our first lesson with her. She accepted a baptismal date, and to have daily lessons to help her get ready! We are very excited for Melbria. She is doing so well. Her daughter was baptized within the last year in Mesa, Arizona, and is really excited about the Gospel. We also got some food from Wal Mart and got ready for the week!
Thursday was an interesting day. It started off really lame, but turned into a really great day. We had pretty much everything cancel until the early afternoon. We had one appointment scheduled at the Church, so we played piano for a while until we just figured the person wasn't coming. As we were playing the piano, the music stand tipped over and dumped off everything on it. Our phone fell from there down to the key cover, and slid down the back of that INTO the piano. We couldn't get it out. It was really a mess, so that wasted some time trying to retrieve it. After that, we went out to a dinner appointment with a member, who brought a friend over for a lesson. It went pretty well and was nice to teach the friend. We then had an appointment with Vera, who we had tracted into last week. The appointment was awesome. She really understood the Restoration, and recognized the startling truth that her preacher doesn't have the Authority. She was really taken aback, but is very positive (she has survived 2 Sundays at her own church since we first met her, which is good)! We had a great appointment with the Motts. They're a part member family that wants to have a daughter baptized. We're going to work with them and help them get ready. The dad is going to get ready to perform the ordinance, and it should happen pretty soon! He agreed to do what it takes, and it was a wonderful meeting. From there we went to Melbria's and presented her with a baptismal calendar we had prepared in the morning. It is a calendar with daily scripture assignments that correlate with the lessons we will teach to help her prepare. She says she's willing to make sacrifices, and is very excited! We are too. After that, we went back to the church, and found out a way to take off a removable piece of the piano and got our phone back! Our prayers and the prayers of others really paid off there.
Friday was a good day. We went to the Carlsons in the morning. We practiced teaching and learned from Sister Carlson. At age 10 she decided that she would read the scriptures 3 hours a day for the rest of her life. Over 60 years and hundreds of readings of the scriptures later, she has an incredible bank of knowledge. It's pretty fun talking with her, and her awesome husband, Brother Carlson. She lived with Indians for a while, and learned their chants and oral legends. It's pretty awesome, but they actually have the story of Nephi and his brothers coming across the ocean on an "oak leaf." The only differences from their oral histories and the Book of Mormon are the pronunciation of names, and they paint Nephi as a bad guy who left his innocent brothers, the patriarchs Lamahn and Lehmool (adjusted for pronunciation),in the wilderness. After that, we had some lunch. We had an appointment cancel, so we did stop bys and tracting. It was raining, and started raining really hard. We had an appointment with the less active Louis, which went well. We then had someone call us to come help them with something, and taught them a lesson too. After that, we went to teach Melbria. She is doing great.
Saturday was an interesting day. We had basketball in the morning. It was pretty fun. I got elbowed in the lip, so I look silly with a big purple lip. We left early to go to the funeral for Sister Prewitt's son. It was a Baptist funeral, and was very different from any funeral either of us had experienced. After that, we went to teach Angelique, who had been taught by the Sisters. It went pretty well. We then went to the church to help out with a repass (luncheon) for the funeral attendees. That went well. We then went out to find after having a study time. We went back to visit one of our potentials from tracting and got to teach her. Her friend was over, and was pretty friendly until we started teaching about prophets. He asked us who we were, and when we told him we were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he got really upset and started yelling. He was a Jehovah's Witness. We tried to be calm and nice, but they really get nasty. We talked a little bit more with our potential, then excused ourselves. These people just don't seem to recognize how the Spirit is there, then immediately leaves when they attempt to impose their beliefs on others. I suppose that's why we're here to invite, not coerce. After that, we went over to Melbria's, and had a prayer with her because she had some things going on.
Sunday was good. We went out in the morning for a little bit before church to do a stop by. The former investigator had moved, but we spoke with the lady that lives in the house she moved from. She accepted the invitation to investigate. We also found two more potentials across the street! It was pretty cool. After that, we had MCM and a good day at Church. Melbria came to church for her first time, and absolutely loved it. She was welcomed really well by the Relief Society Sisters, and was exchanging contact information with them after class. I don't think many members realize how important that first Sunday is to really grab ahold of investigators. Fortunately, Sister Carlson is up to the task and will not only introduce herself to people, but introduce them to everyone else. We just take investigators to her, and we know we're set. Family, please do the same for new people at church you see! After church, we went out to do the sacrament for 2 home bound people. That was good. One was Sister Tomasello. The other was the old Stake Patriarch, Brother Mickley, who is pretty old. After that, we went to dinner at the Jenkins' home. Brother Jenkins is going to medical school right now. They are such an awesome family. It was really fun, and they gave us a referral. We then went to Melbria's and brought her a Gospel Principles book. She was (and still is) very excited about Church. We also covered Tithing, and she agreed to live it. We showed her the tithing slip, and she volunteered to pay money into every single fund on the slip every month too!
Monday was pretty good. We had our President's Interviews District Meeting. It was pretty good. That was my last interview with President Roach! What a good Mission President. I'm grateful for all he's taught me. After District Meeting, we ate at Dock's fish. That was pretty good. We then went by Sister Prewitts, and taught her and a friend of hers. It went well. She's hanging in there. We then went to teach Vera, and the lesson went great! It seems like she had spoken with her pastor, because she started off with the whole "your Bible and my Bible don't say the same thing." We showed her they did, and that concern of hers immediately left. We then taught the Plan of Salvation. It went well. We're excited she is progressing. After that, we went over to the Howerth's home for dinner. We had pizza, yum. We then had a lesson, and helped them do some service. It was close to 100 degrees, and we helped them move a ton of storage boxes, and put in 2 air conditioners. We were really sweating! After that, we did a stop by and set up an appointment, then went over to Melbria's home.
Tuesday was an awesome day. We had to cut studies short by about 5 minutes to go to our first appointment with the lady we met doing a stop by on Sunday. Her name is Alfreda. Before we met her, she had just prayed for guidance from the Lord. Then we showed up, and she couldn't turn us away. The lesson went great. She is pretty interested and excited! We have an awesome new investigator. After that, we went to visit Van. He's doing alright. He's been taught for a while and comes to church, but struggles with the Word of Wisdom. We're going to try and help him get over that. After that, we went out to find. We also ate some Subway for lunch. Thank you for those cards in the package!!! They actually made it! [We had sent him a couple of gift cards in a regular envelope a few weeks ago and they were stolen out of the envelope. Never send gift cards in a regular resealable envelope!! I'm too trusting I guess.] We met a member from the Hyde Park Ward at the Subway, which was pretty fun. After that, we went by Lebron's home for a lesson. He's a less active, and is pretty nice. We then went over to Sister Tomasello's home. She had invited another friend over who we began teaching. We're going to continue teaching Loraine Maloblocki (even though she has a tough last name). We then went to the home of a former investigator we had called from the area book. It turns out she got hit by a car and lost all of her memory, so she is a new investigator in almost every way. After that, we did tracting and finding, but that was about the end of the day. Melbria had something come up, so we didn't teach her.
Today should be good. We're at the library now, and are going to have a fairly low key P - Day. Next week we'll do the museum thing. We're going to go shop and go to the guitar store so Elder Gonzalez can teach me some guitar. After that, we are going to the Busse's home for dinner and to Melbria's for a lesson.
So, here's the short of this long story. This week has been good. I'm doing great. My mission has been awesome and I absolutely love it.
I hope you all have a great week! I always look forwards to hearing from you. I love you a lot. Thanks for all you do.
With love,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Elder M and Elder Gonzalez
Elder M. and his new "greenie' companion, Elder Gonzalez. Elder Gonzalez arrived in the mission field on May 13, 2o10.Some Members of the District Emailing
Some members of Elder M's district emailing at Chicago State University. (I think that's where they are.)Elder M's District -- Early May 2010
Here are the missionaries in Elder M's district before transfers on May 13: Sisters Morales, Tuttle, Lara, and Stokes; Elders Solis, McMullin, Taukeiaho and Davis. Interestingly, this is the first time Elder M. has had sisters in his district throughout his mission.
Mission Update 5/19/10
Elder McMullin's first week with his new companion, Elder Gonzalez. We enjoyed getting the pictures this week! Here's his email:
Hello Family,
This week has been a good one. I hope you are all doing well.
Here is some of what we've been up to:
We just went around and said good bye on Wednesday after playing basketball. We did a lot of cleaning as well. Ugh.
Thursday started off really early. Elder T's MTC group wanted to get a sunrise picture at the point. We woke up before the crack of dawn and went over there for that, but it was foggy, rainy and cold outside. We all ended up just going to the Hyde Park apartment for the little while before transfer meeting. We then went to transfer meeting early, because that's when we had the secret greenie meeting. All the trainers got there before the truckload of new missionaries did. We waited, then they came in. President Roach just asked us a few things and had us teach some principles. After that, we had transfer meeting like normal.
So it turns out Elder Gonzales has been living in South Korea for the past 4 years. His family works for the government and was over there for that. He is originally from Miami, and is a Cuban. He played in a band at home, and is pretty good at music. My last 3 companions now have been incredibly talented at music. I started learning some ukelele with Elder Boyer, then got better with Elder T. Elder Gonzales is now going to teach me how to sing. We tried to sing a song last night, and boy it's hard to sing and play at the same time. It's pretty fun though, so I changed the lyrics and sang Elder Gonzalez a goodnight lullaby. Haha.
Anyways, back to Thursday. We had Elder Maliwauki with us for a lot of the day because his companion hadn't come in yet. He [the new companion] is from Gilbert and was on a mission to Bulgaria before he got ill. He then made a brief stop in Mooker's mission, which it seems is pretty common for people that get ill in eastern Europe. We went to a couple of appointments that we had set up for Beverly. We also did some tracting, which was good. Elder Gonzalez did really well. We put him on the spot and had him do a lot. We went out to eat for dinner and got I 57 BBQ, which was delicious. We also got some supplies Elder Gonzalez needed. It was a good day of proselyting, and we made a lot of contacts. Everyone we taught was in Beverly though, but it was still a good experience.
Friday was good. We did some tracting in the morning, and had lunch with Brother Moore. We took the other Elders over there to introduce them to Ishman. After that, we went by the Carlsons and practiced teaching them. We didn't have anything set up, so we have had a lot of time for tracting. We met with a less active man and taught him a lesson, and also met another less active man doing stop bys. He let us in and we were over there for a while. It was pretty good.
So I don't have much time, so I'll just say a few things.
Saturday was great. We did some tracting in the morning. We've met some awesome people tracting. We met a family that let us in and we taught them. They are pretty interested. We also set up an appointment and got a few contacts. We went over and taught a member that is just starting to come back to church. We also went by to teach the friend of a member. Sister Tomasello's friend Lucy was experiencing the 3rd anniversary of her fiance's death, so we taught her the Plan of Salvation. It went really well.
Sunday was good. We did some tracting before church, and got shut down hard. We did it in the rich neighborhood, and people are especially rude there. We had MCM which went well, and also ran through more things for the Beverly Elders. Church was great. We went out to do the sacrament for a shut in member in the evening and did more finding.
Monday was the start of our appointments. We went by to teach Van after District Meeting. We then did finding and had one appointment fall through... So we did even more finding. We've been getting a lot of potentials. It's pretty fun actually, we're really trying to go out of our way to recontact people we other wise probably would have just dropped. We also taught Tony Burton. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this, but he came to church one Sunday when I was in Stockyards. A member from his old ward had really been following up with him and took him to church. We got his contact information, but just never saw him again. We set up an appointment with him, and then found out he actually lived in Morgan Park. We transferred him down to the missionaries here, and he started coming to this Ward. He was going less active, but in some small way we helped him get to church here in Morgan Park! Elder Gonzalez and I had a great meeting with him a year and a half after that.
Tuesday was pretty good. We had tracting and an appointment with a less active man named LeBron Hale. We had a few appointments fall through, so we did a lot of finding. We had our first dinner appointment in the area. It was with the Kingsnorth family. Yummy. We were able to contact some awesome people by phone and were able to set up a lot of good appointments too, so this next week should be a lot better.
I'm doing well, and Elder Gonzalez is too. We're working hard and are enjoying the environment. We probably have the most diverse area in the mission right now. We have some really nice areas and some not so nice areas. We've met a lot of interesting people, and seen some crazy things. Here's one tracting experience we had:
We were walking down the road and saw some cops staking out a house. We gave them a pass a long card so as not to bother them on the job. As we were coming back on the other side of the block one of them waved to us. We walked over and gave him a pamphlet about the Restoration. He said he appreciated what we were doing. We then kept going on, and he ran up to us. He ended up telling us that he and his partner in crime prevention always fight about religion. He had been inspired and told his Muslim friend that God would send him the truth that very day. That happened. We told them we were representatives of Jesus Christ when we spoke with them and both Cops really perked up. They read the pamphlet and both are interested now!
Anyways, I'm doing great! I really love my mission. As I've looked back through my mission with Elder Gonzalez, I've really come to realize a little more fully the extent of the blessings I've received while serving the Lord. This is an awesome work, and I hope to get everything out of the last several months that I can!
LOVE YA,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Hello Family,
This week has been a good one. I hope you are all doing well.
Here is some of what we've been up to:
We just went around and said good bye on Wednesday after playing basketball. We did a lot of cleaning as well. Ugh.
Thursday started off really early. Elder T's MTC group wanted to get a sunrise picture at the point. We woke up before the crack of dawn and went over there for that, but it was foggy, rainy and cold outside. We all ended up just going to the Hyde Park apartment for the little while before transfer meeting. We then went to transfer meeting early, because that's when we had the secret greenie meeting. All the trainers got there before the truckload of new missionaries did. We waited, then they came in. President Roach just asked us a few things and had us teach some principles. After that, we had transfer meeting like normal.
So it turns out Elder Gonzales has been living in South Korea for the past 4 years. His family works for the government and was over there for that. He is originally from Miami, and is a Cuban. He played in a band at home, and is pretty good at music. My last 3 companions now have been incredibly talented at music. I started learning some ukelele with Elder Boyer, then got better with Elder T. Elder Gonzales is now going to teach me how to sing. We tried to sing a song last night, and boy it's hard to sing and play at the same time. It's pretty fun though, so I changed the lyrics and sang Elder Gonzalez a goodnight lullaby. Haha.
Anyways, back to Thursday. We had Elder Maliwauki with us for a lot of the day because his companion hadn't come in yet. He [the new companion] is from Gilbert and was on a mission to Bulgaria before he got ill. He then made a brief stop in Mooker's mission, which it seems is pretty common for people that get ill in eastern Europe. We went to a couple of appointments that we had set up for Beverly. We also did some tracting, which was good. Elder Gonzalez did really well. We put him on the spot and had him do a lot. We went out to eat for dinner and got I 57 BBQ, which was delicious. We also got some supplies Elder Gonzalez needed. It was a good day of proselyting, and we made a lot of contacts. Everyone we taught was in Beverly though, but it was still a good experience.
Friday was good. We did some tracting in the morning, and had lunch with Brother Moore. We took the other Elders over there to introduce them to Ishman. After that, we went by the Carlsons and practiced teaching them. We didn't have anything set up, so we have had a lot of time for tracting. We met with a less active man and taught him a lesson, and also met another less active man doing stop bys. He let us in and we were over there for a while. It was pretty good.
So I don't have much time, so I'll just say a few things.
Saturday was great. We did some tracting in the morning. We've met some awesome people tracting. We met a family that let us in and we taught them. They are pretty interested. We also set up an appointment and got a few contacts. We went over and taught a member that is just starting to come back to church. We also went by to teach the friend of a member. Sister Tomasello's friend Lucy was experiencing the 3rd anniversary of her fiance's death, so we taught her the Plan of Salvation. It went really well.
Sunday was good. We did some tracting before church, and got shut down hard. We did it in the rich neighborhood, and people are especially rude there. We had MCM which went well, and also ran through more things for the Beverly Elders. Church was great. We went out to do the sacrament for a shut in member in the evening and did more finding.
Monday was the start of our appointments. We went by to teach Van after District Meeting. We then did finding and had one appointment fall through... So we did even more finding. We've been getting a lot of potentials. It's pretty fun actually, we're really trying to go out of our way to recontact people we other wise probably would have just dropped. We also taught Tony Burton. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this, but he came to church one Sunday when I was in Stockyards. A member from his old ward had really been following up with him and took him to church. We got his contact information, but just never saw him again. We set up an appointment with him, and then found out he actually lived in Morgan Park. We transferred him down to the missionaries here, and he started coming to this Ward. He was going less active, but in some small way we helped him get to church here in Morgan Park! Elder Gonzalez and I had a great meeting with him a year and a half after that.
Tuesday was pretty good. We had tracting and an appointment with a less active man named LeBron Hale. We had a few appointments fall through, so we did a lot of finding. We had our first dinner appointment in the area. It was with the Kingsnorth family. Yummy. We were able to contact some awesome people by phone and were able to set up a lot of good appointments too, so this next week should be a lot better.
I'm doing well, and Elder Gonzalez is too. We're working hard and are enjoying the environment. We probably have the most diverse area in the mission right now. We have some really nice areas and some not so nice areas. We've met a lot of interesting people, and seen some crazy things. Here's one tracting experience we had:
We were walking down the road and saw some cops staking out a house. We gave them a pass a long card so as not to bother them on the job. As we were coming back on the other side of the block one of them waved to us. We walked over and gave him a pamphlet about the Restoration. He said he appreciated what we were doing. We then kept going on, and he ran up to us. He ended up telling us that he and his partner in crime prevention always fight about religion. He had been inspired and told his Muslim friend that God would send him the truth that very day. That happened. We told them we were representatives of Jesus Christ when we spoke with them and both Cops really perked up. They read the pamphlet and both are interested now!
Anyways, I'm doing great! I really love my mission. As I've looked back through my mission with Elder Gonzalez, I've really come to realize a little more fully the extent of the blessings I've received while serving the Lord. This is an awesome work, and I hope to get everything out of the last several months that I can!
LOVE YA,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Mission Update 5/12/10
Whoo hoo, we had a wonderful phone call with Elder M. on Mother's Day! He is doing very well and still enjoying his mission and working hard. It was so good to talk to him. In the conversation we learned that the mission is getting 2 new greenie missionaries (finally!) We were thinking to ourselves afterward that it would be so fun if he got one of them. And he did! Transfers are this week. Elder T is going home and Elder M will get one of the greenies. There will also be a couple of missionaries coming down from the north mission this transfer to help out a bit with the numbers and a new missionary coming in from Bulgaria (I'm guessing someone who had to come home to the US because of health problems??). They are having to close a lot of areas because of attrition in the south mission. Several missioanries went home last transfer and a bunch are going home this transfer. Elder M thought they would be combining his area and the sister's area, but because of the new influx from the north and this missionary from Bulgaria, they won't have to (at least this transfer.) Here's his email with the details:
Hello family,
It was great talking with you on Sunday. I love you all a lot, and am grateful for all you do.
So, here's transfer news. I will be training this transfer, and will be serving in Evergreen Park, which was the Sisters' area. There will be 2 other Elders covering Beverly. The areas will be combined next transfer. On Tuesday they got news that another missionary was coming into the mission, and felt that they should keep 2 sets of missionaries in the Morgan Park Ward. It was decided that it would be easier for me to help the 2 new missionaries in Beverly and work in Evergreen than it would be for them to walk in completely blind. I'm pretty excited to get this new missionary, and am determined to help him have the best beginning of his mission possible.
I'll be brief, but here's a little bit of what's happened this week:
Wednesday was Zone Activity. It was really fun actually. We played frisbee, soccer, and basketball. We have SO MANY people in our Zone... It's awesome. After that, we went to dinner at the Vines' home. They are awesome, and it was a great meal.
Thursday was good. We had a couple of appointments cancel, but we had some great ones still. We had lunch at Brother Moore's, which was good. We taught some of the Ervins a little bit later. We went to teach Collette, which went well. We also went to visit a less active member named Edmund. He is from Poland, and told us he is a Socialist, and really wants the Church to fight to unionize the Chicago caretakers. It was a pretty interesting appointment, but he's a good guy who will be visited again.
I just realized, I told you everything here on Sunday... I'll be really brief!
Friday was good. We taught Charles Williams and his wife, we went by Brother Butlers and had dinner at Sister Tomoko's home.
Saturday was a pretty lame day actually. Elder T was ill. We had basketball, which was pretty fun. Because Elder T was ill, we arranged for splits for our appointments... which all fell through. The sisters had a baptism... which fell through. I got to read a lot, which was nice, but it would have been nicer to work.
Sunday was GREAT!!! I got to talk to my MOM, my DAD, my SISTERS, and my GRANDPARENTS! It was really a treat to talk with you for the last time until I come home (WOW!). After that, we met with the Sisters to get an update on all of the people I will begin to work with. We then had MCM. Church went well. Elder T did a musical number in Sacrament Meeting, which was great. After church, we went to do Sacrament for a couple of people. We took Brother Butler out with us. It took a long time, and when we were done with that, Elder T called his family.
Monday was alright. We had an appointment with Tonika, and went through a lot of Church History. It was pretty fun making a lesson plan for that. We left her with a sheet with a ton of facts and dates. We had our last District Meeting of the transfer, then had some appointments fall through. We worked on cleaning out and emptying out our apartment. We filled up one dumpster, and started filling up another one down the road. We had one appointment in the evening with the Hills, which went pretty well. I'll still keep in phone contact with Caraline Hill when I'm in Evergreen and hopefully will be able to see her get baptized soon!
Tuesday was awesome. We went to the Temple. [Chicago South missionaries get to go to the temple once each transfer that there is a General Conferenc, so 4 times on their mission.] We got picked up by Brother McMarrow and taken up there. There was so much traffic, so it took forever. We had a really great session. The Sisters were there too, and it was a good day. I'm looking forward to being able to go to the Temple a lot more when I get home. After our session, Brother McMarrow took us to Wildfire, which is a pretty nice restaurant (it is not a REST - RANT) [family joke] and I got some salmon, which was tasty (I want some of yours though, Dad). After that, we went to some appointments and went by for Elder T to say goodbye! We also got the news about transfers, which was pretty neat. We talked with President and decided it would be best for me to serve in Evergreen for this transfer then to be combine the areas next transfer. He got the news another missionary was coming in from Bulgaria only an hour before calling us, so it was all pretty crazy. We also found out that we should stop throwing stuff away... Which is a problem, because we threw a lot away... So the APs are going to have to bring some things to the Beverly Elders! Hahaha... Ooops!
Today should be good. We've just been doing packing, and are going to play basketball for a while, then finish getting ready.
I love you all so much! I'm looking forward to finishing off my mission working harder than ever.
LOVE,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Hello family,
It was great talking with you on Sunday. I love you all a lot, and am grateful for all you do.
So, here's transfer news. I will be training this transfer, and will be serving in Evergreen Park, which was the Sisters' area. There will be 2 other Elders covering Beverly. The areas will be combined next transfer. On Tuesday they got news that another missionary was coming into the mission, and felt that they should keep 2 sets of missionaries in the Morgan Park Ward. It was decided that it would be easier for me to help the 2 new missionaries in Beverly and work in Evergreen than it would be for them to walk in completely blind. I'm pretty excited to get this new missionary, and am determined to help him have the best beginning of his mission possible.
I'll be brief, but here's a little bit of what's happened this week:
Wednesday was Zone Activity. It was really fun actually. We played frisbee, soccer, and basketball. We have SO MANY people in our Zone... It's awesome. After that, we went to dinner at the Vines' home. They are awesome, and it was a great meal.
Thursday was good. We had a couple of appointments cancel, but we had some great ones still. We had lunch at Brother Moore's, which was good. We taught some of the Ervins a little bit later. We went to teach Collette, which went well. We also went to visit a less active member named Edmund. He is from Poland, and told us he is a Socialist, and really wants the Church to fight to unionize the Chicago caretakers. It was a pretty interesting appointment, but he's a good guy who will be visited again.
I just realized, I told you everything here on Sunday... I'll be really brief!
Friday was good. We taught Charles Williams and his wife, we went by Brother Butlers and had dinner at Sister Tomoko's home.
Saturday was a pretty lame day actually. Elder T was ill. We had basketball, which was pretty fun. Because Elder T was ill, we arranged for splits for our appointments... which all fell through. The sisters had a baptism... which fell through. I got to read a lot, which was nice, but it would have been nicer to work.
Sunday was GREAT!!! I got to talk to my MOM, my DAD, my SISTERS, and my GRANDPARENTS! It was really a treat to talk with you for the last time until I come home (WOW!). After that, we met with the Sisters to get an update on all of the people I will begin to work with. We then had MCM. Church went well. Elder T did a musical number in Sacrament Meeting, which was great. After church, we went to do Sacrament for a couple of people. We took Brother Butler out with us. It took a long time, and when we were done with that, Elder T called his family.
Monday was alright. We had an appointment with Tonika, and went through a lot of Church History. It was pretty fun making a lesson plan for that. We left her with a sheet with a ton of facts and dates. We had our last District Meeting of the transfer, then had some appointments fall through. We worked on cleaning out and emptying out our apartment. We filled up one dumpster, and started filling up another one down the road. We had one appointment in the evening with the Hills, which went pretty well. I'll still keep in phone contact with Caraline Hill when I'm in Evergreen and hopefully will be able to see her get baptized soon!
Tuesday was awesome. We went to the Temple. [Chicago South missionaries get to go to the temple once each transfer that there is a General Conferenc, so 4 times on their mission.] We got picked up by Brother McMarrow and taken up there. There was so much traffic, so it took forever. We had a really great session. The Sisters were there too, and it was a good day. I'm looking forward to being able to go to the Temple a lot more when I get home. After our session, Brother McMarrow took us to Wildfire, which is a pretty nice restaurant (it is not a REST - RANT) [family joke] and I got some salmon, which was tasty (I want some of yours though, Dad). After that, we went to some appointments and went by for Elder T to say goodbye! We also got the news about transfers, which was pretty neat. We talked with President and decided it would be best for me to serve in Evergreen for this transfer then to be combine the areas next transfer. He got the news another missionary was coming in from Bulgaria only an hour before calling us, so it was all pretty crazy. We also found out that we should stop throwing stuff away... Which is a problem, because we threw a lot away... So the APs are going to have to bring some things to the Beverly Elders! Hahaha... Ooops!
Today should be good. We've just been doing packing, and are going to play basketball for a while, then finish getting ready.
I love you all so much! I'm looking forward to finishing off my mission working harder than ever.
LOVE,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Mission Update 5/5/10
Phone call in just a few day!! Here's the email for the week:
Hello Family,
Things are going well here. Today is Zone Activity, and we don't have too much time before it starts, so I'll be brief. I'm looking forwards to talking to you on Sunday though!
So here's some of what's happened this last week:
We played volleyball on Wednesday with some other missionaries. It was really fun. We then had an appointment with Charity and Esau to teach them the new member lessons with the Beers. We had it in the Beers' home, which was nice.
Thursday was a good day. We had an appointment with a less active sister who is going through some stressful times in the morning. We gave her a blessing, which was good. We then went to visit another less active named LaWanda. We're getting things figured out for her to come back to church. We had our lunch meeting with Brother Moore, which was great. We had pizza puffs. We then took him with us to teach Charles Williams. Charles was a former investigator until we started teaching him. Brother Moore had drove with Charles to church once a year or two ago. He refused to ever do it again, but was happy to come with us to the appointment. The appointment went well. We then went to visit Altione and the Forrests. Dinner with the Forrests was great.
Friday was a good day too. We had a lesson with Tonika in the morning that went well. We went to the Ervins and taught some people there. We had a good appointment with the Rhodes and also with Victoria and her kids. We also did stop bys.
Saturday was pretty good. We had basketball, which was fun. We scheduled our first lesson with all of the guys. We went to visit Mike Taylor in the day, and met some interesting people at the shelter. We had some stop bys to do, and also a dinner with Henry Webster. His daughter Stephani Gelsinon came in from Tucson. She's a member, and is really nice. We tried to help Henry progress, but he's a tough nut. He's a really neat man though. He fought for the integration of White and Black Fire houses in the 60s, and was the first Black Firechief.
Sunday was good. We had Ward Choir in the morning, which is interesting. We had a good MCM and a great day at church, with some good attendance! It was really funny... Right in the middle of Sacrament Meeting, Charles asked Brother Moore if he wanted a ride home! Brother Moore thought we were tricking him (which we do sometimes...), but we really weren't. Haha. After church we went by Sister Flowers. She made us some dinner, which was nice. We then went to visit Wendy, and got to meet and teach her fiancé. The lesson went well there. We should have the whole family at church. We also went to visit Collette, and got to meet her fiancé too! Nice. He's a good guy, and we're looking forwards to helping him get to church too.
Monday was good. We had a great District Meeting. We also had some darned canceled appointments. We had a couple of good ones though at Charles' home and at the Hills. We again did stop bys. We're trying to find more people, which is always fun. We've got a ridiculous bank of contacts though from all of the old Area Books.
Tuesday went well. We went with the Sisters to meet one lady who is going to be in my area next transfer. We went down to Cal City for a while and did a stop by and had an appointment with Esau. We then went to give someone a blessing in a hospital outside our area because they had an emergency and needed one... We got a call from the mission office, and were the Elders that could do it. We had an appointment with Errol and Mercedes too.
Today should be good. We have Zone Activity and are playing frisbee near the Lake.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Hello Family,
Things are going well here. Today is Zone Activity, and we don't have too much time before it starts, so I'll be brief. I'm looking forwards to talking to you on Sunday though!
So here's some of what's happened this last week:
We played volleyball on Wednesday with some other missionaries. It was really fun. We then had an appointment with Charity and Esau to teach them the new member lessons with the Beers. We had it in the Beers' home, which was nice.
Thursday was a good day. We had an appointment with a less active sister who is going through some stressful times in the morning. We gave her a blessing, which was good. We then went to visit another less active named LaWanda. We're getting things figured out for her to come back to church. We had our lunch meeting with Brother Moore, which was great. We had pizza puffs. We then took him with us to teach Charles Williams. Charles was a former investigator until we started teaching him. Brother Moore had drove with Charles to church once a year or two ago. He refused to ever do it again, but was happy to come with us to the appointment. The appointment went well. We then went to visit Altione and the Forrests. Dinner with the Forrests was great.
Friday was a good day too. We had a lesson with Tonika in the morning that went well. We went to the Ervins and taught some people there. We had a good appointment with the Rhodes and also with Victoria and her kids. We also did stop bys.
Saturday was pretty good. We had basketball, which was fun. We scheduled our first lesson with all of the guys. We went to visit Mike Taylor in the day, and met some interesting people at the shelter. We had some stop bys to do, and also a dinner with Henry Webster. His daughter Stephani Gelsinon came in from Tucson. She's a member, and is really nice. We tried to help Henry progress, but he's a tough nut. He's a really neat man though. He fought for the integration of White and Black Fire houses in the 60s, and was the first Black Firechief.
Sunday was good. We had Ward Choir in the morning, which is interesting. We had a good MCM and a great day at church, with some good attendance! It was really funny... Right in the middle of Sacrament Meeting, Charles asked Brother Moore if he wanted a ride home! Brother Moore thought we were tricking him (which we do sometimes...), but we really weren't. Haha. After church we went by Sister Flowers. She made us some dinner, which was nice. We then went to visit Wendy, and got to meet and teach her fiancé. The lesson went well there. We should have the whole family at church. We also went to visit Collette, and got to meet her fiancé too! Nice. He's a good guy, and we're looking forwards to helping him get to church too.
Monday was good. We had a great District Meeting. We also had some darned canceled appointments. We had a couple of good ones though at Charles' home and at the Hills. We again did stop bys. We're trying to find more people, which is always fun. We've got a ridiculous bank of contacts though from all of the old Area Books.
Tuesday went well. We went with the Sisters to meet one lady who is going to be in my area next transfer. We went down to Cal City for a while and did a stop by and had an appointment with Esau. We then went to give someone a blessing in a hospital outside our area because they had an emergency and needed one... We got a call from the mission office, and were the Elders that could do it. We had an appointment with Errol and Mercedes too.
Today should be good. We have Zone Activity and are playing frisbee near the Lake.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
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