The Elders went to lunch at Gino's East last p-day. Apparently at Gino's East, everyone writes their name on an available surface. Here's Elder M's addition to the mess! :-) Ed says we ate here when he was working in Chicago in 1986. I remember eating there vaguely, but I don't remember all the names everywhere.Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Elder M. Writes His Name at Gino's East
The Elders went to lunch at Gino's East last p-day. Apparently at Gino's East, everyone writes their name on an available surface. Here's Elder M's addition to the mess! :-) Ed says we ate here when he was working in Chicago in 1986. I remember eating there vaguely, but I don't remember all the names everywhere.
Elders Eating Lunch at Gino's East
Elder McMullin says, "Elder Gonzalez and me looking silly at Gino's East." They were there eating lunch with Elder John and Elder Robinson.
Mission Update 8/11/10
I'm teary-eyed sitting here typing this. I cannot believe Elder M. will be home in a week. I've felt emotional all day; it's going to be so good to see him again. I'm so proud of him and how hard he's worked. I love that guy! Here's his email:
Hello Family,
I can't believe it! This may very well be my last email home. I'm not sure if we email from the mission home the day before we leave. It will be so good to see you though. I have loved my mission so much, and have sincerely striven to do my best! I will go home without regrets. Did I make mistakes? Too many (we all do...), but I've repented of them. The Lord has done more for and with me than I ever could have done out here in Chicago! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to serve these people who I love so much. I know the Gospel is true - I have seen it change lives! I have seen people find happiness they never thought was possible as they have followed the Savior. I have found the same, and am determined to follow Him until the end. There are a lot of great things in the future, and I will strive to do my best!
We're really happy for Vera and Marquis too... We were knocking on doors two days after we were transferred in and met them. They told us they weren't interested at first, but we testified, and they had some questions. They invited us in, and began to progress. They were definitely prepared long before we met them. They had a lot of great questions, and were sincerely interested. They were pretty shocked, rocked, and shattered when they learned about the Priesthood Authority, and in what Church it is. They were scared for a while, then went out of town. Once they began to read from the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, they became solid! They have received answers to their prayers. Marquis said, "I will never forget the answer I got! I feel so good." Vera is committed. They had set a baptismal date of September 11th, but after reviewing the baptismal interview questions yesterday, found out they are ready now. Marquis is excited to be baptized on Tuesday! Vera is feeling great, but is thinking about waiting for September 11th. We'll keep praying for her to be strong in the Gospel and know she will do well whenever she enters into the waters of baptism and makes a covenant with God.
So, this last week has been great. I had been feeling really nervous last week, but am feeling great today. I've really been given peace, and am grateful for it! Here's some of what's happened:
Wednesday. We emailed after studies, then took the Red Line up to downtown! We got off on Grand, which is north of the loop. We walked over to Gino's East, and ate there. It is really really good pizza. The restaurant was really nice too. It's pretty neat, they have every wall completely covered with signatures. We got to sign our names after eating too. It was great, but I still believe Edwardo's is #1. Gino's is definitely #2 though. After that, we walked down Michigan Avenue, and looked at stuff. It's pretty cool up there. We then walked down to Washington and Wabash, where the suit store was. We picked up the suits, then headed home on the train. We then jumped into our car and went to the Ervin's home for dinner. We had chops and corn, but no greens. We had a lesson with a family friend over there too. That was pretty much the end of our day.
Thursday was a pretty weird day. We had Zone Meeting, which is a mini Zone Conference. We had it from 10 until 12:30, then had interviews. They made a whole interview schedule, with us being right next to the end. We had to wait a few hours before getting interviewed. The interview went well. People before us must have taken longer than scheduled, because we had to reschedule a couple appointments we had later that day. We met with the Flores family for dinner, which was great. They made us some Mexican food. After that, we went over to teach Marge, who is doing well. That was our day there. Oh yeah, we also dropped our rear-ended car off at the shop, and got a Malibu to drive until it's fixed!
Friday was great. We stopped by Manny's home, then went over to Brother Moore's for lunch. After our lesson there, we went to teach Joe. We then had a linner at the Sutarik's home. That was pretty good. They're going to make a list of potentials for Elder Gonzalez and his next companion. We then taught Louis, who is doing well. We then went to teach Vera. That was a great appointment. They are so excited, and are doing well with their scripture reading! We went to teach Charles after that, which went well too. We then went over to see the Hills. They are doing great.
Saturday started off in Calumet City where we watched the Testaments with Esau. He's doing OK, but needed the spiritual boost. We then went to teach Alfrieda, and met Carolyn Hill over there. She walked in the door, sat down, and began to testify. She is another Mark Pope! She is so awesome, and taught so well! She really helped Alfrieda. We then went over to the Motts and to Melbria's home. After that, we had some stop bys I think before going to teach Errol and Mercedes. Victoria ended up cooking dinner for us, which was good.
Sunday was a great day. We did some good planning before church. We then had a great day at church. Sister Prewitt picks up Vera and Marquis. She's become a great fellowshipper for them. After Church we went for dinner at the Jenkins home. They are so awesome. We had a great time there. Sister Jenkins started telling me about her sister that goes to UVU... After that, we went by the Motts, then to see the Childress family, then to Sister Flowers' home.
Monday was an interesting day. We had District Meeting, which went well. We had a lesson on the qualifications for baptism, which really inspired us to ask the questions at our next appointment with Vera and Marquis. After District Meeting, we went to teach Susan. Sister Sales came, and it was great. We watched the Restoration movie and Sister Sales testified of her conversion. We then went to help Susan move some stuff from a storage. She gave a lot to the Church too... We met Brother Thomas and his son over there, and packed stuff up for a long time. We then went over and took Brother Mott out with us. We went to visit Cedric (didn't see him, but saw his daughter), then the Hills, then Melbria. It was a great evening. They are all doing pretty well. While at Melbria's, there was a blackout. All power just died. Even the Red Line train died! It was pretty eerie out, but we made it back to our home that had power.
Tuesday went well too. We finished combining the area books from the other areas, and went out to teach. We saw LeBron, who is doing great. We then saw Prewitt, who is doing well too. We taught Joe, who is doing alright. We then taught Charles and Liz, who are doing well. We then had the real highlight of the day with Vera and Marquis. We had really been feeling this would be a big lesson ever since we left from our last one there. We walked up to the house, and Marquis was teaching a friend of his about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. He even quoted some of what Heavenly Father said to the prophet Joseph! They are so ready, and Marquis will be baptized Tuesday. We're going to PEC tomorrow night, and will get things arranged then. We've been tracting too, and have met some neat people, and have been able to testify a lot, but haven't really found anyone that stands out too much lately. Things are great though!
Today should be good. I've organized things and began to pack some stuff up since I don't have a P - Day until I leave. I'll finish more today and get a hair cut. We're also going to play volleyball with the Zone for a while at Hyde Park. It should be a good day.
I love you a lot! Thanks for all you do! The Gospel is true and I am so grateful for it. Please live it, love it and share it!
Until we meet again NEXT WEEK,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Hello Family,
I can't believe it! This may very well be my last email home. I'm not sure if we email from the mission home the day before we leave. It will be so good to see you though. I have loved my mission so much, and have sincerely striven to do my best! I will go home without regrets. Did I make mistakes? Too many (we all do...), but I've repented of them. The Lord has done more for and with me than I ever could have done out here in Chicago! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to serve these people who I love so much. I know the Gospel is true - I have seen it change lives! I have seen people find happiness they never thought was possible as they have followed the Savior. I have found the same, and am determined to follow Him until the end. There are a lot of great things in the future, and I will strive to do my best!
We're really happy for Vera and Marquis too... We were knocking on doors two days after we were transferred in and met them. They told us they weren't interested at first, but we testified, and they had some questions. They invited us in, and began to progress. They were definitely prepared long before we met them. They had a lot of great questions, and were sincerely interested. They were pretty shocked, rocked, and shattered when they learned about the Priesthood Authority, and in what Church it is. They were scared for a while, then went out of town. Once they began to read from the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, they became solid! They have received answers to their prayers. Marquis said, "I will never forget the answer I got! I feel so good." Vera is committed. They had set a baptismal date of September 11th, but after reviewing the baptismal interview questions yesterday, found out they are ready now. Marquis is excited to be baptized on Tuesday! Vera is feeling great, but is thinking about waiting for September 11th. We'll keep praying for her to be strong in the Gospel and know she will do well whenever she enters into the waters of baptism and makes a covenant with God.
So, this last week has been great. I had been feeling really nervous last week, but am feeling great today. I've really been given peace, and am grateful for it! Here's some of what's happened:
Wednesday. We emailed after studies, then took the Red Line up to downtown! We got off on Grand, which is north of the loop. We walked over to Gino's East, and ate there. It is really really good pizza. The restaurant was really nice too. It's pretty neat, they have every wall completely covered with signatures. We got to sign our names after eating too. It was great, but I still believe Edwardo's is #1. Gino's is definitely #2 though. After that, we walked down Michigan Avenue, and looked at stuff. It's pretty cool up there. We then walked down to Washington and Wabash, where the suit store was. We picked up the suits, then headed home on the train. We then jumped into our car and went to the Ervin's home for dinner. We had chops and corn, but no greens. We had a lesson with a family friend over there too. That was pretty much the end of our day.
Thursday was a pretty weird day. We had Zone Meeting, which is a mini Zone Conference. We had it from 10 until 12:30, then had interviews. They made a whole interview schedule, with us being right next to the end. We had to wait a few hours before getting interviewed. The interview went well. People before us must have taken longer than scheduled, because we had to reschedule a couple appointments we had later that day. We met with the Flores family for dinner, which was great. They made us some Mexican food. After that, we went over to teach Marge, who is doing well. That was our day there. Oh yeah, we also dropped our rear-ended car off at the shop, and got a Malibu to drive until it's fixed!
Friday was great. We stopped by Manny's home, then went over to Brother Moore's for lunch. After our lesson there, we went to teach Joe. We then had a linner at the Sutarik's home. That was pretty good. They're going to make a list of potentials for Elder Gonzalez and his next companion. We then taught Louis, who is doing well. We then went to teach Vera. That was a great appointment. They are so excited, and are doing well with their scripture reading! We went to teach Charles after that, which went well too. We then went over to see the Hills. They are doing great.
Saturday started off in Calumet City where we watched the Testaments with Esau. He's doing OK, but needed the spiritual boost. We then went to teach Alfrieda, and met Carolyn Hill over there. She walked in the door, sat down, and began to testify. She is another Mark Pope! She is so awesome, and taught so well! She really helped Alfrieda. We then went over to the Motts and to Melbria's home. After that, we had some stop bys I think before going to teach Errol and Mercedes. Victoria ended up cooking dinner for us, which was good.
Sunday was a great day. We did some good planning before church. We then had a great day at church. Sister Prewitt picks up Vera and Marquis. She's become a great fellowshipper for them. After Church we went for dinner at the Jenkins home. They are so awesome. We had a great time there. Sister Jenkins started telling me about her sister that goes to UVU... After that, we went by the Motts, then to see the Childress family, then to Sister Flowers' home.
Monday was an interesting day. We had District Meeting, which went well. We had a lesson on the qualifications for baptism, which really inspired us to ask the questions at our next appointment with Vera and Marquis. After District Meeting, we went to teach Susan. Sister Sales came, and it was great. We watched the Restoration movie and Sister Sales testified of her conversion. We then went to help Susan move some stuff from a storage. She gave a lot to the Church too... We met Brother Thomas and his son over there, and packed stuff up for a long time. We then went over and took Brother Mott out with us. We went to visit Cedric (didn't see him, but saw his daughter), then the Hills, then Melbria. It was a great evening. They are all doing pretty well. While at Melbria's, there was a blackout. All power just died. Even the Red Line train died! It was pretty eerie out, but we made it back to our home that had power.
Tuesday went well too. We finished combining the area books from the other areas, and went out to teach. We saw LeBron, who is doing great. We then saw Prewitt, who is doing well too. We taught Joe, who is doing alright. We then taught Charles and Liz, who are doing well. We then had the real highlight of the day with Vera and Marquis. We had really been feeling this would be a big lesson ever since we left from our last one there. We walked up to the house, and Marquis was teaching a friend of his about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. He even quoted some of what Heavenly Father said to the prophet Joseph! They are so ready, and Marquis will be baptized Tuesday. We're going to PEC tomorrow night, and will get things arranged then. We've been tracting too, and have met some neat people, and have been able to testify a lot, but haven't really found anyone that stands out too much lately. Things are great though!
Today should be good. I've organized things and began to pack some stuff up since I don't have a P - Day until I leave. I'll finish more today and get a hair cut. We're also going to play volleyball with the Zone for a while at Hyde Park. It should be a good day.
I love you a lot! Thanks for all you do! The Gospel is true and I am so grateful for it. Please live it, love it and share it!
Until we meet again NEXT WEEK,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Monday, August 9, 2010
Mission Update 8/4/10
Hello Family,
Things have gone well here this last week. I can't believe how soon it is til I see you again. I'm really going to miss my mission. This is my favorite thing in the whole world to do. If I didn't have a great family waiting for me at home I don't even know what I'd do! It is going to be great to see you! Thanks for planning something so fun for when I get home (dentist), mom... You really know what I enjoy!
So, we've had a good week. We've had our teaching pool change quite a bit lately! We're just continuing to teach new people, which is really nice. Here's some of what's happened over the last week:
Wednesday we went to the Science and Industry Museum. It was pretty fun. After that we went down to Markham and taught Susan. She is doing pretty well. We then went over to the Motts, which was good. They're thinking about moving.
Thursday was a great day. We had Charles after our studies. We went over to Brother Moore's after teaching Charles. We went to teach a new investigator named Manny after Brother Moore's. He didn't even believe in Jesus Christ, which is very atypical for this area. We defended the Savior, and that was our appointment. He's the boyfriend of a member in a Spanish Ward. We then went to visit Todd. He's doing alright. We then went to teach Cedric, a random former investigator who we had felt prompted to stop by a few days ago. We taught him about the Restoration and set up another appointment. He seems great! We then went to Tomasello Martha's and taught Marge. I'm still winning in our races to type in the key code for the apartment building. Our lesson with Marge went great. She seems to be progressing. After that, we went way over to Joe's to teach him and Tiffany, but ended up just teaching him. On the way back we took a wrong turn and hit the Indiana State Border (where we turned around...it's not far away from his house), then had tons of fire trucks cut us off because a burning building, and got stopped by a train. We got back a little late, but we made it.
Friday was good. We saw LeBron, who we had been worried about because he hadn't been answering his phone. He's doing great though, so we're happy. We brought him a fan since his house is hot. We went out tracting and met a guy named Ron who invited us in and we taught. He was kind of interested, but didn't want to learn any more. We later taught Louis. We also went to the Leals for dinner. They made us Nopales... Cactus sandwiches! They were different, but pretty good. We then went over to Babatunde's home. He read the entire book of Moroni, and loved it! He gained a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet! We're super excited about that. He is really high up in his church though, and was conducting services on Sunday, so he couldn't make it to Church. He doesn't want to prepare for baptism just now, but we have pretty high hopes for him. We then went over and had a lesson with Sister Hill... Who was getting ready and excited to help us teach on Saturday.
Saturday went really well. We had basketball in the morning. None of the basketballers are really progressing as we teach them classes, so we're probably going to cut back or stop basketball. We taught Vera that day, and had an excellent lesson. She and Marquis are both preparing to be baptized now!!! They want to get baptized on September 11th. It's a ways off, but that's when they feel they can be ready by. We're very happy about that. We had an appointment with the Rhodes, who are doing well. We were stopping by Alfrieda's when some guy and a woman started talking with us about the scriptures. We bore testimony of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, but nothing really happened after our near hour long conversation.
Sunday was great! We had Susan come to church for the first time. That went well. Vera and Marquis were there too, which was nice. They had some sort of Relief Society conference, so they had men help out in primary. I was with Brother Jenkins in Nursery watching 3 kids. It was tough. Really tough. I figured out the best thing to do was just look interested in some toy, because then someone will really want to take it from you and will be interested for a little while. After church, we tried to take some things over to Sister Howorth. She was not feeling good though. We had our dinner with the Jenkins, which was great... As always! They are the best family ever. We drove down to Calumet City after that.
Monday was a pretty good day. We ate at I - 57, which filled us up beyond the brim. We were stuffed. We had an appointment with Melbria and helped her clean out her oft flooded basement. We also had an appointment with Sister Prewitt. We sit on her porch and talk, which is nice. After that, we went and taught Cedric. That appointment went really well! He was pretty excited about the Plan of Salvation. We taught him all about it, and he will come to church on Sunday, and should progress. We then taught Susan again. She fed us a surprise dinner, which was great... But we were really full and had a dinner appointment right afterwards! We ate up though, then left for the Childress family home. They didn't have food for a while, which was really nice. It was really good, and we packed it all in our bellies. We then watched the Lamb of God movie with them.
Tuesday was a good day. We met with Charles, who is doing well. We also met with Vera and Marquis, who are doing really really well! We had a lesson with Alfrieda, who has had some trials recently, but is doing really well now. We told her about how we were led to find her. Out of the 500,000 + people in our area, the Lord took us to her home in a spare 20 minutes we had. After that, we went to teach Joe. We then went to Melbria's for her first home teaching appointment with Brother Sutarik. We then went to the Hodges home. They're really nice. We did this neat priorities object lesson I'll have to show you, and ate some fried chicken and greens for dinner. We then came home.
Today should be great! I get my new suits, which will be exciting. We're also going to eat at Gino's East, which is pretty exciting. It's the last one we have to try to confirm Edwardo's really is Chicago's Best Pizza! Let's see how it measures up!
Family, I love you so much. I am grateful for all you do for me. I appreciate your prayers and your support. I'm trying to do my best out here. I love what I'm doing so much, and am grateful for the 2 weeks I have left to serve.
Take care. Know this Gospel is true. It blesses lives. I am so grateful it's blessed mine.
Love,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
Things have gone well here this last week. I can't believe how soon it is til I see you again. I'm really going to miss my mission. This is my favorite thing in the whole world to do. If I didn't have a great family waiting for me at home I don't even know what I'd do! It is going to be great to see you! Thanks for planning something so fun for when I get home (dentist), mom... You really know what I enjoy!
So, we've had a good week. We've had our teaching pool change quite a bit lately! We're just continuing to teach new people, which is really nice. Here's some of what's happened over the last week:
Wednesday we went to the Science and Industry Museum. It was pretty fun. After that we went down to Markham and taught Susan. She is doing pretty well. We then went over to the Motts, which was good. They're thinking about moving.
Thursday was a great day. We had Charles after our studies. We went over to Brother Moore's after teaching Charles. We went to teach a new investigator named Manny after Brother Moore's. He didn't even believe in Jesus Christ, which is very atypical for this area. We defended the Savior, and that was our appointment. He's the boyfriend of a member in a Spanish Ward. We then went to visit Todd. He's doing alright. We then went to teach Cedric, a random former investigator who we had felt prompted to stop by a few days ago. We taught him about the Restoration and set up another appointment. He seems great! We then went to Tomasello Martha's and taught Marge. I'm still winning in our races to type in the key code for the apartment building. Our lesson with Marge went great. She seems to be progressing. After that, we went way over to Joe's to teach him and Tiffany, but ended up just teaching him. On the way back we took a wrong turn and hit the Indiana State Border (where we turned around...it's not far away from his house), then had tons of fire trucks cut us off because a burning building, and got stopped by a train. We got back a little late, but we made it.
Friday was good. We saw LeBron, who we had been worried about because he hadn't been answering his phone. He's doing great though, so we're happy. We brought him a fan since his house is hot. We went out tracting and met a guy named Ron who invited us in and we taught. He was kind of interested, but didn't want to learn any more. We later taught Louis. We also went to the Leals for dinner. They made us Nopales... Cactus sandwiches! They were different, but pretty good. We then went over to Babatunde's home. He read the entire book of Moroni, and loved it! He gained a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet! We're super excited about that. He is really high up in his church though, and was conducting services on Sunday, so he couldn't make it to Church. He doesn't want to prepare for baptism just now, but we have pretty high hopes for him. We then went over and had a lesson with Sister Hill... Who was getting ready and excited to help us teach on Saturday.
Saturday went really well. We had basketball in the morning. None of the basketballers are really progressing as we teach them classes, so we're probably going to cut back or stop basketball. We taught Vera that day, and had an excellent lesson. She and Marquis are both preparing to be baptized now!!! They want to get baptized on September 11th. It's a ways off, but that's when they feel they can be ready by. We're very happy about that. We had an appointment with the Rhodes, who are doing well. We were stopping by Alfrieda's when some guy and a woman started talking with us about the scriptures. We bore testimony of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, but nothing really happened after our near hour long conversation.
Sunday was great! We had Susan come to church for the first time. That went well. Vera and Marquis were there too, which was nice. They had some sort of Relief Society conference, so they had men help out in primary. I was with Brother Jenkins in Nursery watching 3 kids. It was tough. Really tough. I figured out the best thing to do was just look interested in some toy, because then someone will really want to take it from you and will be interested for a little while. After church, we tried to take some things over to Sister Howorth. She was not feeling good though. We had our dinner with the Jenkins, which was great... As always! They are the best family ever. We drove down to Calumet City after that.
Monday was a pretty good day. We ate at I - 57, which filled us up beyond the brim. We were stuffed. We had an appointment with Melbria and helped her clean out her oft flooded basement. We also had an appointment with Sister Prewitt. We sit on her porch and talk, which is nice. After that, we went and taught Cedric. That appointment went really well! He was pretty excited about the Plan of Salvation. We taught him all about it, and he will come to church on Sunday, and should progress. We then taught Susan again. She fed us a surprise dinner, which was great... But we were really full and had a dinner appointment right afterwards! We ate up though, then left for the Childress family home. They didn't have food for a while, which was really nice. It was really good, and we packed it all in our bellies. We then watched the Lamb of God movie with them.
Tuesday was a good day. We met with Charles, who is doing well. We also met with Vera and Marquis, who are doing really really well! We had a lesson with Alfrieda, who has had some trials recently, but is doing really well now. We told her about how we were led to find her. Out of the 500,000 + people in our area, the Lord took us to her home in a spare 20 minutes we had. After that, we went to teach Joe. We then went to Melbria's for her first home teaching appointment with Brother Sutarik. We then went to the Hodges home. They're really nice. We did this neat priorities object lesson I'll have to show you, and ate some fried chicken and greens for dinner. We then came home.
Today should be great! I get my new suits, which will be exciting. We're also going to eat at Gino's East, which is pretty exciting. It's the last one we have to try to confirm Edwardo's really is Chicago's Best Pizza! Let's see how it measures up!
Family, I love you so much. I am grateful for all you do for me. I appreciate your prayers and your support. I'm trying to do my best out here. I love what I'm doing so much, and am grateful for the 2 weeks I have left to serve.
Take care. Know this Gospel is true. It blesses lives. I am so grateful it's blessed mine.
Love,
Elder Bradley E McMullin
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