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