Called to Serve: Week 17...Officially 4 Months on Saturday

Monday, September 23, 2013

Wow!!! It sounds like you are getting quite the weather back at home. That’s crazy about the snow on Donner's Pass already. I’m just waiting for winter to hit here and hoping I’m in a car area by then.

So just some random facts…We have 61 sister missionaries in our mission right now and we should have 78 sisters by January. Also, our car fleet is 99, one of the biggest for missions. Every single one is being used too.

That’s crazy that Lynn Wright moved into gma Bonnie’s ward. Are gma & gpa still doing the hospital sacrament services? Tell Lori that I did know that Elder J was in Sister Hansen’s zone. The person training her came out with me and is from AF.

That's awesome about Morgan going to Durban. Tell him congrats for me. The Star Wars companion story is hilarious, not sure what I would do if I had someone like that. Also I'm excited to watch conference this weekend. Crazy to think a year ago this weekend my life was changed forever. It is weird to think it is actually now happening. It looks like you about ready to have fun in Newport. I bet that will be fun and I'm sure you will enjoy the nice warm beach. I hope you have a fab time on vacation. I'm jealous of you going to the San Diego temple. Take lots of pictures. I will keep you posted on the SD card.

How has your week been? What are the highs/lows? A high was that I got to go on exchanges with the DL's companion in their area. It was fun and I get to go back to their area on Wednesday and be with the district leader for exchanges. It is a nice break from Elder F. Another high was last night we got to go to take the sacrament to a lady in another ward that is in the hospital. Also, when we were walking out of the hospital we ran into somebody from Gettysburg. They said they had a question for us and we wondered what it could be. They were members and their son has been in the hospital for a month with kidney infections and heart problems. He also had a stroke a while back. He is 32 and he has had all those problems plus 2 open heart surgeries. Unfortunately, he was into drugs and other things so that is why he is not healthy. So we were able to give him a blessing and he said he would love visits from us. His parents want us to stop by and check up on him too.
I loved getting your package. Of course I loved your Cougar Tracks game report and as you can see I’ve made my own “Cougar Den” with all the pictures and schedule on my wall. I was sad to hear the news about Steve and the thought of possibly not seeing him again is heartbreaking. I wrote him a letter this morning so hopefully it will be there by Wednesday.
What are 5 positive things that happened this week? 1) I bore my testimony yesterday because it could be my last fast Sunday in the ward and I have wanted to do it ever since I got here. 2) We got a referral from another set of missionaries that we tried to go see the other day but he did not answer. So we will try back again and I will keep you posted. 3) Also I got the Mormon messages DVD from the mission office. It was a dollar and the AP's just burned it off the internet but I don’t think it is the one from Deseret Book. But it is nice to watch those.
Are you still singing in the ward choir now that Elder J is gone? How's the choir going? I told Sis. Beard that you've been singing and she was proud and expects you to sing in her ward choir when you get home :) Sort of it has been off and on since they have not had practice a few weeks, but we went yesterday. So maybe we will start going back. Haha, maybe I will join with Sister Beard since our ward choir is much bigger and you can't really hear me.
Have you had any spiritual experiences lately that you would like to share? It has been cool when I say my prayers asking to for the help to be the best missionary that I can be even though it sometimes gets hard with Elder F, I know Heavenly Father hears me and is helping me get through this companionship. I am trying to be like Kara (sister missionary from our ward) and be positive, but sometimes it is kind of hard.
Have you had any recent service opportunities? No, nothing unusual, just our usual weekly stuff that we do every week.
Do my letters/packages that I send in the mail distract you from focusing on the mission? No, I like getting them.
How are things going with the new investigators...young couple (wife in rehab & husband that had mental problems)? We have not been able to teach them this week.
How about the M family, are they making any progress? Yes and no. We were not able to teach them this week. They are really busy with soccer and other kid stuff. So it is hard for them to meet with us, but we are doing our best to get them re-activated.
How are Franky and Sally doing? Did you have to drop them? They are doing pretty good but we have not seen them recently. They are still having the lice problem. I thought it was just a fall back answer because they didn’t want us to come, but they really still do have the problem. However, right now they have no desire to change so we are giving them some space and hopefully we are going to teach them this week.
What's your favorite thing to teach? I think one of my favorite things to teach about is the atonement. It has become a favorite after all the articles that I have studied about it in the Ensign for September. Especially His grace is Sufficient.
What are you studying during study time? I am studying out of PMG quite a bit. Also I am still continuing to read the BOM, I am on Alma 6. Also I have been reading the seminary packets that you have sent.
Is your blister doing better? Yes, a little…but as you can see in the picture it is in a spot that rubs all day so it can't heal fast. But it is finally starting to get better.
What do you want me to do about the shoe situation (questions from letter)? Well there is a Joseph Banks down the street from my apartment that I could go to and get the new shoes and find the pair that I have right now. Then I could send you the tie ups and the others home to be re soled. But I need to go look so I will keep you posted with what I decide to do. I will let you know if I get some at Jo Banks.
How are your suits & shirts holding up? They are holding up pretty well, except my laundry skills still need to be refined. I kind of messed up the black suit pants a little by machine washing them because I could not find the tag saying if you could or could not machine wash them. But other than that things are holding up pretty good. The biggest problem is the shoes.
Did you meet with Little Ricky's neighbor? How did that go? Yes, we met on Friday night. It was not really a sit down lesson, she decided to go on a walk and just ask us a bunch of questions. Bro. M (Little Ricky) went with us as well. We are having dinner with them tomorrow and we are going to teach her the first lesson tomorrow and hopefully continue to teach her.
Are you staying busy? Yes, we are trying our best to stay busy. But I’m definitely starting to get ready to be transferred somewhere else and start somewhere new. Even though I love the ward and area I think I am ready for something else.

I will send you another email with more response about the package and other stuff. It sounds like you are going on vacation tomorrow, according to dad. I will still give you snail for when you get back.

Overall, I'm doing well and trying my hardest to be my best and live up to my potential. I am grateful to be your son and glad that I have the opportunity to serve a mission. I have determined this is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But I think I have grown more in the past 4 months than I have in the past 19 years. I love you and hope you have a good time on you vacation.
Also, I'll miss being able to go to priesthood with you and Derek but I'm excited to be in the mission field for conference. I can't think of a better way to honor my priesthood. Love you and miss you.

Elder Muir