Week 33 January 20, 2014...Hastening the Work in Lititz

January 20, 2014...

FYI...Elder Muir is 1/3 of the way through his mission and is down to 500 days!!!  We've gone from the 700's, 600's, 500's and tomorrow we hit the 400's...YAY!!!

First things first, I have an announcement to make.  You may be able to guess, if not the picture will say it all.  

 It looks like you have been pretty busy and I’m glad things are going well for all of you.  That is crazy that another temple movie was made, now there are 2 new ones?  You will have to let me know how the latest one is.  Also you mentioned something about Meg trying to build up her savings account…what’s the damage on mine so far.  How much is left in mine?  Also, you may want to check on my debit card account here in the next couple of days.  I may end up buying some more Wilbur buds for you and me (because I didn’t buy any for myself before).  You said they were good so I think I might have to try them.   Also, as you will read further down, we are going to the Sturgis pretzel factory (http://www.juliussturgis.com/ourhistory.html) and I may buy a souvenir there so I will keep you posted.  Just giving you a heads up on the card.   

1. How's your week been?  Oh my goodness what a difference a week makes.  We are finally back in the swing of things and we were able to teach quite a few people this week.  D is finally back from North Carolina and we were able to meet with him and get lessons started with him again.  So hopefully we can get him progressing again.   Last night we started teaching this lady named M that missionaries had taught in the past. 
2. What are the highs/lows for the week?  Well one high is that I was able to go to a broadcast of the 100 Years of Scouting that the church did back in October.  I don't know if you were able to see it but it was pretty sweet.  You should be able to find it online if you were not able to see it.  Here is the link if you want to watch it https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/archive/on-my-honor/2013/10?lang=eng.   Another high is since transfers were last week we had to take Elder S (trio companion) up to the Harrisburg church so he could meet and pick up his new companion.  It was fun to see all of the missionaries that night.   It was also fun because I had to take the new elders that were going to be serving in Camp Hill to their area.  It was weird to go back to my first area.  That adventure brings comes with a low too.  I was the driver that night coming back from Harrisburg.   The drive going to and back from Harrisburg was really foggy.  The freeway was really foggy and it was kind of scary driving in the fog at 9:30 at night when I’m not completely familiar with the roads.  Another high was that we had zone training on Thursday and it was also fun to see some of the new missionaries that were transferred into the zone.  A couple of Elders that I came out with were there and I had not seen them in quite some time.  So it was good to see them. 
3. How's your weather?  The weather has been pretty decent.  You can definitely tell it has been humid because there is a noticeable wet cold in the air.  It snowed during the night a few days ago but it has pretty much all melted now.  It looks like things are supposed to get cold and snowy here for the next couple of weeks.
4. What the status on the flood at the church?  Still drying out or does it need a new floor?  Well it sounds like they are going to be replacing the floor sometime in February.  The bubble and the fans etc. are all gone right now but the floor is very warped which makes it very uneven and bubbly.  They are letting people use it but like I said it sounds like the final decision was to replace it sometime next month. 
5. Are you able to still use the church?  Yes, we are able to use the church.  It was just the wood on the gym floor that was the biggest problem.  Right now it is being used but it’s just very warped and uneven. 
6. How's Elder B?  Are things good between the 2 of you?  We are getting along great.  We both are continuing to do our best to find people to teach and help the work move forward. 
7. What happened with the media referral that you got last week?  Well we stopped by and it was a kid that sent the request.  We talked to him as he was walking home from school and he said that he had submitted the request online, but apparently after he sent the request he also sent something in saying “never mind, we’re catholic”.  So my guess is he had a friend from the ward at school and they did a mormon.org  request but then his parents probably did not want us coming over.  So unfortunately we are not teaching him and he's not interested. 
8. How are things with your investigators/less actives?
1. TP,  Mandy & Lee?  Well when we stopped by D’s we also stopped by TP’s and talked to her for a minute too.  We’re hoping to get the ball rolling with all of them and start teaching them again.   Mandy & Lee have moved in with TP (mom) and are staying with her for a bit.  We’re looking forward to teaching all of them again.   
2.  D?  Well we were able to contact him again Friday night and start teaching him again and get the ball rolling.  The best part is that he’s still been reading the BOM a bit through the month (while he was in NC) and the whole time that we haven’t been in contact with him.  So we were pretty excited about that. 
3. W?  He is kind on the back burner right now.  He is really busy and we’re not able to see him a lot. 
4. Claude?  Well he is doing good, just being the same old, same old 93 year old man stuck in a nursing home and ready to get out. 
5. I Family?  How did the FHE go last week?  They are doing great.  They are getting a lot of fellowship from the ward which is good.  The Mia Maids went over to visit with one of the daughters for their Wednesday night activity.  So they are starting to make friends and getting to know the ward a little better.  The progress is slow but at least it is progress. 
6. Any new leads/investigators/families?  Well we were going through our old records of people that missionaries have taught in the past and we started teaching this lady, M, that had been taught a few years ago.  I don't know what will come of it but at least we have one more person to add to our teaching pool. 
9. How did zone training go on Thursday?  It went well.  They had a really good training on how to help the people we teach recognize the spirit.  It was very helpful and useful because we have made that the focus of a few of our lessons for some people. 
10. What's the most memorable thing from your mission so far?  I think the biggest thing is all of the new things that are being done by the church and missions as part of the "Hastening the Work" motto.  Also, another highlight was at last general conference (Oct. 2013) when they announced that the church had 80,000 missionaries serving.  I think it is pretty cool to be a part of the historic emphasis and changes in missionary work. 
11. Who has had the most impact on you so far during your mission?  Probably President Topham.  He is a great man, the advice and council that he gives each and every week in his emails is uplifting, positive and helpful.  He gives great info at the trainings that he gives to us each zone conference/interview etc.  He is an awesome mission president and has a strong testimony of the Savior, gospel and missionary work. 
12. What's the best advice you've been given on your mission?  Sister Topham said something in our mission video about being obedient.  She said “obedience brings blessings, but being exactly obedient brings miracles” and I would 100 % agree with her. 
13. Do you have a favorite scripture from your mission so far?  I liked reading in Ether chapter 12.  I especially love (chapter 12:6) where it talks about the trial of you faith.  “For ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith”. 
14. Any fun activities coming up in your ward?  Not to my knowledge.
15. Do you do anything fun/exciting for pday or do you always go to the church?  We used to go to the church but since the floor has been out of commission we went bowling last week and today we are going to take a tour of Sturgis pretzel factory.  It is America’s first pretzel place.  Hopefully that will be fun and the best part is that it only costs $3.50.  Also, I am going to finally get myself some Wilbur buds…YUM!!! 
16. Do you and Elder B exercise in the morning?  Sometimes we do.  This morning we got up and ran about a mile around this loop by our apartment. 
17. Do you walk at all anymore?  We do on occasion.  Sometimes we walk around to places in downtown Lititz to try and conserve miles. 
18. How are the boots?  Do you use them much, are they comfy?  Yes, I use them when they are needed and they definitely work well and were a good purchase. 
19. How are your other shoes holding up and how are your feet?  They are holding up well. 
20. Were your feet problems mostly because you were walking so much in Camp Hill? I think so, everything seems to be ok with my feet right now. 

Well there is my weekly life report from last week.  It looks like you have all had a good week and I can't wait to see the surprise I get in the mail from you.  I want you know I love you and miss you lots. 

Love,

Elder Muir