Week 47...Organizing the Area Book

April 28, 2014

1. How was your week?  What were the highs/lows?  This week was a pretty good week, but we didn’t have tons of lessons.  We had a few less active lessons and things like that but unfortunately people keep cancelling.  That always makes things kind of hard.  On the upside we’ve really been trying to get everything up to date and get our area book and things more organized.  So now that we’ve finally started to get things organized we can hopefully start seeing more people.  We’ve been able to make contact with a lot of less actives.  We haven't been able to have lessons with them yet but we have been able to figure out who is receptive and willing to let us teach them.  So we will see how it goes.  I had my first experience of bashing this week. We went to Walmart to shop last week after we were done emailing and some random guy came up to us and started bashing with us.  He didn't really make sense most of the time.  He would just try and confuse us and then tell us that we were wrong.  It was really bizarre, but whatever…we know who is right and who is wrong…right???   A definite high was the linger longer we had after church yesterday.  I had never heard of a linger longer until I came out here.  Basically it’s a mix & mingle potluck lunch with the branch after church with lots of food.  It was pretty fun. 

2. How's your weather?  It has been up and down.  It was cold with a rain/snow mix on Wednesday.  It was rainy on Friday too.  It’s also been sort of windy too.  So really it has been all over the place. 
3. Who was the family that had you over for Easter dinner?  We ate Easter dinner with the S family.  They are a very nice older couple (in their 60's).  They were both born in PA and have lived in Utah and Colorado for a while.  Unfortunately his health is not great.  He has sclerosis (also known as cirrhosis) of the liver so he is not in great shape right at the moment.  He was having a lot of back pain and other problems while we were there on Easter.  This past week they took him to the Cleveland clinic for testing to figure out what was wrong.  I guess he had a blood clot in his liver.  So basically he is not doing well right now.  
4. Do you know what your plans are for Mother's Day?   Yes, we talked to a guy in the ward yesterday about the details and we should be able to Skype.  It probably won’t be until about 6 pm (EST) our time or 4 pm (MST) so you will just be getting out of church.  That’s the time that works best with our schedule and also allows us to do some work during the day.  Unfortunately our church schedules don’t coincide very well.  If I call before my church it is still early (6:00 am) for you and by the time I’m done you guys are off at church.  So that time will probably work best and so far that’s what we’ve determined with the guy.  I will let you know our final plans next week.     
5. How's the area?  It is awesome…nice and woodsy.  It’s very hunter and outdoors friendly.  It reminds of some of the small little towns up in the mountains in Utah.  Do you drive or does Elder G?  I drive a little bit but he drives most of the time. 
6. What kind of car do you have?  2012 Toyota Corolla. 
7. Do you get more miles because your area is so spread out and large?  We get 1300 a month.  So only 300 more than before.
8. What are 5 positive things from the week?  1) We have been able to meet with more members.  2) We had a few dinner appointments this week, one was with our Branch mission leader.  3) I have started reading the NT.  4) We had branch conference yesterday and they had some really good lessons.  In EQ we had a lesson about being shepherds and how we as priesthood holders are the shepherds.
9. How are things with your investigators?
1.  J?  We have not seen her again because she has some health problems and she has been trying to get stuff figured out with that.  We are going to try and stop by this week.
   
2.  T & R?  Well we were going to go see them on Friday but we ended up not being able to meet with them.  Unfortunately they are kind of backsliding right now.  They still have not been able to make it to church.  We have another appointment with them this Friday, cross your fingers we get to see them. 
   
3. Anyone new?  No not really.  As I was writing this email we got a media referral from a guy that wants a BOM. 
   
4. Senior Center?  It’s going well, they had some little band come in last week and play oldies country music. 
   
5. Service opportunities?  Well finally we’ve been able to do some manual labor!!!!  I know this sounds weird, but I was quite excited about the opportunity.  We were able to spread mulch in the librarian’s yard.  She works at the library and she knows everyone that comes in.  So she has known who the missionaries are for a while now.  She is a super nice older lady.  She asked us a few weeks ago if we would come and help them put a few bags of mulch down in her beds.  It was a piece of cake compared to what Derek and I do back at home.  After we rototilled her garden and it was pretty fun.  Her husband is pretty cool.  He is into family history big time.  He is from Germany in an area down by Munich.  I told him that Boris went to that area in Germany last summer.  They fed us dinner while we were there too.  On top of that they gave us a $50 dollar gift card to a local grocery store.  Unfortunately right now they are not really interested in the church.  But I know we and the missionaries in the past have been planting seeds and I think at some point in the future they’ll be interested…whether it’s in this life or the next is the question.  But I know Heavenly Father is really preparing them and in the Lord’s time all things are possible.  They have some Mormon friends that they were good friends with when they lived in New Jersey and one of their kids works with a Mormon.   
   
10. How are the members?
1. Branch President ( K family)?  I think they are doing good, but we are not going to be seeing him much more because he was just released as branch president (he just got a new job). 
2.  B family?  They are doing well but I still don't know them really well.  From what I have seen they seem to be pretty cool.  We are going down for dinner on Wednesday. 
3. Any new members you've met?  No, not really.  I am hoping that I can get to know them better as the weeks go on.  It is hard because everything is so spread out in our area.  It’s difficult to see everyone and still stay within our limit on miles. 
4. Branch news?  Well we have a new branch president.  His name is President W .  He is Sister B's dad.  I don't really know him very well.  I think they have only lived in the ward for about 6 months.  We are having dinner with them on Thursday.     
   
11. Are things still going well with you and Elder G?  Yes
    
12. Any spiritual experiences that you'd like to share?  I was watching the 2 Easter videos on Mormon channel.  I’ve really enjoyed watching them.  It is always interesting to study about Pilate and after 3 times of questioning Jesus eventually he realizes Christ’s innocence.  He wants to wash his hands of the situation and let the blood be upon the hands of those that condemned him, but instead Pilate gave in to the blood thirsty crowd and delivered Christ to His crucifiers.   Elder G and I were talking about what was said about the Jews in the NT and how it’s ironic that they were persecuted during WWII and now by the Islams.

I found an article on LDS.org about Christ’s mission and why it had to happen the way it did.  Elder Alexander Morrison explains (Oct. 1999), “For this cause came I into the world.” What was that cause? Why did Jesus, the Lord God Omnipotent who sits at the right hand of the Father, creator of worlds without number, lawgiver and judge, condescend to come to earth to be born in a manger, live out most of His mortal existence in obscurity, trudge the dusty roads of Judea proclaiming a message which was violently opposed by many, and finally, betrayed by one of His closest associates, die between two malefactors on Golgotha’s somber hill? Nephi, who gloried “in … Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell” (2 Ne. 33:6), understood Christ’s motivation: “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him” (2 Ne. 26:24). It was love for all of God’s children that led Jesus, unique in His sinless perfection, to offer Himself as ransom for the sins of others. In the words of the beloved hymn, “Jesus died on Calvary, That all thru him might ransomed be” (“Tis Sweet to Sing the Matchless Love,” Hymns, no. 176). This, then, was the consummate cause which brought Jesus to earth to “suffer, bleed, and die for man.” He came as “a lamb without blemish and without spot”

14. Can we help/pray for anything?  Just keep praying that we can start teaching people more and that we can get people to church. 
    
15. Do you need anything?  No
16. Anything you want to add or tell?  Well Elder G picked up a dead raccoon on the side of the road the other day and skinned it.  Now we have a homemade raccoon pelt.  It took him about 4 hours to skin it and it took like 3 days to dry.  I will get you a picture and send it next week.   
    

That’s my week in a nutshell.  Hope you have a wonderful week.  I can't wait to talk to you in 2 weeks J 

Love you,

Elder Muir

Week 46...Adventures in Ridgway

April 21, 2014

1. How was your week?  What are the highs/lows?  This week was quite an adventure.  I will start off with sort of a low for the week, but it turned out to be quite the adventure.  On Wednesday night we decided that we needed to get some air in the tires.  All was going well until we got to the last tire.  Instead of putting air in the tire I accidentally broke off the pin that keeps the air in. Suddenly we are losing air in the tire quite rapidly.  I thought to myself “oh dear, nice mess I’ve gotten us into”.  To make it worse, it was about a half hour before the night was over and we needed to be in and we now had a flat tire to change.  We proceeded to call our fleet coordinator and told him we just gave ourselves a flat tire.  He said, “I guess you better get out the spare and change it and get the tire fixed tomorrow”.  Luckily, Elder G  knew what he was doing and I learned some important skills about changing a tire.  So we got the flat fixed and we were on our merry way J  It wasn’t the best way to end a night, but we survived and it was probably the most memorable ending of a night so far in the mission.  The next day we had zone training and it was good.  We learned about how to resolve people’s concerns when they have committed to a baptism date but they run into problems as the date approaches.  We are in a pretty small zone here.  I don't know very many of the missionaries yet but I’m excited to get to know them.  We drove down to our zone training with another set of Elders.  On our way we drove through Punxy and drove passed the library where they keep the ground hog, Punxsutawney Phil.  Good heavens…I think they worship ground hogs there. They have statues of ground hogs all over the place.  A high for the week was last night’s Easter dinner.  It was really good, we had ham and homemade funeral potatoes…mmm!!!  We also had the resurrection Easter rolls that we’ve had before.  The ones with the marshmallows that melt and leave an empty hole in the roll (tomb). They were delish.  Best of all, they sent us home with a bunch of the left overs.  The people we had dinner with are awesome people.  We may go over later this week and help them plant some of their garden because the dad has a lot of health problems.  For the spiritual thought we watched the Because of Him video.   Hope you guys have had a chance to watch it.  http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694
2. Did you get the Easter package?  Did it survive and did you like it?  I'm sorry, I forgot to put the Friendship bread in...AGAIN!!!  Yes, I got the package and it survived.  I was wondering about the bread…but oh well, I’m sure I’ll get it someday.  I really liked the package…thanks!!!  I really liked the little egg thing about Christ’s last week, the Atonement & the resurrection.  I also really liked getting the little notes from you, dad & grandma.  I wish Derek and Megan would have written one, but whatever J 
3. Do you live across the street from the cemetery?  Is it a house or an apartment?  Are you getting used to it?  Yes, I live across form the cemetery.  It is a house that has been turned into an apartment.  Yes, I am getting used to it. 
4. What are 5 positive things from this week?  1)  We got a new investigator.  2)  I learned how to change a tire (boy…that was a treat).  3) Easter dinner was delish and we got a whole bunch of left overs.  4) The ward clerk gave us a whole bunch of Easter candy from Walmart and 5) We have been able to reactivate two families. 
5. Are there any retail/national chain restaurants in your areas besides Wendy's?  No, not really. Subway is really the only other thing.  I will keep my eyes peeled for any others. 
6. What is the name of your district/zone?  We are in the Brookville District and the Altoona West zone.  We are part of the Altoona stake.  Altoona is about 85 miles from St. Marys and it takes us about 1 hour 45 minutes to travel.
7. Where do you meet for your district meetings?  We rotate between our building and the Brookville building because we have to give everybody their fair share of eating their miles up.  For us to go to Brookville each week would kill our miles.  It’s about 40 miles one way and takes close to an hour to get there. 
8. What city/town is your church/branch in?  Is Ridgway a town?  Yes, Ridgway is a town.  The church is just outside of Ridgway. 
9. How far is your church from your apt?  About 20 or so minutes. 
10. What time is your church now?  9:30 am
11. Have you had President interviews yet?  No, they are on April 30th. 
12. How is your area?  Are you getting used to it yet?  It is great.  Yes, I am getting used to it. 
13. What cities/towns does your area include?  Kane, Mt Jewett, Brockway, St Mary’s, Ridgway and Emporium.  Like I said before, our area is one of the largest in the mission.  We cover 4 counties.  All of the towns except St. Mary’s and Altoona are less than about 3,000 in population.  I’m about 50 miles from the border of New York and 150 miles south of Niagara Falls and about 85 miles southeast of Erie, PA (Lake Erie)
14. How are things with you and Elder G?  What does he like besides Star Wars?  How old is he?  Does he know the new mission president?  Things are going great. We are getting along just great, no problems at all.  We are having fun together.  We are both hard workers and we want to get work done and be effective in our responsibilities.  He likes mountain biking, Legos, snowboarding, fishing and of course, Star Wars.  Basically, he is an outdoorsy kind of guy.  He doesn’t know the new mission president but apparently his parents are going to their farewell because his mom works with someone that is in the MP’s ward.  He turned 19 in March. 
15. Tell us about your investigators or who you are teaching?  Well we don't have a large teaching pool right now.   We mostly teach less actives, but the few that we have are pretty awesome.  We just started teaching a new lady that we got this week and her name is J.  She has been Catholic most of her life but she has gone in and out of activity.  She is an older single lady.  She understood what we were teaching up until we got to Joseph Smith.  She has some problems with all of that but we are slowly getting her to read the BOM and she seems like she has good potential.  So we will see where it goes.  It is interesting to hear from her about all the problems the Catholic church is having.  We have another set of investigators that we are teaching that have a baptism date for the beginning of May but they have not been able to make it to church because their car is having problems along with some other things.  So their baptism isn’t going to happen that soon, oh, and they also need to get married too J  Slight problem, but hopefully they will get baptized while I am serving here.  They are very nice people and their names are T & R.  I have only met him because she was at work while we were there. 
16. What do you like best about your area so far?  I like the scenery and the branch seems really nice.
17. Do you do any service in this area?  We help at a senior center again.  We play different games with a bunch of old people.  Speaking of the senior center, I need my social security number because in order to push wheel chairs around they need to do a background check on me…ya, don't ask me why I need a background check for pushing wheelchairs around, but I do.  So in order for me to complete my volunteer application I need the number.  Not sure how you want to go about sending it.  Elder G said his mom sent pieces of it to him in different letters.  So I need it at some point and you’ll have to let me know how you’re going to do it…thanks!
18. What members have you really clicked with so far (besides Branch President)?  The B family is really great.  They are a nice young family that moved from Vernal about 6 months ago.  Their oldest kids are twin boys that are Megan’s age.  I haven’t been able to go to their house yet because her husband drills for oil for his job.  He works for 3 weeks on and 3 off.  He gets back on Thursday so hopefully I can get to know them a little better. 
19. What is the Branch President's family name?  The K family
20. How are the meals going (still far and few between?)  Pretty much
21. Have you heard from Elder B?  Yes, we email back and forth a little bit. 
22. Are you healthy & happy?  Yes

Well there are my Ridgway area adventures for the week, never a dull moment.

Love you and miss you…3 weeks J

 

Elder Muir

Week 45...Where in Pennsylvania is Elder Muir???

April 14, 2014
Where in Pennsylvania is Elder Muir?  Welcome to the Ridgway Branch in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania.

St. Marys is a city in Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,070 at the 2010 census. Originally a small, Bavarian Catholic town, St. Marys was founded December 8, 1842. It is home to Straub Brewery and the first Benedictine convent in the United States. In 1992, the borough of St. Marys absorbed the surrounding township of Benzinger and incorporated as a city,^[1] though much of the city's area remains wild.
St. Marys lies in the center of Pennsylvania's elk country. It is one of the few places east of the Mississippi River that allows hunting of wild elk. The area is known for its access to outdoor activities, including trout streams and state hunting lands inside the city limits.

1.      Where in PA are you?  Where were you transferred to?  I am in the Ridgway Branch.  That is the name of the area and branch.  We also cover 3 or 4 little cities.  We live in St. Marys but the branch is called the Ridgway Branch and the church is about 20 minutes from where we live.  I am about 40 or 50 miles north from Punxsutawney, PA where the good ole ground hog, Punxsutawney Phil, comes out and predicts our fate of spring or winter.  That is not in my area but I border the area. 

2.      Tell us about your area?   The area is very mountain like and it is a beautiful area. It is going to be awesome coming up over the next month as the blossoms start coming out.  It totally looks like going up the canyons in Utah.  It’s like driving in the mountains back home (I use that term lightly) and when we were driving home the other day there were 5 decent sized elk crossing the road.  Hence, the name of the county is Elk County.  The area is full of redneck people and Brian and grandpa Lewy and everyone would really enjoy the area. There is fishing and hunting galore everywhere.  I am in the heart of Pennsylvania slang now and everyone says yinz & yous and all kinds of funky stuff.  I have definitely gone from a white collar area to blue collar.  My area is one of the bigger areas in the mission because everything is so scattered and spread out here.  Luckily the city we live in has everything we need.  We’ve got a Walmart to shop at so we are set.  The area is a heavily populated catholic area.  So we will see how things are, I’m really excited to be here.    

3.      Who is your companion?  Where is he from, how long has he been out?  Give us details?  His name is Elder G.  He is from Hyde Park, UT (up by Logan).  He has been out in the mission about 6 months.  He loves Star Wars and Batman.  You'll get a kick out of this… he even has a little Yoda stuffed animal (he would love Rasmussen’s Yoda Claus).  FYI... in the last Batman movie Gotham City is Pittsburgh and it ends blowing up the city.  Just a little random side note of trivia about Pittsburgh.  He has 2 little brothers and a little sister.    

4.      How long has your companion been in the area?  He has been here in St. Marys since the beginning of the year.  However, this is his first time that he has lead out an area so he is still trying to manage and get used to having to be the one in charge right now.  It has been a crazy hectic week with transfers and getting settled in.  We’re hoping to get busy and get things moving.  We have good plans this week so hopefully they will work. 

5.      Do you get along well with your new companion?  Yes, so far he is awesome… granted it is only week 2 together.  But right now we are getting along great and it seems we will for the entire time. 

6.      Are you in a ward or a branch?  We’re in a branch, but it is so close to be a small ward.  If we can get all the less actives that they’ve been working with activated becoming a ward very likely could happen.  We had 10 less actives at church yesterday.  That was pretty cool. 

7.      How are you adjusting to your new area/companion?  It is good.  It is definitely weird going from a ward to a branch but it should be good.  We have only been fed twice so far since I have been here.  We ate with the branch president’s family and a less active couple.  We don't really have anything lined up for this week.  But the Branch president has basically told us to start inviting ourselves over for dinner.  So we will see how that goes. 

8.      How did you get to your new area?  Who did you travel with?  Well that is quite the story.  We were supposed to be in Harrisburg by 8:30 am on Tuesday morning but it was 9:30 by the time we got there.  We rode up with the Ephrata elders and they were supposed to pick us up at 7:30 am but they called us and said they had not even left yet at that time.  I’m not sure why they were running late.  So long story short we got to Harrisburg an hour late.  In Harrisburg I got in a car with a few other elders and we drove to Pittsburgh for the transfer meeting out there.  That is the first time I have been to Pitt in 10 months.  In Pittsburgh I hooked up with Elder G and then we drove about 2 hours northeast and got to our area (St. Marys) between about 6 & 6:30 pm after leaving Pitt around 3:30ish. 

9.      How are the members?  They seem nice.  I haven’t been able to get to know them  well yet but they all seem nice so far.  

10.  Are there any people that you've really clicked with yet?  The branch president and his family are pretty cool.  There is one other family, the B family, that I have sort of met and they seem like a nice family. 

11.  Are you happy?  Yes, things seem good so far. 

12.  What are the highs/lows of the week?  Well on Saturday the branch had a little ward activity.  We had a cake contest and a pinewood derby.  It was a fun little activity and  Elder G and I made a pretty ghetto pinewood derby car.  I will send you a picture soon.  Also, we were the judges of the cake.  Nothing like eating 5 huge pieces of cake.  Now this next story is hilarious to me.  So for dinner on Tuesday night we stopped at Wendy's for dinner.  We ordered our food and we were eating and then I had to go to the restroom. I came back and one of the workers was out talking to Elder G.  I sat down and she was pretty much flirting with us.  She was a 17 year old high school girl and she had no idea who or what we were. We tried explaining things and she was still clueless and did not really care.  The best part is…apparently while I was in the bathroom she offered her job to Elder G because she says she hates it.  It was pretty darn funny.  I can’t even do the story justice by telling it to you.  It was quite the experience.  The low is that we have not really been fed much and it sounds like that is the track record but hopefully I can fix that.  Also, having 10 LA (less actives) at church yesterday was definitely a high.  That is the most I have ever had or that the branch has seen in a while.    

13.  Do you know any of the elders/sisters in your district?  I know of them and have heard of them but I have never really been around them so I am excited to get to know all of them. 

14.  How's the weather been?  It has been awesome, it rained on Friday but the rest of the week has been in the mid 70's and close to 80.  However, tomorrow it is supposed to crash and go back into the 40s for the day. 

15.  How's your new apartment?  Please take pics of the area, apartment and companion :)  The new apartment is decent, it is older the other two I’ve been in.  We live right across the street from a huge cemetery.  It is 80's looking and the stove is an ugly green.  I will send pictures of it all.  The coolest thing is it has this old surround sound system that is hooked up to a CD player and other stereo things.  I will take a picture of that too, it is pretty sweet. 

16.  How are your clothes holding up?  They all seem to be doing well and are not falling apart yet so hopefully they will keep lasting. 

17.  How was church yesterday?  It was good.  It was really weird only having  90 people there but I think it will be a great experience. 

18.  I have a couple of weird questions that I have heard about lately...

1.      Have you heard or do you burn a tie at your year mark/hump day?  I have heard about it but have not done it.  I think tie burning is at 6 months and the year mark might be a white shirt and when you go home you burn an entire suit. 

2.      Can you drive during your last transfer?  If no, what's the reason behind it?  Yes, you can drive your last transfer; you just can't drive your first transfer. 

19.  Anything you want to tell me that I didn't ask?   There are a few things…the first cool thing is that the branch president’s wife really likes to sew and so she ties a quilt for all the missionaries that come into their area.  She asks what your favorite color is and then makes it for you.  I told her I like blue and she said she would do kind of plaid stuff with it.  So I will send a picture in a few weeks when it is done.  Both she and her husband are from Vernal, UT.  He works in the oil industry out here and they are in their mid 30’s.  Unfortunately, he won’t be the Branch President much longer because he got a new job and will be traveling most of the month. 

 Also there is a city called Kane in my area and the guy that founded it was a friend of a lot of the Mormon pioneers and Brigham Young.  Here is an article I found on lds.org about him.  https://www.lds.org/ensign/1971/10/general-thomas-l-kane-the-pioneer?lang=eng&query=kane  

Well there is my week in the Ridgway branch.  Looks like these next few months will be pretty awesome.  Remember only 3 weeks until Mother’s Day, I can hardly wait.  I love you all and miss you.  

Love,

Elder Muir