Week 55...Transfer #10 Elder G is Leaving :(

June 23, 2014

It sounds like you had quite the adventuresome week.  Derek seemed to learn a lot a valuable life lessons.  That kid still needs to write me…I am waiting.  Maybe some consequences in his near future should be given if he does not write me soon.  He doesn’t seem to want you to tell me about his life but he doesn’t want to either…Oh well, onto the questions. 

1. How did transfers calls go?   Well, Elder G is leaving, so I am getting a new companion.  We will drive to Pitt tomorrow and I pick up my new companion there.  We also are taking the Brookville sisters down too.  I’m sure you are most excited about me driving through Pitt and the surrounding area and the drive for 2 hours down & back to St. Marys.  We’ll both be glad you’re not in the car with me J
2. How was your week?  What were the highs/lows?  Sacrament meeting was awesome yesterday.  It was all about enduring to the end and enduring through all of the trials that life throws at you.  Sis. K (lady that made my quilt) gave an awesome talk based from Pres. Monson’s talk "I Will Not Forsake Thee”.https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/i-will-not-fail-thee-nor-forsake-thee?lang=eng  She talked about how life is full of trials and that is how we learn and grow.  She gave a bunch of examples of the different types of trials we encounter.  1)  Trials of life that come to everyone…just part of life 2)  Trials you inflict on yourself…meaning the dumb things that cause problems in your life   3)  Trials others inflict on us…those trials that other people cause that you can’t control.  It was really good how she tied it all together.  This morning I decided to reread Pres. Monson’s talk and that was awesome.  I liked how he stressed that the gospel of Jesus Christ is what can help us endure our trials.  I encourage you to read it again, it is awesome.  Well I am bummed Elder G is leaving, but I am excited for my new adventures with my new companion.  Unfortunately, it was really humid at the beginning of last week, but now it is semi nice.  Also, the thunderstorms at night this past week were pretty cool.  The lightning was so bright that on the camera it looks like the middle of the day.  Oh yeah, and we got to burn a whole bunch of our old records at our branch mission leader’s house.  That was pretty fun J  We also were able to meet a less active lady that moved in from the Brookville ward.  She is super awesome and hopefully we can go somewhere with her.  We are eating with them on Thursday this week. 
3. What were 5 positive things from the week?  1) We might have a new investigator that moved in with one of the less active families we are working with.  2) We finally found S. 
4. How's the weather been?  We had a few thunderstorms when we have gone to bed that had lots of lightning.  It was really cool.  Unfortunately, it has been starting to get pretty humid.  I feel like I have just gotten out the shower when I walk outside sometimes.  Sounds like your weather has been more exciting than here.  That is crazy about the amount of rain you said we’ve have had. 
5. How's your meal schedule?  We are lucky if we get 1 maybe 2 a week.  That is a goal that I have for this transfer, I would like to get the members more involved and get more appointments.  That is the easiest and best way to get in and meet members and get to know them.     
6. How are things with T?  He is doing well and we saw him on Thursday.  He is kind of stuck in his house right now because of  his ankle so he can't really go anywhere.  So hopefully it will get better soon so he can start coming to church.  We are starting to run out of options to get him to progress.  So we will see what happens.  Hopefully my new companion will have some new insights to continue moving forward with him. 
7. Any new investigators?  Hopefully we have a new lady, like I said above, one of the less actives had someone move in with them that seems interested  so hopefully we can get her started in our teaching pool. 
8. Who have you been meeting with this week?  We have been meeting with T and we finally found S.  So we talked with her and her sister and we are going to start teaching both of them this week.  We spent a lot of time finding LA's that we knew nothing about.  So hopefully we can continue building on the people that we are slowly starting to meet and find. 
9. Any funny stories?  Well, supposedly last week there was a tornado warning that came through the area south of us.  It was the day before ZC and we were down that way and  we drove right through all of the crazy rain that came through.  We had no idea there was a tornado warning until we were talking to our branch mission leader the other day. 
10. How will the transition take place with the new mission president?  What do you know or is it just business as usual?  President Johnson gets here Friday and President Topham will pick them up at the airport.  They will spend a few hours together and then it is, “here are the keys…good luck and syonara”.  It is a baptism by fire or like being thrown off the deep end of a cliff pretty much.  Also, I got the info on President Topham’s homecoming  it is in the Fruit Heights 9th Ward at 9:00 a.m. on June 29th.
11. Do you need anything?  Well somehow I lost my oil vile so if you could get me a new one that would be great.  The chain broke on it so I zip tied it to my backpack and it somehow fell off.  Also in the top of my locker in the cupboard above it I have a book of talks with a purple cover that I got from institute.  Also if you can find the Paul Cardall Primary hymn CD that has I Love to See the Temple on it. 
    
    

Well there is my week and now onto the new adventures with my new companion.  I will write you a letter once I pick him up and let you all about him.  Also you will be getting a letter later this week that you will probably get a good laugh out of. 

Love you all!!!
Elder Muir

Week 54...Word of the Week--CONFERENCE!!!

June 16, 2014

 President, Elder Muir & Sis. Topham at zone conference

 Altoona West Zone

 Elder Muir, Elder G, Elder H, & Elder M at stake conference

Hola Family…

What’s up with the family?  Sounds like things are good back at home.  That’s crazy that there’s already been a fire on the mountain in Draper…sheesh!  It is very wet and green here, so no need to worry about a fire here J  Did you get the mailer that I sent and did dad get his Father’s Day card?  It’s been a good and extremely busy week here. 

1. How was your week?  What were the highs/lows?  It has been a good busy week.  The downside is we spent a lot of time driving to Altoona and State College for Zone Conference (ZC) and Stake Conference (SC).  That took up a big chunk of our week but such is life, at least we were driving & not walking.  I’ll start off with ZC, it was a big time high.  The trainings were great and I learned a lot.  SC was very good as well. The talks that were given were awesome.  It was long 2 days since it was about a 2 hour drive each way for both ZC and SC.  But the talks that were given were awesome.  We had an area 70 there and on Sunday he gave an awesome talk about the sacrament and the importance and sacredness of it.  It made me think of how important the sacrament is to me and made me realize that I need to recommit myself to taking it with the seriousness & reverence that it deserves.  On Saturday night the theme was "Hastening the Work".  That seems to be the theme ever since the church did the missionary broadcast last year right after I left.  The Lancaster stake had the same theme at their stake conference a couple of months ago.  The church is definitely making a big push to hasten the work and involve members in missionary work.  Remember Elder M  (the elder from Huntington, PA that was serving in our Draper ward a few months back)???  Well, his sister gave a talk in our stake conference in Altoona.  She is a recently returned missionary and she talked about the importance of member missionary work.  It was very good and much needed I think.  Lows for the week were J dropping us and yesterday we had to get up at 4 am to make it to Stake Conference.  In reality, we didn't really need to be up that early, but whatever…we are making memories, right J
   
2. How was your zone conference?  Where was the zone conference at?  Zone Conference was awesome.  It was at the chapel in State College.  Holy cow…that town pretty much lives and breathes Penn State.  I thought Provo bled pretty blue for BYU but Penn State is so much bigger it takes it to a whole new level…allegiance and fans are out of control here.  It was a very good Zone Conf.  The zone leaders talked about how the area books can/need to be better organized so all of the areas have similarly organized area books.  President’s training was also really good.  It was different but it was very good.  We split off the elders and sisters, elders with President & sisters with Sis. Topham.  We had training on overcoming addiction and the power of the Atonement.  The mission (church in PA) has always had a struggle with pornography and things like that so President decided to do some training on that.  It was very good, he talked about the scientific data about how it is natural for the body to have that desire and how it is part of the brain function.  Then he really focused on the evils of it and the destruction it can cause. In the end he tied it all into the Atonement and how we can use the Atonement to fix our lives, realign our will with God and become clean again.  It was a great conference.  We and the DuBois elders spent Wednesday night at some other elders’ apartment who live a bit closer since we had to be there by 8:30 am.  It was weird seeing President doing his final zone conference and bring in the reigns in preparation for his departure.  From what it sounds like Pres. Johnson should be a great person.  Attached is a picture of me, President and Sis. Topham at the zone conference.  After the ZC they let all of the missionaries say good bye and get a picture with them.  They also had some time in stake conference for a departing testimony.   
   
3. How was your stake conference?  Like I said in the highs, it was awesome.  I was just 2 really long days.  I won’t ever take for granted having our (Draper) stake center right across the street.  Driving for 2 hours is no Bueno.   But it was totally worth it, the talks and everything were awesome.  The theme was "Hastening the Work".  We are really trying to get members and missionaries working together.  So that is the gist of stake conf. 
   
4. Who were the other 2 Elders in the picture that was texted?  Elder H  and Elder M.  They DuBois area missionaries.  Sis B  took the picture and texted it to you.  We rode with their family to stake conference. 
5. Where was your stake conference and how long did it take you to get there?  The Saturday night session was at the Altoona stake center and the Sunday session was at a convention center in Altoona.  It takes about 2 hrs to get to Altoona.  Like I said before, on Sunday we had to get up at 4 am in order to get to stake conference.  Getting up that early was a bummer.  We were supposed to meet the B family at their house (in DuBois) at 6 am for a ride and it takes us some time to get to DuBois.  However, we didn’t leave their house until about 6:30 am.  The main stake meeting started at 10 am, but the B family was told that they had to go to a meeting for their daughter that was baptized last year at age 9.  However, the meeting ended up really being for converts, oh well.  We still were an hour early, so we just hung out for a while.  Also, another fun thing was that they brought food for a picnic lunch afterwards and they brought enough for us and we got to hang out with them.     
   
6. Are transfers next week?  Any gut feelings on transfers?  Yes, transfers next week.  I am not really sure what is going to happen.  I have the feeling that Elder G is out.  He has been here just under 6 months so we will see what happens.  We’ll get transfer calls on Saturday so I will know by Monday’s email.  
   
7. How was the weather this week?  I saw another flash flood warning for you area on my phone earlier in the week?  It has rained a lot, but I don’t think there was any flooding.
8. How are things with the investigators/members?
1.  T ?  What about R l?  (I put his name on the prayer roll this week)  Well he is doing good.  We had a lesson scheduled for last week but he cancelled, hopefully this week we will see him. 
   
2. J?  (Glad to hear she is doing better and that you're meeting with her again)  Well, that ship has now officially sailed.  Stupid Friday, the 13th.  She called us a couple of hours before our apt. and basically dropped us.  She said she was not really interested anymore and so right now we are not teaching her.  We may stop by here in a few weeks and just see how she is doing and keep the lines open. 
3. Any new investigators?  No, not really we keep trying but last week we were pretty busy and did not have lots of finding time. 
   
   
4. What about less actives?  They are slowly being taught but we are having a hard time contacting them and staying in contact with them. 
5. How are the members?  They are doing great.  We are continuing to try and get to know them more so we can work with them and help them do their missionary work.    
   
9. Any service opportunities?  Last week at the senior center we got to help out with a dude’s 102nd birthday party J 
   
10. Can we pray for anything?  Please pray that we can continue to find and teach people.

Love you!!!

Elder Muir

Week 53. . .The Work is Picking Up

June 9, 2014

1. How's your week been?  What were the highs/lows?  This week was a pretty good week,  it was busy but good.  We had exchanges on Wednesday and into Thursday.  It was pretty fun.  I stayed here in our area with the district leader, Elder H.  We had a good time and got a lot done.  Unfortunately, on Wednesday after DM (district meeting) we had to walk to get the car back.  It was in the shop because we got the dent fixed.  So Elder H  and I spent part of Wednesday walking for 45 minutes to get the car.  It was not fun not being without the car for a few days.  So a low and a high was at the beginning of the week after dropping the car off for the service we had to walk home because we did not have the car.   Of course, it poured rain all the way home and we were soaking wet.  It was fun though and we had a good time J  On Thursday our exchange was pretty awesome, we finally got in to see T and we were able to have a decent lesson with him.  I think we were able to get the ball rolling with him again. We almost got him to church, but on Friday he hurt his ankle and was not able to make it.  Hopefully he will be able to make it soon.  The whole exchange and experience with T was a nice HUMP day present for me.  Hopefully he will continue to progress.  Saturday was a fun day.  We were up at the S family’s all day helping them in the yard.  We started building an herb box for them and we helped them plant a few rows of beans.  It was a good day, it was nice with no rain and blue sky.  I’m finally starting to get my tan back.  Another high was the dinner we had with the B family  last night. We had good hamburgers and hot dogs.  The best part and funny high of the night was their 3 year old son, Simon.  He is a crazy, funny little boy and boy does he ever remind me of Masen when he was younger.  All of the sudden we looked out the window and his pants were down and he was taking care of business out in the yard.  It was really funny…straight out of America’s Funniest Videos.
   
   
2. Any exciting news this week?  We also finally made contact with J again and we are going to have a lesson with her on Friday.  She has been MIA for a while since she’s been in the hospital.  As mentioned above, we almost got T  to church but then he messed up his ankle. 
3. What are 5 positive things from the week?  Well as of yesterday, we have reactivated 3 more people.  The car is finally problem free, let’s hope it stays that way. 
4. Do the AP's do splits with all of the elders?  How come they came to do exchanges with you last week?  No, basically President just chooses people for APs to go with to see how things are going.  So I guess you could say we were just the lucky ones to get chosen.
5. Who are the new AP's and where are they from?  Elder D  is from Tremonton and Elder S  is from Fillmore.  
6. What's up with the departure of the Tophams and the arrival of the new mission president?  I think the new President gets here on June 28th and Pres. & Sis.Topham leave shortly after that.  We/they are on the final count down at this point.  By July 1st everything will be done and we’ll be moving forward. 
7. Are there any last conferences or things you'll do/have with President Topham?  We have zone conference on Thursday.  We also have stake conference this weekend.  I’m guessing President will be at that.  Also I may see him at transfers if Elder G gets transferred  so we will see what happens.  
8. How's Elder G?  He is doing well.  He continues to be Elder G J  No dead animals have been skinned lately.  He just continues to stay out of trouble and build his Legos and like  his Star Wars paraphernalia .  Unfortunately, I may be on the final weeks with him, we’ll see how it goes. 
   
   
9. How are things with the people you are teaching/meeting with?  Give me the lowdown on who you are working with and what you're doing.  Things are going great right now. We have finally been able to start teaching T & J  again.  We’re praying that we can continue moving in the right direction with them and not lose contact with them.  Other than that things are still pretty much where they were. 
10. Did you get the HUMP Day package?  Yes, I got it and I loved it.  I know you won’t believe this, but I even waited until Thursday to open it.  The stuffed camel is pretty funny/awesome.  I am surprised I don't ever remember seeing/hearing that commercial.  Unfortunately, Elder G wasn’t here when I opened it (he was on exchange).  He got home later that night and saw it all and thought it was great.  He loved the camel as well.  Thank you!!!
11. How's the branch?  Things are going great.  Pres. W is doing an awesome job getting things rolling and moving forward.  We had a branch council meeting yesterday about the training they received from Elder Holland.  They discussed how the time should not be spent on calendaring stuff but rather discussing the needs and people of the branch.  So we are headed in the right direction. 
12. Is there anything we can pray for?  Please pray that we can get T to church and continue help him progress. 
13. Is there anything you need?  No, not that I can think of. 
14. How's your weather been?  It has been up and down. It has been nice for a few days and it has rained pretty hard on others, but I will take this weather over the cold and snow any day. 

     Well there is another week in the books for you.  Finally, things are starting to move forward with the work again.  To top it all off, I hit half way mark…I can’t believe it.  I will get a letter in the mail here soon and also dad’s Father’s Day card.  Hope you have a great week, love you!!!

Love,

Elder Muir

Happy HUMP Day...Woot Woo!

June 5, 2014

CELEBRATE...this missionary mom is happy to check off the first year!!!  One down and 3 to go (Derek will be right after Zach).  At times it seems like the year has flown by and there are other times when it felt like we'd never reach the halfway mark.  I know it's all downhill for me now and I'm counting the days until I get that sweet boy of mine home.   However, we continue to pray that Elder Muir will work hard and continue to learn and grow in the gospel as he teaches and becomes the best missionary that he can be.



We had a great time putting together a fun HUMP day package for our Elder.  Here's a few things that we included.  Many thanks to all the wonderful family and friends that continue to support Zach on his mission.  I know he really appreciates your thoughts, words of encouragement and support.

 

 

Week 52...HUMP Day--Woot Woo!!!

Week 52…June 2, 2014

1. How was your week?  What were the highs/lows?  It was a good week.  It is still kind of slow but we have been able to find some potentials with the LA's (less actives) because of the list that the branch gave us.  The list is full of people that they want us to try and track down.  We’ve spent a lot of the week trying to locate a bunch of the people.  It’s an opportunity that has opened a few doors so we are taking it and running.  We were able to make it up to Kane this past week and visit with some of the people on the list.  We visited with a lady that we had an appointment but we weren’t able to get too much of a lesson in because the member we took with us is quite the talker.  He pretty much talked the entire time just catching up with things that have happened with her over the last little bit.  The weather has been pretty good. Wednesday we went to the S family’s house and helped them out.  We moved a bunch of wood, helped with their garden and did a bunch of things for them.  The best part was the food, she had really good pie for dessert.  We had corn on the cob and ribs and it was all really good. The low is we are still having a hard time contacting a lot of the people we have been teaching; however, we are starting to see new doors open.  
2. Has the flood receded in Ridgway and are things back to normal?  Things are pretty much functioning now.  I think people are just continuing to get things cleaned up now.  All  the water is back down now. 
3. How's the weather been?  Anymore terrible rain?  It has been nice all week with a little bit of rain.  It has been pretty good though, a bit humid but not terrible. 
4. How did things go with the AP?  It was pretty fun.  We had a day and a half with him.  They came Monday night and spent the night with us. Then they split up and one went to Phillipsburg and the other stayed here with us.  He went out with us all day Tuesday and stayed over into Wednesday.  They went home on Wednesday.
5. Were you able to make it up to Kane?  Yes, we made it up there and it was really cool.  We went with a member of the branch presidency to see some of the people that live up there.   We passed the Kane chapel where the Kane branch used to meet.  It is now owned by the historical society.  The Kane chapel is  where Thomas Kane is buried.  I will get pictures of it next time we are up there.  We met with a less active lady while we were there (as I mentioned above).  After we had dinner with the branch presidency member that we were with and his wife.  We had crock pot roast.  After we continued to go around trying to find lost names on the records. 
   
   
6. Have you had dinner appointments this week?  Yes, we had the 2 I told you about.  The one with the people in Kane and then the S family  fed us on Wednesday. 
7. How's the money situation holding out/up?  Good, now that it’s a new month I have more money.  The reason I ran out so fast is because we had a lot of stuff going on during the month of May and there were quite a few times we had to eat out.  This month will be good.
8. How are your investigators?
1. S?  We still have no idea where she is at.  When we were in Kane we stopped by her parents’ and sister’s house to see if she had gone there but she was not there.  They said she was in Johnsonburg.  I don’t remember if I told you, but the reason she is MIA is because she and her fiancé got in a fight and she pretty much ran away.  We’ve tried to see if she made it back but she is nowhere to be found.  So she is straight up lost.  We are just hoping she is ok because no one seems to know where she is.
2. Daughter in law of active lady?  We have not seen her lately.  She  had knee problems and things so we have not been able to get in to see her.  We have been trying to contact her but can never figure out what the deal is.  Her step mom (who she comes to church with) can’t get a hold of her either.  So we stopped by last night to try to get more info but we have a lot of MIA people L
3. Kane people?  We did a lot of quick drop in’s to check on people and most of them seem to be well.
4. Hometeaching prospects from ward last week?  Things are going good, we’ve found a few people that we can start teaching.  We are still working our way through the list.
5. Any new leads/prospects?  No not really
   
   
9. Here's a few HUMP Day questions for you...
10. What's the biggest change that you see in yourself over the past year?  I’ve definitely become more self-reliant. 
11. What's your favorite scripture/story?   “The depth of the concepts in the Book of Mormon are a constant source of inspiration, if we will but contemplate them. There, more abundantly than in any other volume, the Lord opens the windows of heaven, not only to pour out blessings, but to let us look in.”  (Neal A. Maxwell)  With that said about the BOM, I really like the story of Alma and Amulek.  It takes place during a time when people are so committed to iniquity that they give up their right to the blessings the Lord offers.  The city of Ammonihah was obliterated in a single day by a brutal and unexpected Lamanite attack.  But it was not the Lamanites who destroyed this city. The people of Ammonihah destroyed themselves.  The story that Alma tells is unlike any other story in the BOM.  We learn about the heart and soul of Alma as he labors and suffers with people who must have reminded him of himself just a few years before.  He might have gone on to greener pastures. Both Gideon and Melek must have been delightful fields of labor and Ammonihah showed little or no promise. But Alma did not abandon them to their impending destruction. “Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city . . ." (Alma 8:10).  He preaches repentance but the people reject him because they don’t believe him (he is only one witness) and they don’t understand God.  There are so many lessons we can learn from this small section of the BOM.  How do you suppose the Lord feels when we, who have been so richly blessed, rebel and choose the things of the world over the things of the Spirit?
12. What are your goals for the 2nd half of your mission?  The first year in the mission I have learned so many things.  Now I want to be able to take everything I have learned and really work hard to apply those things to becoming the best missionary that I can be.
13. What do you feel is your greatest strength as a missionary?  I have a great love for people I’m serving
14. What do you feel is your greatest challenge as a missionary?  I still struggle talking with people.  I am definitely better than I was in the beginning, but I’m still not fantastic at it.   Also, I struggle with asking good questions.
15. What 3 experiences stand out most to you from the past year?  Definitely the visits from the general authorities…Elder Holland and Elder Arnold .  I also learned a lot of valuable lessons from the situation with Sis. B  and her husband when I left Camp Hill. 
16. What people have influenced you the most in your mission/areas?  Oh boy, that’s a hard one.   Everyone that I’ve come in contact has influenced me for good in some way or another. 
17. What do you love the most about your mission?  For sure the people, especially the people in the branch and wards that I have been in.
18. What area did you enjoy the most?  What companion did you enjoy the most?  So far I would probably say Lititz. It was a beautiful area and was the “coolest small town” in America.  The ward members were so nice and took such good care of us.  It felt a lot like our Utah ward.  If I had to pick on companions I would probably say Elder J, but really all of them have been great in different ways.  I’ve learned something important from each of them.  
19. Anything else that you want to add or share?  The girl from Lori’s ward is now in my district.  

     Here is the quilt Sis. K made me for my mission.  She makes a quilt for each missionary serving in this area.  She said she kind of messed up on the pattern, but it looks good to me.  The dinosaurs are the back and the plaid is the front.  It’s awesome, she did a great job and is a really nice lady. There are some really nice people out here that we could all learn from their examples.  It will be a great memory from my mission a great memory of her family.

     Well another week of adventures.  We will see what this week brings.  I can't wait to get/open the package you sent for HUMP day.  I can’t believe it’s been a year already.   PS…I got you letter on Saturday, thanks!  

Love you tons!!!

Elder Muir

 The Ridgway Branch...Elder Muir & Elder G are halfway back in the middle

 The Ridgway Branch YM

 Elder Muir's quilt from Sis. K