March 2015 Zone Conference (Elder Muir is front row 4th from the left)
Sorry, I am early today. We
haven't been shopping and things like that yet so we got here early
today. Emails just depend on the order we do things and it’s been hard to
get into a set schedule here. It’s been an adventuresome week for sure.
I started off in the trio Monday, but by Friday I had a new companion. It
is slightly different then your normal companionship...you’ll see what I’m
talking about below. One thing for sure
about a mission is that change is always just around the corner and you have to
learn to go with the flow.
1. How was your week…what were the highs/lows? Well this week has been an interesting week once
again. First off, when I was with the Franklin Elders on Tuesday night we
went to a lecture at Venango College in Oil City. Guess who the speaker was…Elizabeth Smart!!!
It was really interesting. Basically,
she retold her story and talked about how to protect ourselves from that kind
of stuff and how we can prevent something like that happening. Her story
from the kidnapping was interesting and it was cool to see how she has taken
something terrible in her life and turned it into something positive and how
she’s using it to benefit others. She made some very good points in a non
religious way, but you could definitely tell that her faith in God was the
only way she was able to make it through the terrible 9 months that she was
held captive. One thing that really stood out was the way she applied the
Atonement during that time and how she has been able to forget about the past
and move forward with faith and use it to her benefit and the good of helping
others. It was also interesting to hear her talk indirectly about how God
was able to help her and as she kept her faith and did those things she that
she was told she knew that things would work out. She knew that justice and mercy would be put
into place and prevail in the end. One thing that I did learn that I
don't know if it came out in media at the time is at one point they went to
California for the winter to stay warm. It
was also interesting to see how she tied things into self-worth. Even though terrible things were happening
to her, she knew things would be alright, even though she admitted that in the
beginning she was very scared and knew the things that were happening to her
were wrong. I was really glad to be there and hear her presentation. I think it might be something that I will try
and have brought to SLCC. We had our
picture taken with her and got her autograph. I didn't get it on my
camera so I am waiting for someone to email to me, but I will have it by next
week. Surprisingly, she did not act too thrilled to see us. She was nice, but just looked at us kind of weird,
but whatever. Another high has been finally being able to get back into
the grove of things and get things under control here. The weather has
been nice too. Another good thing is we had a great zone training up in Erie
this week. We talked about relying on
the spirit in our teaching and the power and authority of our calling. Also,
it’s been nice being able to work and not having to constantly be worrying
about Elder T making sure he is OK. I
hope that things are working out well for him. The low has just been
trying to get things planned and put together for the week and having another
curve ball thrown at me.
2. How are things going with the 3 Zachs (trio)? Well, things are good but we’re no longer
together. Pres. Johnson decided to
change things up again. On Wednesday I got a call saying he had talked to
the stake president here and he said there was a missionary from the stake that
had come home from his mission and they wanted to do a mini mission with him. When PJ found out the missionary was from Meadville
ward he told the stake president he had the perfect fit. He said Meadville needs another missionary right
now to finish out the 10 days until transfers. So the call came to me and
I picked him up Friday night. So he will be with me until the transfers
on April 21. Basically he’s my companion and has to live by all the mission
rules and all that good stuff. His name is Elder T and he is a pretty cool kid. He is a little older than Derek.
It has been fun being with him for the past couple of days. I did not
really know him much before, but it has been fun getting to know him over the
past few days. So it has been an interesting few days. I’m excited
and glad that I’m not running around the 2 areas. It’s hard to run 2
areas at the same time.
3. How are you managing the 2 areas? Well, the 3 or 4 days that we did it was kind of hard. The first few days we just spent the time
down in Franklin and had a few lessons down there Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday
night we came back up to Meadville and stayed because we had to be in Erie on Thursday
for zone training. Meadville is closer to Erie than Franklin/Oil City.
4.
What about the
cars? It looks like it takes close to an hour to go from apt. to apt so
do you trade off cars? Well, we were
going to trade off using both cars, but now it is just back to normal.
Luckily my car wasn’t driven tons so we have a plethora of miles now,
but the Franklin Elders may end up needing them with all of the driving around they
did.
5. Have you heard from Elder T? How are things with
him? I’ve heard through the
grapevine from random RR updates. He had some tests done on Thursday
and they think they have ruled out his gall bladder, but still aren’t 100%
sure. They are doing more tests today and sticking tube down his
throat. RR said they
think it might be his liver, but they’re unsure. It’s not good if it is
liver, but like I said they need more tests. The liver could be right
because he was really jaundice before he left and I guess he still has a low
fever. So I’m praying that it all works out and they figure it out.
9. How are things with the missionary work in your areas?
a.
RR? She is doing well. We
have not seen her in a while. Sunday at church was the first time I’ve
seen her all week. She has been busy with work so it has been kind of
hectic. We went over to see her last night at the MM family but she
was not feeling good. We ended up just
talking with all of them and getting to know them more.
b.
A? Does she
still have a baptism date on 4/25? She has been doing well too. She has been sick so she has been MIA,
but we saw her after church. I think we are going to push her date back a bit.
c.
What about the
referral from the California missionaries? Did the family move in
yet? No, they have not moved yet. I
think they will be here by the end of April.
d.
What about the
sister in the neighboring ward that Elder T taught before? She is doing well, but much has changed with her.
e.
Any new
leads/investigators? No
10. What are 5 positive things from the week? 1) We’ve had quite a few meal appointments this week.
2) We had a meal appointment every night in Franklin. 3) Elder T’s (the new one) parents fed us yesterday and they signed
up few more times before transfers. They are a fun family to be with.
4) Also, the weather has been good. We should hit 70 today…yippee!!!
11. Do you attend both the Meadville ward & the
Franklin ward? How does that all work? Now that I have a new comp I went to my Meadville ward. Like I said, I have a missionary from the ward
doing a mini mission so he is my companion and we were able to stay here in
Meadville.
12. Are you meeting/contacting more members and meeting
more people? Yes, slowly. The weekend was kind of busy trying to get my
new comp, Elder T and we also had to plan for this upcoming week. On
Saturday we spent most of the day helping some people move. It took most of the afternoon. Yesterday
we got quite a few things done also.
Starting this week I am hoping that things will move forward. We
have the miles to get things done and people that the ward wants us to see.
13. Any upcoming mission news/events? Transfers are next week and from there the final countdown
is on. I don't know if I told you that we get iPads on May 21st.
So I’ll get to use it for 2 weeks.
Another adventure and exciting week in the books.
Love you,
Elder Muir
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