Winter Weather, Double Digits and the Other Gift of Tongues

They are so pumped because of all the lessons they had this week!

Hola a todos!

Winter weather has officially set in here in Smyrna. But, the South is weird, because we've had days this month where it's been 70 and sunny, and other days the high is 40. This week was pretty darn cold though. And windy. But we are super stoked for Thanksgiving and all that good stuff. We are not sure if we'll be having a Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving because most of our members are going to be out of town this week. But, we did get invited to come to one of the member's houses in the Smyrna English ward. Apparently this guy cooks up three turkeys every year, and invites all the missionaries, so we'll at least have that to look forward to. Elder A and I certainly have a lot to be thankful for this week. We had a great week here in Smyrna!

This week started off with exchanges! Whoo! I was with Elder L again (last transfer I did an exchange with him in his area). Elder L's great, and I'm always getting new ideas from him. We had an awesome day. I was super nervous because I was going to be running the Spanish area with a companion that couldn't speak any Spanish. But, we were super blessed to find some new investigators, and we taught 4 lessons, as well as another lesson with our less active, C. Usually our goal is to have four lessons a week, but we did it in one day!! So, Elder A and I adjusted our goal to seven, and we still blew it out of the park. This week, we were incredibly blessed to teach 11 other lessons, 2 lessons with less actives (total of 13), as well as find 7 new investigators!!! Those kind of numbers are unheard of for our area!! It was so crazy! Let me give you the highlights from all those lessons:

On Wednesday, we met with the V family. They won't really commit to baptism yet, so we are trying to get them to have testimonies of the Book of Mormon first. We read part of Alma 32 with them, and had a great discussion about how they needed to experiment upon the word, plant a seed of faith, and how they could recognize answers from the Holy Ghost. The spirit was super strong, and we felt like it was just putting words into our mouths, and it was such a great experience with them. On Friday, we were finally able to meet with M, but her husband decided to not listen to us this time (dang it!). But, we had a great lesson with her. She hadn't heard from the missionaries in a while, and so we were able to re-cover the Restoration with her, with a big emphasis on Joseph Smith. Super solid. Then, on Sunday, we met with E and her inactive husband, O. We decided to focus more on E, and there was incredible spirit in the room as we taught her the Restoration, and when we recited Joseph Smith's own words in the first vision, the spirit was just amplified. E is super solid, but O is still a little apprehensive about us.

In spite of all of our lessons, we weren't able to meet with two of our most progressing investigators. O just didn't have a whole lot of time this week (he works like crazy), and H wasn't able to meet with us either. We were hoping to get H baptized this Saturday, but it's just not going to happen. Even if we had finished teaching him everything, we are still trying to find a doctor to confirm his condition. We've got members of the high council working on finding a doctor in the Stake, but they haven't gotten back to us with anything yet. (You'd think that with a stake of 1400 people that there'd be a doctor). 

Speaking of the Stake, we had a great opportunity this Sunday to have Stake Conference! We had a great meeting on Saturday night that was all about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Sunday was a little interesting. First off, the meeting was held in the conference center of a hotel, so that we could fit everyone. Also, we were going to be getting a new Stake president, so Elder Zwick was back in town, as well as Elder McArthur of the 70. We received great counsel from two marvelous general authorities. They released the old Stake president, President T, and called his second counselor, President P, to be the new Stake president. Oddly enough, President P's son, Elder P, was Elder A's companion in the MTC! Small world, huh? Elder Zwick is incredible, and I really felt the spirit when he was speaking. One of the things he talked about was that (similar to Peter when he walked on the water) the Savior is simply inviting us to "Come." He invites us to simply follow him, keep his commandments, and become like He is.

Now let me tell you about the Other Gift of Tongues. Many missionaries are blessed with the gift of tongues so that they can learn a new language. I have definitely felt that so far in my mission. But, I have also developed a strong testimony in the 2nd gift of tongues, specifically, the gift of taste buds. Before my mission, I was terrified about being able to stomach weird food. But, I have definitely seen how my appetites have literally been changed. I still have a rough go at refried beans though. The gift of tongues is real. Also this week, I got to have one of my favorites, carne asada. It's soooooooooo gooooood. Not as good as bacon, but it's nice.

Recently in my studies of the Book of Mormon, I've been studying the war chapters in Alma. I've found a lot of great scriptures in there, so my next few ponderizing scriptures will be coming from there. This week, my scripture is Alma 48:17 which reads: "Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." I love this scripture. The missionary work that we are engaged in is a war between us and the adversary. But, if all missionaries would be like Moroni, and study chapter 6 of Preach my Gospel, and develop those Christlike attributes, then Satan's hold on the hearts of others would be shaken forever. I leave you my testimony that this is the work of the Lord, and that this is His true church. I hope y’all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Mitchell

Zone Conference with Zwick!

Hola!

Well, we had quite an interesting week. The biggest news is that this last Wednesday I got to go to my first Zone Conference! The conference consisted of the Murfreesboro, Franklin, and McMinville zones, and was held in the Smyrna building which was super nice. We had the special opportunity to have Elder Zwick of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy visit our conference. We all got to shake hands with him. He also speaks fluent Spanish, which was pretty cool. He taught a looooooot of stuff to us, but his main message was to shorten our lessons. Missionaries have a tendency to teach too much and ramble. Elder Zwick taught us that we need to "Simplify and Intensify". It was a great conference, and we learned a ton from him.

This week we weren't able to meet with H, but he did come to church. We were able to teach him about tithing and fasting during Gospel Principles, which went really well. As for our other investigators, we weren't able to meet with E, or M. We tried M a couple of times this week, but it just didn't work out. We also weren't able to meet with the V family again, but they did tell us that they were still reading in the Book of Mormon. In spite of our missed appointments, we were able to find some new investigators. One of those was D. He lives in the same house as J, one of the new investigators we found last week. We were trying to see J, but he wasn't home, but D let us come right in. It was confusing though, because D and J look very similar, so Elder A thought that they were the same person. So, Elder A started following up on the reading assignment we gave him, and D just looked super confused. So finally I just asked if he was J, and we got that straightened out. We had a great lesson with him though! We taught him the whole Restoration, and the spirit was great. He wondered if there could really be another prophet after the Bible times, but we taught him how he could pray to find out. And, at the end of the lesson, he gave a great prayer! Way cool.

As for other news, my bike tube popped again for the second time this transfer (incidentally, it was on the way to J, so, Satan be trying to stop us, but he can't). Not sure if we can just patch it, because we haven't had a chance to look at it fully yet. Also, we'll be having exchanges tomorrow, so that'll be fun. I'm going to be running the area for a day with a comp that doesn't know Spanish, so it'll be great! Also, I forgot to mention that this last week, we had a lesson with O! We read part of Alma 40 with him, and talked about the Resurrection and the spirit world, in light of his friend recently passing away. He told us that everything that we were teaching just made sense, and he just immediately accepted everything, which was cool. We also extended a baptismal invitation to him, and he accepted! We are still trying to figure out a date for him though. We also invited him to come to church, and he said he would! Whooh!

This week we also had a branch activity for the "Día de pavo" (day of turkey). I ate so much meat! Great turkey, ham, chicken, it was great. The members had a great time as well. It was also really great because we got to meet a ton of less actives. They won't come to church, but they'll come to a party! We'll be working on the getting to church part, but it was great to have so many people in the building.

Speaking of less actives, we met one this week, C. We contacted her, and wanted to meet with us, but she lives by herself, so we couldn't go into the house. We are trying to get a member to come with us when we try her again this week. The cool part was that during Sacrament meeting, with about 20 minutes left, in walks C! Maybe she just needed a reminder to come back, but hopefully we'll be able to see her come for all three hours next week.

Lastly, just some stuff from my studies. Last week my ponderize scripture was Moroni 8:16, "Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear." Sometimes, missionaries (and members) can be afraid to open their mouths and tell people about the Gospel. But, as we have charity for others, we will desire their happiness, and God will give us the courage we need. This week, President Andersen asked us to ponderize D&C 4, so that's what I'll be doing. This week during my studies, I felt prompted to study the story of Naaman. As you'll recall, Naaman was the captain of the guard for Syria, and he was also a leper. He sought the help of the prophet Elisha to be healed, but when he asked what to do he got an unexpected answer: go wash in the river Jordan seven times. Naaman was appalled by the thought of washing in such a dirty river, and refused to do it. Finally his servant said to him, "Look, if Elisha had said to go do some great task, you would've done it right? So why don't you just go wash in this river?" After humbling himself, Naaman washed and was made clean. I thought about the missionary lesson from this. If the Lord had asked us to go do some great task (like, baptize everyone you see) then we would do it! But, that's not what the Lord asks of us. He simply asks that we work 7 days a week, doing our best, and as we do so he will clean and sanctify us, and bless us with success.

Sorry that was really long, but a lot happened this week! We are hoping for another busy week here in Smyrna! Hope y’all have a great week too!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

The Murfreesboro Zone

Elder Mitchell is the tall one in the back row

Another of the branch activity

This week's sleeping pics.

This time he got Elder A

Praying For Miracles

In front of his apartment

Hola,

This week, Elder A and I were praying really hard to see miracles this week, so here's how it went: Monday night we tried to meet with O. He wasn't home, so we were a little bummed, but then, we ran into him on the street! He invited us back for the next night. We tried him again, and he didn't have time that night, but invited us back for Thursday. So finally, on Thursday, we try him, and he told us a bit of bad news. He just found out that his friend was killed, and I guess they were pretty close. We were going to try to talk about the Plan of Salvation, but he didn't really have time again. So, when we try him tonight, we are hoping to have an actual lesson with him. I've heard of Satan throwing opposition on people investigating the church, but hopefully this will be something that softens his heart to the gospel.

This week, we didn't have a chance to meet with the V family, although we talked for a minute at their door. They did tell us that they were reading, which was awesome! This week we did meet with H again. We were able to re-cover the law of chastity, and teach him the word of wisdom. He told us that he never wants to do drugs, and that even though he used to drink coffee, he won't ever drink it again. Whooh! We are doing everything we can to get him ready by the 28th. H told us this week that he knows the church is true! He said he feels so much peace at church, and he opened up to us about his family. He has a kid that lives in Kentucky who is a member, and his grandkids are all members too. It will be awesome for their family when H is baptized.

This week our finding efforts were much more successful. We found a couple new investigators this week, as well as re-contacted a guy who hadn't been seen in about half a year. He remembered who we were and invited us in. We were able to teach him the Restoration again, and he invited us back for next Saturday. One of our new investigators is E. She is the wife of the less active O that we found when we found G. We have determined that G doesn't actually live there, but we are trying to reactivate O, as well as teach E.

On Sunday we had a combined sacrament meeting with the English ward, because it was the primary program! It was weird being back in an English ward, but the program was nice, and the little kids were super funny. Unfortunately, H wasn't able to come to church this week, but we knew that was a possibility with the weird schedule. We hope that he's able to come to Stake Conference next week.

The other news this week is that my Spanish is becoming noticeably better. I'm understanding a lot lot more, and I feel so much more confident now, which is good, because we found out that I'm going to be running the area for a day on exchanges next week. That'll be fun. This week when we had dinner with the S family, they had a friend over named S. He told us about he had moved here from Guatamala 15 years ago, and still didn't know hardly any English. Then he asked us how long we had been studying Spanish. When Elder A told him 9 months he was shocked. Then I told him 3 months and his mouth dropped. He was stunned. So, it was a nice confidence builder.

I saved the best for last. This week we did have a kind of mini miracle. This week we were able to meet M. We have been trying to meet with her for over a month, but nobody ever answered the door. So, we were super pumped when she answered her door! We talked with her a little on her doorstep. She started taking the missionary lessons in 2012. She is super accepting of everything, and has been taught all the lessons. The problem is her husband. He is super anti against the church, and doesn't want M to join the church. He has also been telling their kids a bunch of bad stuff against the church, so he's been kind of a problem. One of their daughters was baptized after she moved out of the house. M told us about how she would read the Book of Mormon outside so that her husband wouldn't know. We asked if we could come back and set a return appointment with her. Then, something crazy happened. As we were walking back to our bikes, the husband came out and yelled to us, "Hey, you guys coming to teach M?" We told him yes, that we were coming back on Monday night. He said, "Ok, I'll be here! I've never really done this before, but this time I'm gonna listen to you guys!" As he went back in, Elder A and I just stared at each other. We couldn't believe it. We don't know what is different with him now, but I know that the Lord works in his own time and in his own ways.

We've got a little momentum now, and we are hoping for another great week here in Smyrna. Hope you all have a good week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Also in front of his apartment

Apparently, they don't want you to throw rocks into this puddle!

An investigator still had his Halloween decorations up,

so they added a pass-along card

More sleeping pictures captured by his companion

Biking, Blessings, and Boomerangs

Finding a boomerang!

Hola a todos!

This week was certainly interesting. We had another kind of slow week here. The work has kind of stagnated a little here, which has been hard on us. We had a lot of momentum at the end of last transfer, and it's kind of fallen off a bit. It has been extremely hard to find new investigators, and it has also been hard to get in appointments with the investigators that are already in our teaching pool. For instance, we weren't able to meet with two of our solid investigators (O and the V family). Nearly everything fell through this week, and it was a little mentally exhausting. Also, we haven't been able to use our car this week because of our miles situation, so we have had to bike everywhere. It was a very tiring week both physically and mentally. Let's just say that we are glad that it is a new month and we have miles again.

There was some good this week though. We have been trying to expand our teaching pool by finding new areas to tract in. We mostly just keep tracting the heck out of these little areas that we know are Spanish. So, this week, we tried going through different neighborhoods that we haven't tried, doing a lot of profiling. Finally, on Thursday, we were able to find this massive neighborhood with a ton of Spanish houses! We haven't had a chance to tract a lot in it yet, but we are hoping to find some new investigators. Also in that neighborhood, we found a boomerang on the side of the road! So, we decided to keep it. We are planning to get proficient at boomerang skills by the end of this transfer.

Thursday was also my three month mark, which is crazy! Time is flying by so fast, and I can’t believe I'm already an eighth of the way through my mission. On Thursday I said, "Man, I can’t believe I only have 7 more of these!" Crazy stuff. Saturday was Halloween, so Elder A and I switched ties (exciting, I know). We didn't really do much. It was straight dumping rain, and we had to be back by 6 anyways. So, that night we just did our weekly planning.

This week, we were able to have a lesson with H. He is progressing so well! We had a lesson about following the prophet, and we also reviewed Joseph Smith and the Restoration. It was probably the most solid lesson that Elder A and I have had together. Also, on Sunday, H came to church again! Hermano F has officially reached angel status in our eyes for bringing him every week. This week during Gospel Principles, we were a little more prepared. Hermano K did another solid job of teaching, as we talked about temples, and went over some of the Plan of Salvation again. H is just awesome. As for his baptism, we were going to try to have it on the 14th, but the ward planned an activity on that day that we didn't know about until this week. Also, the next Saturday is Stake conference for us, so hopefully, we'll be able to get it done on the 28th (or we might try to find a week day that works, but it's hard because he has to be at the doctor's so much).

My ponderizing scripture for this week is actually a quote from a devotional given by Elder Holland back when he was president of BYU. The talk is called, "The Inconvenient Messiah," and it's super good! My quote from it is, "If for a while, the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived."

Hope you all have a good week!

Elder Mitchell

His district

The main highway in Smyrna