Week 18 in Cookeville

Tracting Mitchell Ave.

Buenos!

We had another good week here in Cookeville. This was week 18 in Cookeville, which normally would be three transfers. But with Elder C, I've had a 7-week transfer, a normal 6-week, and now with the Knoxville switch this is now an 8 week transfer. So, by the time transfers come around, Elder C and I will have been together for about 5 months. Speaking of Elder C, here’s a knee update: C met with a nurse practitioner on Tuesday who told him that it was likely a torn meniscus, which could require surgery, depending on the severity. Then on Friday, he got a MRI. We will probably find out the results when he meets with the orthopedic surgeon this Friday.

On Tuesday we had exchanges with the ZL's. Elder T went with Elder C in the Spanish area, and then I went English with Elder R in Burgess Falls. We had a pretty good exchange. Elder R and I were able to teach some really good lessons, the best of which was with J, who is the mother of a returning less-active. We had a great lesson on the plan of salvation (which was weird because I haven't taught that lesson in like 6 months) and then kind of  ended up teaching a little of everything. She ended up committing to a baptism date on July 29th (which just so happens to be my year mark) so that was cool.

This week we also had to do a couple baptism interviews. During exchanges, Elder C and Elder T went up to Jamestown for an interview. Also, on Wednesday night, we had to drive to Lebanon so Elder C could interview an investigator for the Spanish branch there. It was a lot of driving around this week.

This week we were able to teach a few good lessons, just not very many. Most of our lessons come from tracting, and our tracting stunk this week. We just really struggled to find people who would talk to us this week. But, we did tract Mitchell Ave, so that was fun. We weren't able to get back in with V this week, but we did get back in with one of our potentials, E. She has been reading a little of the Book of Mormon, but not praying, so we talked about prayer and how we can recognize the spirit. It went pretty well.

This week we also had a conference call with all the district leaders in our zone, the ZL's, the AP's, and Pres. Griffin to go over some clarification on how to run district meetings in the new Knoxville format. While we were on the call, President Griffin hinted that at least one or both of us will leave next transfer. He asked Elder C, "Is it true that by the end of this transfer you'll have been together for almost 6 months?" And we were like, "Yeah, it'll be 5 months at the end of this transfer." And so President said, "Well, get ready to come on over here boys!" So, it'll be an interesting transfer in a few weeks.

My ponderizer this week is Helaman 10:4 which says, "Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments." Despite the little success we saw this week, we know that we are getting out and doing what the Lord asks. We are being diligent and working hard, and eventually we will see the blessings from that. Declare His word with unwearyingness! Hope y'all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

On P-day they went to Lebanon and played basketball 

with the Elders there. This was their starting 5 

for the Cookeville Zone basketball roster. 

He took number 5, but they only had 4 jerseys haha.

Ball is life!

This.Is.Knoxville!

His new zone with President and Sis. Griffin

Buenos!

We had a pretty good first week here in the TKM! Summer weather is in full swing. We had 90 degree weather every day, and boy was it humid. But, we are just loving it, getting out and working hard. Elder C's knee hasn't improved, but he has been getting around with a knee brace. He has his appointment with the doc tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. The beginning of the week was filled with meetings. On Tuesday we had interviews with President Griffin. He seems pretty cool. I asked him about Spanish areas in the mission. He said there's only about four or five full Spanish areas in the mission (and there is a Spanish ward in Georgia). But, I guess President Griffin likes to use Zebra companionships (1 Spanish, 1 English) to find if there is any Spanish in the area. So, I could end up in the far reaches of the mission out in Virginia in a Zebra.

On Wednesday we had a zone meeting. We met all the office staff, the AP's, and Sister Griffin. We had lots of trainings, and it felt a little like being a greenie again. They covered a lot of rules, and there are a few big changes that we have to adjust to. One is music. The standard for the TKM is if it couldn't be played in a Sacrament meeting, we can't listen to it. Also, we can't eat at member's homes unless there is a non-member, recent convert, or less active present. President Griffin is a business man, and he is all about using prime-proselyting time effectively. In addition, the way district meetings are run and they way numbers get collected are different. One cool change is we get a pay-raise. We were getting $125 a month, but that will get raised to $160. Also, in the TNM, we were only required to tract one hour a day, but in the TKM, two tracting hours is the daily minimum. Those were probably the biggest changes. The TKM is a little bit stricter, but we are ready to see the blessings of living in the "narrow gap."

We are already seeing blessings. Later Wednesday night we had a member out with us, and we were able to get back in with V! She is seriously so awesome; I'm going to be really sad when we have to refer her to the English Elders. We had a great lesson with her about the Book of Mormon and she was just eating it up. I don't think I've ever met someone who's been so excited to read the Book of Mormon. She works Sunday's but she is going to try to work it out so she can get Sunday's off because she really wants to come to church. We are super excited about her. The rest of the week was pretty good too. We tracted into a lot of college kids this week, and we were able to have lots of great lessons with them. College kids are a lot more open minded, which is nice, because they'll actually listen to you. Another highlight from the week was on Friday, we got to celebrate Elder C's year mark! So overall, it was a pretty good week.

My ponderizing scripture is Romans 12:2 which says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." The New Testament is just full of little gems like this scripture. I love what it says, how we need to be transformed. We can't just sit back and go with the flow of the world. We need to renew our minds, transform ourselves so that we can become good, acceptable, and perfect, and do the will of God. Hope y’all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell


Everyone knows ball is life!

With one of the Nashville senior couples

Another zone picture

Even the APs know ball is life!

Last Week in the Tennessee Nashville Mission

Last Temple Trip

Buenos!

Well, this was our last week in the Tennessee Nashville mission. This week we will officially be part of Knoxville. There's a lot of changes that are happening right now. We found out this week that our district will be split. So now our district will be the ZL's, the STL's, and us, and the other district will be Jamestown, Crossville, and Sparta. This week we have interviews with President Griffin on Tuesday, and then we have a Zone meeting on Wednesday.

We weren't able to do a whole lot this week with Elder C's knee. It really hasn't improved. We have an appointment set up with an orthopedic doctor, but it's not until the 21st. But, we still had plenty of things happen this week. On Wednesday, we got to go to the temple one last time, since there's no temple in the Knoxville mission. We drove down with almost our whole district. It was a great experience. I love the temple so much, and it was great to feel the peace of the spirit there. We got some nice pics in front of the temple #ballislife haha.

On Thursday we went to Monterey and we found a new potential, J. On Saturday, the Burgess Falls ward had a ward picnic. It was fun. There was lots of good food, including homemade ice cream. Plus, Elders C, T, and R participated in the watermelon-eating contest. 

BF ward picnic

Sunday was good. We had a Stake general priesthood meeting which was awesome. First off, they called the new patriarch for the Cookeville stake. Then, different members of the stake presidency spoke. The Stake President, Pres. D, gave an awesome talk. He talked about how as priesthood holders we need to be "real men." He also laid out his vision for the stake, including his plans for temple attendance and missionary work. The spirit was great during the meeting.

My ponderizer this week is 2nd Corinthians 12:9-10 "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." Christ's enabling power is sufficient for us all. If we turn to the Lord, he can make us strong, even in the hardest of times. Ok, hope y'all have a good week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Elder T is asleep on the way to the temple

Soon Elder Mitchell would join him

With Elder C

Lookin' cool!

Ball is Life!

Zone selfie--Ball is Life!

TKM! TKM!!

Oh man!!!

Words cannot even describe how crazy this week was. Ever since they formed the Cookeville stake at the start of May, there have been rumors about our stake getting moved into the Knoxville mission. THE RUMORS ARE TRUE!!! On June 15th, the Cookeville Stake, and all missionaries serving in it (that means me), will become a part of the TENNESSEE KNOXVILLE MISSION!!!!! What?! Yeah, it's nuts. So crazy! We still can't believe it. The Nashville mission had 8 stakes and the Knoxville mission had 5, so it kind of made sense to move us over. The most exciting part is that now because the Knoxville mission will have 6 stakes, they can begin to be considered for a temple! Man, it's just crazy. TKM!(Tennessee Knoxville Mission). We are going to the Knoxville mission!

The rest of this week was pretty good. On Tuesday night we had two really good member-present lessons. One was with S, who was a referral from the Cookeville sisters. We had a great restoration lesson with him. He believes most everything, except he can’t believe that Joseph Smith saw two people, because he believes that God and Jesus are the same person. But, he really wants to read the Book of Mormon and find out for himself if it's true. The other lesson was with Y and J, a couple we met tracting. We were finally able to have a full lesson with them, and it went really well. Turns out Y had a couple of Lds friends growing up, and they used to invite her to activities and stuff. Pretty cool.

Then on Wednesday we found this awesome new investigator. She is a black lady named V, and we are really excited about her. She was expecting company, so she only had a few minutes. We started going through the Restoration, talking about how God has a plan for us (His Gospel), and then she stopped us and asked, "So what was that plan all about?" So we talked about the premortal life, and that blew her mind. She said she'd never heard that before, but that it made sense to her. So then we started talking about how God wants us to become like Him and return to His presence. Then she asked us, "So how does Christ fit into all that?" So we explain Christ's role as Savior, and then we talked about how we are saved by grace after all we can do, including things like repentance and baptism. So, it kind of started out Restoration, moved to Plan of Salvation, and then went to Gospel of Jesus Christ, kind of all over the map. Her company showed up, but then she asked us one more question. She asked us what we thought of divine wisdom, and we were like, "what do you mean?" Then she straight-up quoted James 1:5 to us and asked us what we thought it meant....(what?!). We explained how we can pray to God to receive answers to questions in our lives. Then, she asked us if we used a special Mormon-Bible, so we had to explain that we read both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Then she asked us is we had a Book of Mormon we could give her, and we were like, "Absolutely!!" We got an appointment set up for this Wednesday, and we are really excited about that.

So, for the last couple weeks we've been playing basketball in the morning with these older guys at the Church of Christ every Tuesday/Thursday. But, this Thursday, Elder C injured his knee :( It's happened before where something in his knee will get out of place, but usually he just has someone pull on his leg and it pops back into place. But, this time it didn't. (Oh, and by the way we were supposed to be at zone meeting in an hour and a half). So we went to this clinic, and they were idiots, they said that there was nothing wrong, and gave him a brace. So, we came home, got ready for Zone meeting, and got there 40 minutes late. We get to the church, and Sister Andersen saw Elder C limping in and told him he needed to go to the ER right away. So, we missed the rest of Zone meeting while we were at the hospital. The people at the ER took more x-rays, and told him that it was probably a knee sprain, and that his knee was super swollen. So, he can't really walk on it much, and he can't fully extend his leg out straight. So, he's been doing a lot of recovery this week, elevating his leg, icing the knee, taking ibuprofen. We are going to see an orthopedic doctor tomorrow, so hopefully that goes well. We are really hoping he won't need surgery, because it means he'd probably have to go home. Please pray for him!

The next few days were pretty low key, mostly just recovery for Elder C. But, we got a special treat on Sunday! Sunday night we had a concert in Sparta for the Nashville Tribute Band! If you don't know, Nashville Tribute Band makes a bunch of Mormon-ish songs paying tribute to different things like Joseph Smith, or the pioneers, or missionary work etc. But, we got to hear them perform their album,"Redeemer: A Nashville Tribute to Jesus Christ." It was pretty cool to hear them live. Plus, all the missionaries got to take pics with the band before the concert. This week, one of our ZL's, Elder T, has been getting everyone to throw up the "ball is life" sign, and he even got the band to do it, haha. Anyways, it was a pretty fun night!

My ponderizing scripture this week is Jacob 5:67-68 "And the branches of the natural tree will I graft in again into the natural tree. And the branches of the natural tree will I graft into the natural branches of the tree; and thus will I bring them together again, that they shall bring forth the natural fruit, and they shall be one." This is a great opportunity to serve in the Knoxville mission. As the Cookeville stake is taken and grafted into the Knoxville mission, we will bring to pass much fruit in this harvest. I will always be a Nashville missionary, and I have loved my time here, but I am excited for the chance to serve in Knoxville! Sorry this email was so long, but a lot happened this week! Hope y’all have a good one!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

His new mission covers parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. 

The stakes are in Cookeville, Knoxville, Cumberland, Chattanooga, Kingsport, and Asheville.

TKM!! 

At the hospital with Elder C

At the Nashville Tribute Band concert

Everyone knows "ball is life"

Turtles, Train Tracks, and Tracting

Buenos,

Well, this week was pretty standard, nothing too crazy. Probably the most exciting part was that we found two turtles this week while tracting, haha. But, we were able to teach some good lessons this week. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get back in with E, C, or G this week. G texted us saying he was going to come to church, but he was a no show. On Tuesday, we went to Monterey and had another good day there. On Wednesday we had a member come out with us and we were able to get in with an investigator, J. We were reading Alma 7 with him, and he said verse 14 stuck out to him, which talks about baptism. He asked us if there was anywhere in the Book of Mormon where Christ himself talks about baptism, and we were like, "You bet there is!" We left him with 3rd Nephi 11, and hopefully we can see him again this week.

On Thursday afternoon, we went up to Gainesboro with Bro. T to go see some less actives. Then on Thursday night we had another member come with us and we had another good exchange. We talked with a Muslim guy M about lots of different things, mostly dealing with differences between Islam and Christianity. He asked a lot of great questions. His biggest hang up is that he believes that since somebody had to create Jesus, he can't be a God. I asked him "So where do you think God comes from?" and he didn't really have a good answer. Muslims, see Christ simply as a messenger instead of the son of God. They think that God wouldn't need someone to help him, so they view Christ in a different way. But, we left him with Alma 34 to read out of his Arabic Book of Mormon, so hopefully that will help.

The rest of the week was pretty boring, nothing crazy. We had some good meetings at church on Sunday. Next Sunday, we are going to try to do a "shuttle" to the Spanish branch in Lebanon. We are going to try and get a bunch of investigators and less actives to all drive down together to Lebanon. Hopefully we'll be able to get lots of people to go to that.

My ponderizer this week is Ether 12:4 which says, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." I love this scripture about hope. Here we are, week 14 in Cookeville, and it seems like we don't have a lot to show for it. But, we are still working hard and hoping things will eventually break though. As we have faith and hope, they will lead us to do good works! Hope y'all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

PS: Yesterday, I hit my 10-month mark! That is so crazy how time flies!

Turtles they found while tracting

On the train tracks in Monterey

Another sleeping pic!