Heading Out East

Buenos!

Well, this week is transfer week, and I'm moving to a new area! I'm off to the Watauga ward! The ward actually covers the eastern part of Johnson City, TN. It should be good. My new companion will be Elder B! I don't know a whole lot about him, but I do know he is an English elder. So, for the next six weeks I'll be in a "zebra" companionship. It'll be my first time with an English companion, so it should be interesting. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store!

We had lot of fun things going on for my last week here in Lenoir City. On Tuesday, we were privileged to have David Archuleta visit our mission! He gave us our own private concert, and talked about a lot of experiences from his life/mission. He talked a lot about how prayer has influenced him, as well as listening to the subtle promptings of the Holy Ghost. He also sang a few songs for us, including "Glorious" (from Meet the Mormons)! It was pretty awesome. Then on Thursday we had Zone Conference, and had absolutely amazing trainings. I love hearing from Pres. Griffin, he is honestly so freakin' inspired. He taught us a lot about repentance, and introduced the upcoming Easter initiative. He also taught us some interesting things about Jacob's Ladder, which was super cool. Great meeting. Then on Friday, we spent the day on exchanges with the Knoxville ZL's, and that was a lot of fun. I got to spend a lot of time with Elder C, which is always a blast.

The highlight of the week though came on Sunday. This week, R (who was recently baptized) was given the Aaronic Priesthood! He also received a calling as a branch missionary, and man, he is so solid. It was the best thing for my last Sunday in this area to be able to see him receive the priesthood. It was awesome.

My ponderizer this week is D&C 1:38, "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." This upcoming weekend we have the incredible opportunity to hear from our prophet and the apostles in General Conference. I'm so excited to be able to hear their counsel. I know that if we prepare, we can receive the revelation we need from God's chosen servants. I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Back to the Old Stompin' Grounds

Buenos a todos!!!

What a week it has been. The biggest highlight was that I got to go back to Cookeville!! To make a long story short, my old comp Elder C was being sent out on assignment to go teach some Spanish people in the area, and so he convinced President to let me go with him! It was awesome. Honestly though it was like nothing had changed haha. A lot of the people we went to go see were old investigators that we taught during our time there. But, it brought back a lot of great memories, and it was great to teach with Elder Cushing again. We actually saw a huge tender mercy at the end of the day. Most of the people we'd tried weren't home, and it was getting late, but we decided to try one last former investigator named S. Well, she wasn't there, but the husband let us right in! Apparently he'd had contact with missionaries when he lived in Chattanooga, and he still had his copy of the Book of Mormon. But it had been a long time since he'd talked with missionaries, so we just reviewed Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon with him, and the spirit was so strong! I don't know if he'll ever get baptized or not, but it was definitely a reminder that God is looking out for us, and that he prepares people to accept the Gospel in His own time. Overall, it was just a great day!

The rest of the week was pretty good too. It seems like things are picking up in the area again, and we've been able to find some solid new investigators lately. We've also been doing a lot of work with our recent converts and less-actives. R, who was baptized  in January, is getting ready to receive the Aaronic priesthood, and we have been working with a returning member, Bro. H, who is super close to receiving the Melchizedek priesthood! There are some great things happening here. Also, it was my companion Elder J's birthday this week, so we threw a surprise party for him, which was lots of fun.

My ponderizer this week is D&C 20:59, "They are, however, to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite all to come unto Christ." This week our stake president visited the branch, and one of the things he talked about is how each of us have a duty to bear our testimony. Each of us have the joyful privilege/responsibility to invite all to come unto Christ. The best thing that we can do is bear simple testimony, and invite! Invite, invite, invite! I hope y'all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Mitchell

More pictures from their visit to Cookeville

Their old chapel

Lunch at their favorite buffet

Surprise party for Elder J

Playing "Watch Ya Mouth!"

District pictures for this transfer

Bury the Weapons, Leave the Nets

Snow!

Buenos!

It's been another doozy here in Lenoir City. First off, the weather's been going nuts. It was in the 50's and 60's all last week, with plenty of sunshine. Then this week it even got up to 73. But, just when you think Spring has sprung...Nope! Saturday we got hit with snow haha. It's been super weird. Other than that though this has been a pretty chill week: nothing too crazy happened, knocked some doors, taught some people. One cool thing from this week was that we went on exchanges with the other elders in our district. I stayed here in LC, and it turned out to be a really solid day. We were able to meet with three less-actives, two of which I had never met before! 

You ever have those moments where all of a sudden, something just clicks for you, and something in the Gospel just totally makes sense? I had one of those this week. I was reading in Alma 24 this week about the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's that buried their "weapons of rebellion" in the earth, never to pick them back up. These people were described as "they who were converted unto the Lord." It made me think "What weapons do I still need to bury? What do I need to change to reach the level of Conversion that the Lord requires?" Then I related it to the experience of Peter. After Christ's resurrection, the apostles (unsure what to do) went fishing. After Peter had spent 3 years learning from the Master, he had a wonderful testimony, but he was not fully converted. As soon as he was on his own, Peter went straight back to his old nets (his old weapons). This led to the conversation where Christ asks His senior apostle three times, "Peter, lovest thou me?" I think all of us are like Peter. We may have a testimony, but we may not be converted to the degree that the Lord wants. But if we truly love the Lord, we will be on the right track. So, what does conversion look like? It is giving up those weapons of rebellion, and never going back to them. I know I'm not perfect, that sometimes I still go back to my nets, or back to my weapons, but I also know that through Christ and His grace, I can become who he needs me to be. Each of us can become that converted disciple that the Lord needs.

With that said, my ponderizer this week is Alma 23:6-8, "...Yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away. For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren. Now, these are they who were converted unto the Lord." I hope you all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell 

They found the DeLorean from Back to the Future!?!

Lighten the Load, Part 2

Along the Tennessee River

Buenos!

It was another good week here in LC, but it was about the same as last week. We did LOTS of service again. Tuesday morning, we went and finished putting up the fence we started last week, and then that night we helped unload the truck for a family that moved into the branch. Wednesday morning we did our normal service at the thrift shop, and then in the afternoon we moved a treadmill. The other sister missionaries in our branch had to move apartments this week since the management at their place changed, so we spent a lot of the day on Thursday moving them. Then on Saturday we went back to put the gates in on the fence, so hopefully we are done with that now. We've been staying busy.

We're still working with MJ. The house she was trying to move into in Lenoir City didn't work out, but now she is trying to look for places in Loudon. She also quit her job this week, and she's going to be looking for new work in Loudon as well. This week we also got another referral from our stud recent convert, C. (He was the one that originally referred us to G and MJ). This week he introduced us to his friend B, and we were able to teach him about the Restoration. We also soft committed him to baptism, and he said if he found out it was true he'd be baptized on April 8th! So, we'll keep working with him toward that goal.

My ponderizer this week is 2 Nephi 10:24, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved." If we are to be reconciled to God and His will, we must learn to repent and change daily. Grace is not a one-time thing, but it is applied over a long period of time, and as we apply grace every day, we become more like Christ. I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

With Elder C on their "one year anniversary"

They had a surprise birthday party for Hermano G

More pictures from along the Tennessee River

Enjoying the sunshine!

Lighten the Load

Buenos!

Well, we had another great week here in Lenoir City. Most of our week was filled with service opportunities. We did a little bit of everything. We helped put up a fence, worked at a food pantry, replaced a water heater, did some yard work, and moved a desk. And the fun doesn't stop there, this week we'll be going back to finish the fence, as well as helping two people move. It's kept us busy, but it has also helped us develop better relationships with the members. It is so great to provide service when you do something for someone that they couldn't do themselves. It just goes to show that, "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

We also had a great lesson with MJ this week. We decided to go back and re-teach some things from the Restoration to help her understanding of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. The spirit was really good, and we were able to answer a lot of her questions. We brought up baptism with her again, and she said the only thing holding her back is her smoking habit. So, we are going do everything we can to help her quit, and hopefully she'll be baptized soon! Also, the branch mission leader, Bro. E, has been doing a lot of searching to find a new place for her and G to live, and he was able to find something this week! So, we are hoping they can finally move sometime in the next week or so.

Thursday was a fun day. We had Zone Meeting, along with interviews with President. But, it also marked one year since Elder C and I white-washed into Cookeville. Wow, time absolutely flies on the mission. It's hard to believe how quickly time has gone by. This week will mark 19 months as a missionary. Absolutely crazy.

My ponderizer this week is 2 Nephi 9:41 which says, "O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it liethin a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the, Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name." Jesus Christ is the keeper of the gate. He will be our judge. He asks that we follow His example. The way is narrow, and the path straight, and sometimes we will make mistakes. But, if we will make those daily course-corrections, we will one day stand before Christ and he will mercifully allow us to return to our Father in heaven. I hope y'all have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell