The Man, The Myth, The Lemon

Buenos!

Well, we had a pretty good week here in Dalton, it was really productive. We were able to meet with the majority of our top investigators, which was great! This week we also did a lot of contacting, trying to get back in touch with old investigators, and we had a lot of success with it. One of the big successes was that we got back in touch with A, who was progressing at one point, but then just completely dropped off the map. This week we re-shared the Restoration with him, and he still is super interested and wants to come to church next week!

One of the bitter-sweet moments of this week was Sacrament meeting. It was awesome for two reasons 1) we have been working for a while now with a less-active family, the M's, and after a lot of poking and prodding, they finally came to church yesterday! It was so awesome to see them walk in to Sacrament meeting, we were super happy for them. 2) Remember A and her husband E? We met her at like 8:55 at night, they knew the bishop's family, and they came to General Conference. Well, we were able to meet with them this week, and they came to church too! Now, the disappointing part of yesterday was that even though we had A and E at church, we should've had way more investigators there. There were two people we met with on Saturday that both told us that they would be there for sure. Then, there was another one that texted us Sunday morning an hour before church, said he was coming...and then didn't show. I thought, well, what was the difference between the people that came and those that didn't? The answer: members.

Dear members of the church, you honestly do not understand how powerful you are and how necessary it is for you to be involved in missionary work. This week, we had a member with us, the man, the myth, the Lemon: Hermano Lemon. Guess which two families we visited that night with him? The M's, and A and E. Having a member with us for those lessons was critical, and there was a powerful spirit in those lessons, in large part of Hermano Lemon's testimony backing up our teaching. The other part of this is the fellowship. After church, we had dinner with Bishop Torres and his family, they invited A and E, and we had a great lesson with them and now they are both progressing. This week we learned a powerful lesson: even if we do all we can, if we work and work and work, we might see some success. But, if we want to hasten the work, we have to have members get involved.

My ponderizer this week is Alma 56:44, 46 which says, "Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle? For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus." I cannot stress enough how important members are to this work. We saw that this week. It's not just enough for one army (the missionaries), the members have to be involved. So, if you haven't gone out with your local missionaries in a while, go! Invite your non-member friends over for dinner, and invite the missionaries too! Find ways to help this great work move along! Therefore what say ye, members of the church, will ye also go up to battle? I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell 

Last week at the aquarium

At Ruby Falls, an underground waterfall,

with his district

Movie Night!

Helping their bishop clean out his trailer

at the local landfill

Buenos!

I don't have much time to write today, we went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga for P-day today, so we've been busy all day. But, we had a pretty good week here in Dalton. This week, we were able to meet with E a couple times. He decided that he wanted to drop his baptism date. He still wants to keep learning, and eventually be baptized, but he was feeling a little bit of pressure about it, so he just wants to keep learning before he makes a decision. We also met with H this week, had a good lesson, and he told us that he knows the Book of Mormon is the word of God! Now we just have to get him to come to church, but he's doing really well!

Highlight of the week was definitely our ward activity on Saturday. We had a movie night at the church, and we watched "Meet the Mormons." Our members did a great job, helping organize things, bringing food, but most importantly inviting their friends! We had a lot of less actives and non-members in the church, and it was a super fun night!

Other thing from this week is transfers. There are a lot of changes happening throughout the mission, and there's a giant group of missionaries coming in, so there's a ton of missionaries training as well. Elder M and I are both staying here in Dalton, and most of our district is staying the same, but, our district leader Elder P is off to go be a zone leader in Asheville. So, I got called as the new district leader. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

My ponderizer this week comes from Words of Mormon 1:7, "And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will." We don't know all things; we don't know why everything happens. But, if we are in tune, the Lord will work through us to carry out His plans and purposes. I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Movie night

More from the landfill

Hangin' out in Dalton

Visit to the Tennessee Aquarium--more pics to come!

Bro, Can We Bounce?

Buenos!

I hope you all had a great week, and that you enjoyed Conference! I thought Conference was great, but I'll get to that in a minute. First off, this week, I hit my 14-Month mark, and that was really weird. I'm beginning to feel like one of those old missionaries, especially since after this incoming transfer next week, a third of our mission will be greenies, so that'll be fun. Anyways, the work was a little hard this week. We faced some opposition and had nearly every appointment fall through, but we still worked as hard as we could, and we still had a lot of positives this week.

Although, we weren't able to see most of our main investigators this week, we were able to get in with D. We have seen a big change in her over the last few weeks. In the past when we would commit her to do things, she'd say things like, "Well, I'll try," or, "Yeah, I guess if I can." Things have turned around with her. She reads from the Book of Mormon, she prays, and now when we invite her to things, she always responds with her classic phrase, "Primeramente Dios." (God first). This Sunday D came to General Conference, and brought the rest of her family too, so that was awesome!

Despite our challenges this week, we saw a little miracle. It was late at night, and we had just gone to back-to-back missed appointments. We still wanted to salvage something out of the night, so we started trying a bunch of potentials in the area. As we did so, we felt that we weren't in the right area, so we prayed again, and felt that we needed to go try these two potentials in a part of town that I'd never been to before. Well, it was dark out, and we got lost on the way there, but we made it, and it was one of the most sketchy neighborhoods I've seen. We tried both potentials, but neither was home. Now, at this point, it was 8:55, and we needed to get home, but we decided to try one more house. We knocked, and as we waited for the door to answer, Elder M noticed a doll staring at us through the window, so that freaked us out haha. Elder M said, "I don't know if I'm feeling this house anymore, Bro, can we bounce?" Well, then the door opened, so we were stuck. We met this nice, older lady named A. We introduced ourselves, talked about what we did as missionaries, and she said she'd be interested in learning more. Then, she told us that she knew our bishop, Obispo Torres, and that she'd actually been to our church before! Well, we invited her to attend General Conference, and she came with her husband! We are really hoping we can keep working with her, she could be solid.

My ponderizer this week is Jarom 1:7 which says, "And it came to pass that they came many times against us, the Nephites, to battle. But our kings and our leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord; wherefore, we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our lands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever place of our inheritance." This weekend we have had the incredible opportunity to hear from the prophets and apostles of the church. I loved this conference, I didn't have a favorite talk, but I loved lots of different parts from every talk. We have received marvelous counsel, and now it is up to us to apply the things that we have learned. As we do so, we will find the power to "sweep away" the challenges and temptations that beset us. How grateful I am for leaders who are inspired by God. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that through him the Church of Jesus Christ was restored in its fullness with prophets and apostles, and that Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. I hope y'all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Redneck Ingenuity

The good ol' South

Buenos!

Well this week definitely had its highs and lows, but we tried our best this week, so that's what counts. Right now we are having this re-occurring problem of finding new investigators, setting up returns,going back to see them, and they fall off the face of the earth (so to speak) and we can't ever find them again. Also, none of our main people are keeping their commitments right now, so that's been a little frustrating. But, we still had lots of positives this week! We weren't able to meet with some of our main people this week, but Tuesday night we had a great lesson with E all about keeping commitments, and we really felt the spirit guiding us to address his concerns and needs. We also met with K, our excommunicated member who wants to come back, and we started teaching her about the Plan of Salvation. Also this week, we saw A after church and had another great lesson with him.

Wednesday was a busy day. In the morning, we had a meeting for new missionaries and their trainers in Knoxville, so that was fun. We had lots of great trainings by the AP's and Pres. Griffin. After the meeting, we went on exchanges with the Chatt Valley elders. Our DL, Elder P, went with Elder M back to Dalton, and I got to spend a day in Fort Oglethorpe with Elder W, who is also a greenie. We had a good day, got to do some tracting, visited some less-actives, and then had dinner with an older couple in the ward and they made us a southern feast! Deep-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and biscuits, with brownies/ice cream for desert. It was probably one of the best meals I've had on my mission.

This week we had a lot of random opportunities to help people with car problems. We were teaching a family on their porch when all of a sudden the neighbor came running over explaining that she needed to get her friend to the hospital, but her car wouldn't start, so we hooked up the cables and jump-started the car. That was fun. Other story from this week: we were driving along when we saw a truck that had gotten stuck in a ditch with the back-left tire stuck up the in the air. So, they had us hop in the back of the truck to see if we could weigh down the back tire so that they could back out. Well, everyone passing by stopped to help, so pretty soon there were about ten of us in the back of the truck and we finally got the tire down, and they were able to back out. One of the guys said, "Well, with enough redneck ingenuity, we'll get 'er done!" Haha.

This week, we have really been focusing on how to get members more involved and more excited about the work. We have been working hard, trying to get these members pumped up, and we are seeing a change in the attitude of the ward. People are starting to come out with us more, and everyone is getting excited about the next Ward activity, telling us about all the people they're going to invite. Things are looking good here in Dalton. One example we've seen is our members the G family. We had dinner with them and their friend Y and her daughter G. After teaching them the Restoration, we invited Yaneth to go to Women's conference with Hermana G. Well, Y went and she loved it! We are really hoping we can continue to teach her more! We never know what can happen when we invite! That's the key: Invite!!!

Sorry that was a lot of stuff. Anywho, my ponderizer this week comes from Jacob 1:7-8 which says, "Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest...Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against God, to provoke him to anger, but that all men would believe in Christ..." Sometimes missionary work is so hard because we just wish that everyone would be persuaded to keep their commitments and accept the gospel. But, all we can do is labor diligently and keep inviting people to Christ. Just invite! Invite, invite, invite! That's my invitation to y'all this week: invite someone you know to hear about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! Invite someone to watch conference this weekend! We have the greatest message on earth, and this world needs it! Even if people say no, just keep inviting! I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Some of his old district at the trainer/trainee meeting.

All of them are training now.

Last p-day they went on a hike in the "mountains" outside Dalton

Calling Dalton to repentance

Elder M enjoying the view

Part of his district

Help!!

Led by the Spirit

Tracting to a goat?

Buenos!

Well, we had a pretty good week here in Dalton, there is a lot to report. This week we were once again able to teach a lot, and we are having lots of success in finding new people. The only problem we are   having is finding people who are genuinely interested and are going to progress. But the work keeps rolling on here in Dalton.

This week started off with a bang: Zone Conference!! It was pretty great. We had lots of good trainings, and I got to see my old comp Elder C, which was awesome! I really enjoyed Pres. Griffin's training about the spirit. He taught us a lot about how the spirit works and how we need to react to promptings. This week we tried to apply some of the teachings, especially in our finding efforts. There were a few instances this week where we would go to a street to tract it, and we would pray for confirmation to know if we were in the right place. Then, the spirit would guide us to another street, and we would find new investigators! It was pretty cool.

Another cool thing this week was our Ward activity. I guess September 15-17 is Independence Day for a lot of Central/South American countries, so we had a fiesta to celebrate! It was lots of fun, there was sooooo much food! Everyone brought traditional dishes from their country, and some people even wore traditional clothing. After eating, we had a "talent show" where different people got up and performed traditional dances/songs. Elder M was joking with me that we should get up and sing something (haha, fat chance). Then, Hermano Sierra asked us to come up and represent the USA, so we got up and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner." It was a blast haha, USA! USA! (We are trying to find out out if any members filmed it, so there may or may not be a video coming soon).

As for our investigators this week, we couldn't meet with E or with D/O, but H is still doing well. We had another good lesson with him this week, and the Sierras came with us again. Best lesson this week was with A and R! Things have been crazy for them lately with R expecting their second child, but this week they had their baby! They welcomed a new daughter, and she and R are both healthy and happy. So, this week we read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" with them, and the spirit really hit home when we talked about eternal families. We also talked about temples, and how to prepare for the temple, we first need to be baptized. Even though A and R both say that they want to be baptized, they just won't commit to a date right now. But, they are progressing really well, and we are way excited about them!

Last thing from this week: We got a call from an excommunicated member, K, who told us that she wants to get back into the church and be re-baptized. We met with her this week and started teaching her and her less-active husband J. K has such a strong testimony, but she just got lost along her way, and she wants to have the spirit back in her life. And, this week, K and J came to church, it was great!

My ponderizer this week is Alma 13:28, "But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering." It's simple. As we humble ourselves before the Lord, and plead for his help in our lives, he will bless us with the power to resist temptation, the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and the ability to develop Christ's attributes. As we follow the spirit in our lives it will help us to become more like the savior, and that's what it's all about, becoming more like Christ. I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Seeing Elder C at Zone conference

The Ward party

Checking out Steak and Shake!

See Yourselves in the Temple

Buenos!!!

Oh man, what a week it has been. My boy Elder M and I went to work! This week we were reaching like crazy, trying to find them new investigators, and hitting up tons of less-actives this week. We worked hard, and the Lord blessed us with success. We were able to meet or exceed nearly all of our weekly goals, and finished the week with 27 total lessons! (Which is way more than I've ever taught in a week before). Here's some highlights from this crazy week:

Tues-Had a lesson with E about the law of chastity and the spirit was super strong. He accepted it really well. We thought that he might have some problems with this, but it turns out he doesn't! So, we might be able to move his baptism date up, we'll see.

Thurs-We picked up a new investigator, C, who seems way prepared for the gospel. She grew up in a home where her dad was Mormon and her mom was Catholic, so she was really confused as a kid, but she really wants to know more about the church. She's got a lot of potential.

Sat-We were able to see D and O, and had a good lesson on baptism. D has some things to work out with getting divorced from her ex-husband, but hopefully we can get that resolved soon. We also taught H. We brought Hermano and Hermana Sierra with us, and they were the perfect fellowshippers for H. We didn't even make the connection, both the Sierras and H are from Honduras, and they just immediately hit it off and became instant friends. H still won't commit to a baptism date, but he's got great member friends now. (By the way, Hermano Sierra is a former mission president/area 70, so he is a stud).

Sun-H came to church! And not only that, but he brought his whole family along too. The Sierras helped them feel so welcome, and they really enjoyed church. During sacrament meeting, Hermano Sierra gave an awesome talk about temples and eternal families. He talked about the sacrifices he and his wife made to be sealed in the temple. At that time, there was no temple in Honduras, so they had to travel all the way to Arizona to be sealed. Then, he turned his focus right on H and his family and said, "When you become members of the church, you will see yourselves in the temple. And we will be there with you, and we will see you in the temple." It was way powerful.

Anyways, yeah, it was an awesome week; hopefully we can keep it up! My ponderizer this week is Romans 8:14 which says, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." If we are to become effective servants of the Lord, we have to be led by his spirit. As we are led by the spirit, we will see miracles occur. Hope y'all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

They went to visit A, a new convert, at work

On p-day they went to Chattanooga

More sleeping pics

Bienvenido Elder M

His new companion has nicknamed their car "Rosy the Riveter."

Buenos!

Well, this week has been a pretty good one! Monday and Tuesday we were busy getting ready for transfers, saying bye to people, and then, Wednesday morning I met my new greenie! My new companion is Elder M!! Just a little about him: he is from Mesa, AZ, is the second-oldest out of 4 boys, age 19, he did a year of college before the mission at BYU/UVU, loves just about every sport out there, and he is absolutely stoked to be a missionary! He is just full of fire, ready to share the gospel with everyone! His Spanish is pretty good too, since he studied it in high school, so he's doing good with that. We had a pretty good first day after getting back from transfers. We were able to work hard, knock a lot of doors, and right at the end of the day we found a solid new investigator, M, who has a lot of Joseph-Smith-type questions. It was great. This week we were able to teach a lot, find some new investigators, and work with a lot of less actives, so it was a pretty good week.

This week we did have some trouble meeting with some of our top investigators. We couldn't meet with E this week, and R is about to have her baby any day now, so we weren't able to meet with her and A this week either. We did have a great lesson with one of our solid guys, H. We finished teaching him the Plan of Salvation, and invited him to baptism on October 8th. He told us that he wants to be baptized, but he wants to keep learning more before he sets a date. But, he's doing really well.

Probably the highlight from this week was our lesson with our long-time eterni-gators D and O. I figured we'd just go in and explain that we were dropping them, but the spirit led us another way. We followed up with D on her Book of Mormon reading, and she told us that once again, she hadn't read. We laid down the law with her, explaining the importance of keeping commitments, and how we need to put God first in our lives. The spirit was so strong in that room, we felt it guiding the words that we should say, and it really touched her heart. That lesson was exactly what D needed. I think this will really start to change things with her, and we are already seeing that. This week, D and O came to church!! We are hoping that they will continue to progress, and we're excited to see what happens.

My ponderizer this week is 1 Nephi 3:5. In the church, we always read 1 Nephi 3:7, but check out verse 5! It says, "And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord." This was one of the scriptures we were prompted to share with D, and it teaches a powerful lesson. It's so easy to feel like we have to do so many things as members of the church. We’ve got to pray, we’ve  got to read the scriptures, we’ve  got to go to three hours of church each week, pay tithing, and live the high standards of the church. If you're a missionary you’ve got to get up at 6:30, stand outside the car when you back up, etc. But, we need to recognize that the Lord is the one who requires these things from us. He expects us to keep our commitments, live the commandments, and honor our covenants. As we do so, he will bless us with the power to accomplish anything that he requires of us! I know that's true, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Elder J saying goodbye to the T family

With his new companion Elder M

He probably got up pretty early that day!