A Valentine's Day Miracle

Their miracle box of chocolates

Buenos!

It's been a pretty good week for us. To start things off, on Tuesday we had a Valentine's Day miracle. We were driving back home after giving a blessing to a less-active, when lo and behold, we saw something red and shiny reflecting back at us. We thought it was a dog collar or something, but right as we're about to drive over it, Elder J yells, "Elder, I think that's a box of chocolates!" So naturally, I slammed on the brakes, Elder J went and picked it up, and sure enough, it was a box of Russell Stover chocolates, unopened and undamaged. It truly was a tender mercy, haha.

Most of the week however was pretty low-key. We did a lot of finding, but didn't have much luck with it. But, we were able to do some great things with MJ this week. On Friday we had an FHE that the other sister missionaries in the branch organized. We invited a few recent converts/investigators (including  MJ and G) to come, and it was a great fellowshipping experience. We had some great food, played Uno and some other games, and just had a lot of fun. It's also really helped MJ a lot to meet more people in the branch, and she is really starting to make great connections. She even made the comment, "Your church is amazing. You guys are the only ones that have ever cared about me and my family." Then, to top things off this week, MJ was finally able to come to church! It was definitely the highlight of the week having her there.

The other highlight though was Saturday. To be honest, we hadn't been able to do much during the week as far as teaching, but the Lord blessed us a lot on Saturday. It was one of those days where everything falls into place, and by the end of it we taught 6 lessons! We also found three new investigators in one day after not finding any the whole rest of the week. It definitely strengthened my faith that even if not much is going on, of we will just be diligent in the work, eventually something will happen.

My ponderizer this week is 2nd Nephi 8:7 "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings." As disciples of Christ, we truly need to have his law written in our hearts. As the gospel sinks into and changes our hearts, we will exemplify Christ by the type of life we choose to live. As we seek to become true followers of the Son, let us not fear what others may think of us. As keep His law and His gospel in our hearts, we will be ready to share the incredible news of the gospel with all those around us. I hope y’all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

A Spanish Sweetheart

Some chickens they found

My Heart Pondereth...

Buenos!

Well, today we got transfer calls...Elder J and I will be staying together here in Lenoir City! I'm excited to see what the next transfer holds, and to finish training Elder J. In fact our whole district is staying the same, which is kind of weird. We'll see what surprises this transfer holds!

Our investigators are doing well. We are still working with MJ, but right now the biggest need for her is to find her own place. She is desperately looking for her own apartment to move into. It's been cool to see though, all the members in our branch council have been trying to come up with ways to help her, so it's been great to see all the members trying to support her. Once she finds her own place, it should be easier to start preparing her for baptism. We also started teaching a lady named V this week. She was a former investigator who had been taught pretty extensively by past missionaries. We had two great lessons with her this week about the Restoration and then the Plan of Salvation. It was great to teach her about God's plan of happiness, V just had so many questions about the afterlife, and we were able to answer each one with scriptures from the Book of Mormon. We are excited to continue to work with her!

Some funny things from the week: We went on exchanges with the other elders in our district this week, and right before we switched, we both got calls from the mission office informing us that we both were going to have apartment inspections the next day! So, one member of each companionship ended up cleaning the other's apartment, but it all worked out, and both of us passed with flying colors. Then on Sunday, on the way to church, we get a text from one of the counselors in the branch presidency saying, "Elder J, can you speak in Sacrament meeting today? 10-15 minutes, your topic." It was pretty great, even though he didn't have much time to prepare, Elder J did a great job and pulled it off, haha.

My ponderizer this week is 2nd Nephi 4:16 which says, "Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard." Sometimes we just need to take moments to reflect on the things of the gospel. It is often in these quiet, reflective, meditative moments that the Lord opens the door to revelation. I love y'all! Have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

District pictures

Back to the Grind

Buenos!

Well, this week was interesting. This week our teaching pool pretty much bottomed out on us. We've had a lot of challenges come up with some of our top people, and we've been dropping a lot of people too. Lately we've been trying just to find, find, find, and this week we just didn't have much luck with it. It was one of those occasional reminders that missionary work is HARD. It's hard work, it really is. But, it's the Lord's work, so it's worth it. We've always had a tendency to bounce back after hard weeks, so I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this week!

One bright spot this week was our lesson with J. He was complaining that God never seems to answer his prayers. Turns out J had been praying for the wrong things. Many of is pray like we are objects to be acted upon, instead of agents with the capacity to act. Instead of praying for God to change our circumstances, we must pray for the strength to impact our circumstances. It goes back to the fact that there is enabling power in the atonement of Jesus Christ. If we will ask God to give us the power to change our circumstances, God will hear and answer those prayers. Finally at the end of the lesson, it was like a light clicked for J; it was awesome.

My ponderizer this week is 1 Nephi 7:17 which says, "But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound." On one of their journeys in the wilderness, Nephi's rebellious brothers tied him up, and left him to die. I think many of us in this situation probably would have prayed saying something like, "Dear God, please get me out of this! Can you make these bands just disappear?" But Nephi prayed that he would have the strength to change his own circumstances. The bands (or the trials) were not removed, but Nephi was blessed with power. He broke the bands, and was delivered from his bretheren. Let us all pray as agents that can act, instead of being objects waiting to be acted upon. I love you all! I hope y'all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

(Sorry, I didn't take any pictures this week)

Another Baptism!

All the elders in the zone

Buenos!

We had another great week in Lenoir City! The highlight of course was G's baptism! It was great, the member that originally referred G to us, C, got to baptize him, and they were both so excited. C was absolutely beaming. It was a little stressful getting everything ready, but it turned out great, and we had a great turnout at the service. We even got G's mom, MJ, to the service, and afterwards she was talking about how she wants to work towards her own baptism! It was a great day. Then on Sunday, I had the privilege of confirming G a member of the church and giving him the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a powerful experience, and I'm thankful for the chance to participate in that ordinance. Overall it was just an awesome weekend!

We had quite a few meetings this week. First was a worldwide missionary broadcast from the missionary executive committee, including Elders Oaks, Bednar, and Andersen of the 12. Along with making some changes to the missionary schedule and key indicators, they talked extensively about the doctrine of Christ. I can't remember who said it, but something that stood out to me is that the more you understand about the doctrine of Christ, the more you focus on the basics. The more you understand it, the more willing you are to change and follow it. I learned a lot. The next day was Zone Conference, which was amazing, I always love President Griffin's trainings. Later that day we went on exchanges with the ZL's. It was kind of a weird exchange, but it was awesome being able to spend the day with my old comp, Elder C!

Other than that, not much happened this week. My ponderizer is James 5:20 which says, "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." I've just been thinking a lot this week about how different G's life will be now. He now has a chance to grow up in the gospel, go on a mission, and one day go to the temple. I'm so glad I had the chance to teach G, and I'm so excited to see what he becomes down the road. I hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell

Elder C got to come back for the baptism

G with C, who introduced him to the gospel.

G and his mom MJ

The Field is White...

Hermano G, R, Elder C, Elder Mitchell, Elder J

Buenos!!!

This week was awesome! Biggest news from this week is that R was baptized!!! It has definitely been a long time coming, he's been investigating the church for a long time, and he finally made the decision. He had told us that last week he would let us know on Wednesday if he was going to go through with it or not. Well, come Wednesday, we go to meet with him, and he still wasn't sure. After a super spiritual lesson with him, we invited him to pray on his own, and to let us know that night. Well, about 10:25 we got the call saying he was going to do it! It was a crazy next couple of days to get everything ready, but it worked out, and on Saturday, he was baptized! We got great support from the branch, and had a great turnout, and even President Griffin came to the baptism. Then yesterday, we all got to stand in the circle as R was confirmed a member of the church. It has just been awesome to see the progression that he has made and how far he has come. He's awesome!

This upcoming week, we'll get to do it all over again. G is ready for baptism now, so this week we'll be getting ready for that. We are also working with a great pool of investigators right now, and we can definitely see the Lord pouring out his spirit in our area. Especially now that the members are getting more involved, we are definitely beginning to see a hastening of the work.

The sad news from this week is that Elder C is being emergency-transferred. Due to some people going home, President had to mix up some companionships. Elder C is off to serve in Cleveland, TN, and he'll actually be serving with my old comp from Dalton, Elder J! We're pretty sad to see him go, but the Lord needs him somewhere else. In the meantime, Elder J and I will be holding it down here in Lenoir City.

My ponderizer this week is D&C 100:4 which says, "Therefore, I, the Lord, have suffered you to come unto this place; for thus it was expedient in me for the salvation of souls." I know that the Lord puts us in specific areas, with specific companions, with specific people to teach and to save. So wherever the Lord has you, just remember that the Lord has you there for the salvation of souls. I'm thankful for the chance I have to be serving in Lenoir City, and that the Lord has suffered me to come into this place, for the salvation of souls. I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

With Br. S who baptized R and Branch Pres. T

With the three ZLs, one of the APs who previously taught R, the

sister missionaries from the branch and Mission Pres. Griffin and his wife

Saying goodbye to Elder C

One last workout with Crazy Johnny for Elder C

Elder C saying goodbye to Crazy Johnny and Br. E

A Poor Man's Breakfast

He found Portland (Avenue)

Buenos!

Well, we had an awesome week! It's been full of ups and downs, but the work here was amazing this week! Our investigators are doing great. R has made a ton of progress. This week we went over the questions for the baptismal interview, and he only had slight concerns with Thomas S. Monson and the Word of Wisdom. In our next lesson, we covered those, and now he is solid. We asked him if he really wanted to be baptized (his target date is this Saturday) and he said he'd let us know for sure on Wednesday. So, we'll see what happens this week!

G is also getting super close to baptism. We've had a lot of good lessons with him this week, and we were able to knock out most of the commandments. We are hoping he'll get baptized before the end of the month. There are great things happening here! We are still working with G's mom, MJ. She has a lot more concerns to work through, especially with the Word of Wisdom, so her progress has been a little slower, but she seems determined to work hard to give up smoking. We also got back in touch with J this week and he is back to keeping all his commitments, so we're excited to see what happens with him going forward.

Story time: So, we sometimes work out with this guy Bro. H, aka "Crazy Johnny." Well, his deal is that at the end of every workout he singles someone out to earn the "poor man's breakfast." Basically, if you can survive all of his crazy intense exercises, Johnny takes you to breakfast at this grocery store, Food City. It's just bacon, eggs, and a biscuit, but it's actually pretty darn good. Well, this week it was my turn to earn the breakfast. I survived and earned it, but not before Johnny wrecked every muscle in my body haha. Then, as we were in line to order food, I ended up going and puking in the Food City bathroom. Let's just say it was an experience I'll never forget haha.

My ponderizer this week is 2 Timothy 1:7 which says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." There are a lot of things to be afraid of as a missionary. It's not easy to go out and talk to strangers about Jesus Christ. But, fear is Satan's tool, and his alone. God does not give us fear, but if we ask in faith he will bless us with power. We can overcome our fears as we ask the Lord for His enabling power. I hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,
Elder Mitchell

The terrific trio

Their "snow"

Making taquitos with Hermano G

Pictures from around Lenoir City

Hace Frio! (It's Cold!)

It got pretty cold last weekend,

but then warmed right up!

Buenos!

It was another good week here in Lenoir City. Good, but cold. We got a little bit of snow this week. On Friday it started with just a little bit of snow, but we actually got quite a bit on Saturday. We ended up grounding our car for most of the day, especially since LC is so hilly, we didn't want to be sliding on all the steep uphills and downhills. Even though most of the roads were clear, they ended up canceling church on Sunday. Things are supposed to heat up this week though, so I'm looking forward to that.

Wednesday was transfers, and Elder C and I welcomed our new greenie, Elder J! He is from Perry, UT near Brigham City. He is 18, just graduated high school this last year, and is planning to go to Utah State to study engineering after this mission. He grew up on a farm, so he loves being outside, just working with his hands. He loves telling stories and jokes, and he is really good at it haha. We're super excited to have him!

We had a pretty good week with our top investigators. R is finally showing some real progress. We finally figured out that he didn't really understand the need for priesthood authority, so we were able to address that this week, and it went really well! We also finally got back in touch with MJ, and we had a good lesson with her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Also (for Elder J's first lesson) we saw J, and talked with him about faith/repentance, and how he needs to have faith in himself--faith he can change. They are all doing well right now; we are just hoping to find some more solid people to add to our teaching pool.

My ponderizer this week is 1 Nephi 9:6, "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen." God knows everything. He knows our struggles, our weaknesses, our challenges, and our desires. Even if things appear difficult, God will prepare a way for us to accomplish great works. I hope y'all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mitchell