Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 70

Hey! 
So the temperature is starting to get colder outside, on Saturday is at 27, and windy, so that was fun. :) This week was cold, but it was really good too, lots of work to do in Chickasha. Tuesday at the museum, fun as always, and so we got another box of stuff to sort through, and at the bottom of the bag, there was this little wooden box and all we would read from the label with out opening it was (a long name I can't remember) and Biological laboratory, so we open it naturally :) and there is a vial of stuff it it, and a syringe, so Pat, the director looks it up, to see if it was safe, all it was, was a vaccine for strep throat, so that's good. But the museum has found some interesting things as they go through stuff. Pat told us one time, they were opening up "empty" ammo canisters from WW2... well some weren't empty, so they had to call the bomb squad to take care of it, and while they were there, their radiation detectors went off, turns out the Uranium exhibit that they were assured was safe, wasn't so safe. So they had to close that one down, hahaha. I love museums! :) This week at the Museum we are helping with a big model train set! That should be fun. Chickasha lights are on! I got to see them last year and it's cool that I'm here now this time. :) We had stake conference this Sunday and that was really good, lots of good talks from everyone, even President and Sister Walkenhoarst spoke. This week is going to be fun, Thanksgiving! And we have district meeting in Pauls Valley on Friday, so I don't have to prepare a training this week! And there is going to be a new Christmas initiative called, A Savior is Born, can't wait for that! The weather today isn't that bad, its warming up till thanksgiving, then 40`s as high, and freezing rain.... so I'm trying to think of how to get into our area if the roads are iced over, so cars are grounded, and I really don't want to fall off my bike in the ice, and we live 3 miles away from our area, so should be interesting, I will let you know how it goes. :) So with Thanksgiving coming up, here are a few scriptures I am grateful for- 
Moroni 9:3-5

3rd Nephi 5:13

Alma 7:11-14

I could probably go on forever! I have so many because the Book of Mormon applies to everyone, no matter what they are going through or questions that they have, it is a blessing to all that will read it.

I am thankful for the wonderful opportunity I have to be on a mission, and share this message with people that will help them forever! :)

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 69

Hey! 
It was a pretty good week this week, on P-day we played football, it was fun, it was a long drive though, Or it seemed like it, Pauls Valley is about a hour away, so after p-day we had a meeting, and that was really good, made sure I took lots of notes. The next morning, I also had another meeting in Pauls Valley, so all of the zone leaders and their companions all had to stay the night at the zone leaders apartment, and they have a small apartment. There was about 12 or 14 of us in there! So it was a little crowded, haha! So the next morning we had meetings, then after that we finally got to go home, we were all so tired after that, it was funny. All we wanted to do is sleep, but we couldn't. Wednesday we did service at the animal shelter, fun as always. :) We had a busy week, got to see a lot of people and teach too! On Friday I went on exchanges with the zone leaders, so I got to go with Elder McGinnis to Pauls Valley again! It was cool to see their area, I have never been there before. We had a good time. and that night we got a call from one of their members asking us if we could fix their heater for their house. Elder McGinnis was telling me that they get calls like this all the time, whenever anyone has a problem in Pauls Valley, they call the missionaries, hahaha! So we went over there and looked at it, but nothing really happened so we told them to call someone that knows what they are doing :) On Sunday we got one of our investigators to church that we have been working with for a while now, and finally got them to come! They said they enjoyed it, so hopefully we will see them next week as well. Sunday was cold and raining, and of course it was our day to bike.... so that was fun, sort of, at least it wasn't raining hard, so we stayed warm and dry. We heard about Paris, everyone is talking about it, how sad! I love you and hope that you all had a great week! 

Everyone at the Zone Leaders Place

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 68

Hey!
This week has been pretty good, we have stayed pretty busy this week, on Tuesday for service at the museum it was really fun, someone donated this box full of stuff all about this guy who him and his brother traveled around doing circus acts, so we got to find out a lot about him, sorting through all that stuff (newspapers, mail, and other stuff). It sort of felt like National Treasure, there were some telegrams that we were reading, between him and some other person, and confused us. For example- "Everything is fine, I'm okay, meet me on Monday." So that was sort of strange, so we are going through more and he had a lot of pamphlets, papers, and mail from India ink, so we look at that more, and I recognize a symbol on one of them, and I'm like, oh.. he was a Mason, that's cool. Thought that was a cool thing that we learned and did on Tuesday. Wednesday we were going to do service at the animal shelter, but we got a huge storm in the morning, and we are driving in it! We couldn't see the road at all, the rain and wind was that bad, everything was just white. Luckily it didn't last all day, just the morning, so we were able to go out and work when the storm died down. On Saturday, we helped a member rebuild a shed. It was really fun, we still have a lot of work to do, but it is getting there. Lois is still doing great, we weren't able to meet with a lot of the people that we normally do this week, but we found a new investigator, and what's even better, him and his wife have 10 kids! It was really cool how we found them too. So it all started about 3 weeks ago. It was maybe around 7 at night, and we are riding around with our bikes, and we see this kid walking in the street by himself, and he is around 14 or so, and he sees us and of course thinks we are police (it happens all the time). Anyway, he comes over to us and tells us that he is lost, doesn't know how to get home, it's dark and doesn't know his address or any phone numbers, all he knows is his house is in the north side, and thinks he knows what street it is on, so yeah, lots of help. So we told him we would help him, we are pretty sure we know where he lives after talking with him more, with knowing the area. So we start our journey. And it really was, it took us about a hour to walk to his house, we found it thankfully. We gave him our number and now we started heading home, we had our bikes with us so it didn't take us that long to get back, but we get a call and it is his mom, telling us how thankful she was for finding and helping her son, her husband had been looking for him for quite a while now. So we talked with her for a little while more, and were telling her about what we do as missionaries. So that was a really cool thing that we were able to do that night. On Saturday, we went over there, and we were able to teach his dad! He already had a Book of Mormon, and his wife has relatives that are members in Oklahoma! It was awesome!  This p-day is zone p-day so we are all going up to Pauls Valley and playing flag football, should be a lot of fun. Love you!

This is my planner cover!

      

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 67

Hey! 
I'm tired...... we had to go to Seminole this morning for a doctors appointment for Elder Pearson. Seminole is a hour and a half away, and of course I have to drive..... so we get up this morning, and there is thick fog, of course there is. So I not only got to drive for a long time, but the fog was there the entire time. So what a lovely stressful trip that was, and we just got back. So yeah. But this week was pretty good. Service was fun at the museum, and since Elder Mcvey left, Elder Roundy went to transfers and Elder Williams is his new companion. On Wednesday, the Branch had a Fall Festival, and it was really fun! There was lots of games and food, and a  lot of people showed up! Including some non-members. Halloween was fun, we went to a members house, and we played games there. They had a game called lightening reactions, there are these things that you hold and there is a button on them, you wait till the light turns green and the last person to push the button got shocked, we all had fun with that game, hahaha. So I can't remember all this week, I blame the stress about driving, haha. But it has been a good week. 

Elder Mcvey and I

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 66

Hey! 
This week we had to wear our suit coats because it was below 60, so it is getting colder outside! On Thursday we had to ride in the rain, and we got soaked, hahaha, riding around in the rain reminds me of my first area. So that was fun, sort of, hahaha. So on Tuesday, we did service at the museum, but every other week I have a meeting over the phone during that time, so I had that this week, so I didn't get to do much this week. But the meeting was funny, so at the beginning of the transfer, the zone leaders broke their phone, it was old, and fell apart, so they got a new one, so during the meeting, we all hear them log out of the call, and so we don't know that to do, so we are trying to figure out that happened. It turns out the the zone leaders accidentally dropped their new phone in a cup of water,hahaha. They sort of got it working again, but we could barely hear them over the call. When all that was over I did get to do some service, what I did was help clean this old saddle that they had, we had some saddle leather cleaner and some rags and were scrubbing it, trying to clean it up. On Wednesday, we did service at the animal shelter; we had fun walking the dogs, and Elder Roundy found a piece of Elder Lyman's name tag in the grass, so we told him about that, and it turns out that he had the other half and never could find that last piece, so we mailed it to him, it is cool that even after all this time that we were able to find it. Lois is still doing great, and was telling us that she can't wait till she is able to go to the temple! Our investigators are doing well, we are having a fall festival at the church on Wednesday so we have been trying to invite as many people as we can to that, hopefully there should be a lot of people there. This week we went on exchanges, I went with Elder Roundy to his area and Elder Mcvey and Elder Pearson were together in this area, it was a good exchange, we were able to teach a few people and improve our areas. We had a good Sunday, we got to meet with Sam and Anthony again, they are progressing, every time we go there I always learn so much, they have some hard questions at times, so after, I always study it and am able to learn more. With transfers, me and Elder Pearson are staying together, and Elder Mcvey is going to OKC, and Elder Roundy's new companion is Elder Willams. This week was good, stressful at times, but the work here is still going forward. Love you! 

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 65

Hey!

The weather is starting to get a little colder! I love the cooler weather, the only thing that I'm not a fan of is when it gets below 60, we have to wear our suits. But this week has been pretty good. We had a good lesson with Tone, and next time he is going to teach us the restoration. We had a good time at the museum as usual :). We had a great lesson with Arthur, we have been meeting with him for a while, and in the beginning he said he would meet with us, but didn't want the lessons, now we are teaching him, and he is keeping commitments, and is doing great. I love the change we can see in people. Lois is still doing great! She is amazing, and she loves her calling in the branch. We are giving her the new member lessons now. On Friday, we were able to go to one of our investigator`s house, had a good lesson with them, they had lots of questions, so I have been busy studying for them so I can answer their questions next time.  This week we did a lot of service, on Saturday morning we had a service project to help one of our investigators remove trees, bushes, and vines from their front and back yard. It only took about 2 hours and it looked so much better, then after that we helped one of our recent converts move. We got a new investigator this week, he is taller then our mission president, he told us that his grandfather was 8 foot...... thats tall. We had a great lesson with him, we taught the restoration, and I think that was the best lesson that me and Elder Pearson have taught so together. It's funny now that it is getting colder, I am like, I remember this last year, wow that was a long time ago, hahaha! I love you, hope that you all have a great week!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 64

Hey!

So this was a pretty good week, we had a fun zone p-day, we had it at a members house in Pauls Valley, they have a huge back yard, so we all made an obstacle course, it was really fun. It first started out with throwing a Frisbee into a net, then after that wheelbarrow across the field, then it went to a path that led through the forest, and they put string all over the path so you had to avoid the string, after that was a sprint to the next part, a three legged race, then a grape toss and we had to catch them in our mouths, then finally putting a bike together and racing it to the finish line, it was a really fun p-day! After that we had a meeting, and that went to the end of the day. The meting was mostly about how we can better work with members. On Tuesday, we did service at the museum, I think that volunteering at the museum is one of my favorite service things that I have done so far. Lois is still doing great! Wednesday we did service at the animal shelter, it is a lot of fun being able to work with the dogs. We have been doing more teaching this week, so that is nice, the work here is getting better. One of the members invited us to hear a guest speaker at the collage here, and it was really cool listening to him, it was about the effect we have on nature, it was interesting. In church on Sunday we had a lot of people there this week, I think it was around 90, so we are still slowly growing! The weather has been nice, but it was starting to warm back up a little, it is pretty windy today, so maybe that means that it will cool down. the scripture I am going to "poderize" for this week is 2nd Nephi 12:2 "And it shall come to pass in the last days when the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established at the top of the mountains and shall be exalted about the hills and all nations shall flow unto it." Have a great week! Love you!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 63

Hey!

This has been a good week, the weather has been really nice, and last night it was starting to get a little cold, so i am loving the weather. :) We are still doing service at the museum here, it is so much fun to do, that day in the morning I had a meeting over the phone with the other district leaders, and that took a long time, so I didn't get to do that much at the museum, but what I did is took old pictures and put them in protective sleeves. On Wednesday we had Zone Conference, we heard some really good training from President Walkenhorst and the AP's, so after the zone conference, we went to the mission office to pick up more supplies, and in the office they have a list of departing and arriving missionaries, and the sisters that came out with me from the Mexico MTC were on the list! So I was talking to one of the English sisters that came out with me and said, "hey guess who is going to have their name on that list next transfer?", so she ran over to the list, and was like no way! I haven't been out that long! It was really funny to watch. Everything is going well, we have been talking to a lot more people who say we could come back, the problem we are having now is meeting with them again, preparing for district meeting training have still been a little hard, but every week they seem like it gets better, so I am glad for that. Time is going by so fast, I can't believe it is already October, its crazy. The highlight of the week would have to be with one of the recent coverts that we are working with, she finally got her patriartical blessing! We have been working with her for a while, helping her overcome her fears of things in the church, the temple, and this! She was so excited, after she got home she called us right away and told us! :) She said it was so worth it. Lois is still going great too! :) She has a calling already, and it very eager to be able to serve in the church. General Conference was really good, it was sad not being able to see some of the familiar faces that we were all used to, but I enjoyed the talk Elder Bednar gave at the end about them. some of the main topics I got out of conference was to have a current temple recommend, always have the Holy Ghost to be with you, and follow the prophet. For today we are having a zone p-day, so the whole zone is going up to Pauls Valley and we are doing this big obstacle course that some member up there is setting up for us, should be lots of fun! and I will send you pictures off all that next week! :)

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 62

Hey! 
This week felt pretty long, we had Zone Conference on Wednesday and that took up almost all off the day, so that felt like that went on for a while. This week we have been tracting a lot, we haven't gotten any new investigators yet, but there was a few that said we could come back sometime next week. I'm still trying to get used to having more language study and now 12 week (training Elder Pearson) now in the schedule, but it is slowly getting better. We have been busy riding around. I put that odometer on my bike on Friday, and it says so far I have ridden 20 miles on the bike, that's a lot, I'm going to see how many we ride in a week.:) And of course the high light of the week! Lois's Baptism!!!! Her baptism was on Saturday! It was awesome, and lots of people showed up to support her, I was so happy that she was able to heal enough for baptism, this has been something she has wanted more than anything else since I first got here, and that was probably more than 3 months ago,:) on Friday the I went on exchanges with the zone leaders from Pauls Valley, that went well, we had a good time together and was able to learn a lot from them. There are two members of the branch who had knee replacements, so everyone in the branch was making the joke that there must have been a sale on knees lately:). And one of the people who got the replacement, came to church with his walker, so he and another member who was already using a walker were trying to race each other down the hall ways, it was really funny to watch, hahaha. We watched the eclipse last night, it was soo cool!!!!! There was a lot of people outside watching it happen. 

Baptism! :)

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 61

Hey!

So this week has been pretty busy, so on Wednesday we went up to transfers, we had to be there at 8:45 for a another meeting before we met the people that we are going to be training, so I'm training Elder Pearson, he seems like a great missionary and hope that we see lots of miracles this transfer! We were at transfers for a while, and got to see a lot of people, President said that a third of the mission was there, so lots of things are getting moved around lately if a whole third is getting changed up. After transfers we went and got my bike, so it is all fixed now, and with that recall thing, they also gave me a $20 gift certificate, so I used that on a cool little bike computer, so it can tell me how fast I am going on the bike and a few other things, I haven't tried it out yet, but hopefully I will do that soon. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I am also District Leader now also, so I'm in charge of the district, and also give training every week, so that is something I'm trying to add onto with my personal studies in the morning is to prepare for district meeting. I already gave a training last Friday and I thought it went pretty well for my first time doing it. Elder Pearson and I have been starting to tract a lot more now, so we have gotten a few people that we are going to try to meet up with again later this week, hope everything goes well with that. So we have been busy this week this the tracting, and we also have had some good lessons. Last week we were talking with a less active member who hasn't been to church in a very long time, so we talked with him last week, and invited him, but said that he would be working so he could come, so last Saturday we went over and talked with him some more, and he was telling us how he knows that he needs to change, and that he could try to get off work so he could come to church on Sunday. On Sunday, we are all sitting down and church just started and he wasn't there, but then we saw him walk in and sat next to us!!!!! Super exciting! It raining all morning, so he couldn't work on roofs that morning, it was so cool seeing him there:) I think that was one of the highlights of the week! Our investigators are doing good, Lois is getting baptized next week!! She cant wait, she is awesome :)  On Sundays there is usually between 60-80 people there, I think this week we had 73, but our highest we ever had while I was here was 97, so we are growing, I can't wait for the day when it finally becomes a ward.

Elder Pearson and I

Some Cool Clouds Coming In

One of the members here has been working on this car for 8 years, it looks so cool!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 60

Hey!
So we don't know who we are training till Wednesday, and I'm going to be the new district leader as well, so going to have to learn a lot between that and training, should be fun though. This week has been pretty good, we got the other apartment for Elder Roundy and his companion all set up, service at the museum was fun as usual, this time we were going through old newspapers trying to find something about a Indian burial ground near here, so that was cool, didn't find it, but it was cool to see how life was in the 1940's. Lois is doing great, she is getting baptized on the 26th! She is the best! We had exchanges with the zone leaders, they went well, this whole week we have been seeing lots of miracles, finding a lot of prepared people. This happened yesterday, we were riding around and this guy stopped us on the side of the road, and asked us what we had for him, he said he wasn't sure if he believed in God or not, and wants to know, so then he saw us, and thought, well they must be dedicated if they are out riding their bikes. So we talked to him for a little while, answered a few of his questions, gave a brief overview of the restoration, and gave him a Book of Mormon, and we set up a time to come back next week to see him! We met one of our investigator's dad this week too, turns out he is a less active, hasn't been to church in years, so we are talking to him, and he wants to come back, and change his life around! It is amazing to see The Lord's hand in missionary work. On Wednesday we went up to Moore for trainers meeting, took lots of notes on that :) and then since we were up there I finally took my bike in! So, this week has been great, not that great number wise, but it's not about the numbers, it's about how we can help The Lord's work keep moving forward, and that has happened this week! With being a trainer now, I want to help the new missionary become the best he can, so teaching him the area, the people, how to teach,..... it's all learning. Love you guys! you are the best!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 57

Hey!

So Guess what? Elder Roundy and I found out that we are training! So this Wednesday Elder Roundy and I are going to go up to Moore for Trainers Meeting, we don't know who we are training yet, that will be on the 16th at transfers, but that will be a bit of a change. So we are staying in Chickasha, and we are just splitting the area. This week has been ok, we weren't able to see as many people as we would of liked, but we did have some good lessons. Lois is still doing great, and has a baptismal date for the end of the month, but she is pretty much already a member:) everyone at church knows Lois:) Tammy is feeling a lot better after surgery, she doesn't need her walker anymore, and we had a lesson this week with her, and she told us that her husband was asking her about us, and asked her if she was going to become a member of the church or not? And she said that she was thinking about it and has been on her mind a lot, so we thought that was pretty cool! Being a missionary is awesome, you are able to see the wonderful change in people and get to be a part of it in their lives. Then through that, you change yourself, being more in tune with the spirit, and having more confidence  Our investigators are great, but always trying to find more. This week there was a antique car show, we got to see a little of it, it was really cool. We found another place to do service as well as the dog shelter, we are now doing service at the museum here as well! So I'm excited for that! Last week we were sorting old documents, and set up some exhibits, we might be cataloging some of the other things in storage as well. Elder Roundy saw a sign on their door, Staffed by Volunteer, and we were just like well ok, we can be volunteers! :) It has been a hot week, so it has been fun biking:) Reminds me of Arizona. hahaha, but everything has been good, I guess I'm lucky I'm used to the desert, yesterday we were riding and it was 104 outside, Elder Roundy was definitely not used to the heat like I was, thank you for air conditioned stores. And I also found a old I-pod in the middle of the road while biking the other day, it was pretty beat up, and screen cracked, but you know as a missionary, we see something cool on the street, we have to pick it up, so took it home, and got a charger for it, screen doesn't really work, but the rest of it does! Tracting Treasures!

Also this morning, we played Ultimate Frisbee with one of the members here and some other people from the collage that are on the frisbee team, it was really fun.

 Love you! 

I planted a seed in a jar of dirt, a while ago, and now its finally growing!

found a toad by our door

I love my tie!

It is still growing

Tracting Treasure

Chickasha Oklahoma- Week 56

Hey!

This week has gone by pretty well, the weather is starting to heat back up again, so hopefully it will go back down, we are still teaching lots of people and next month we are getting another set of missionaries so the area is going to be split, so we are trying to get everything ready for that. We committed two people this week to baptism, it was awesome! I love the spirit, they weren't sure about a date yet, but they said if the Book of Mormon is true, they would! We also have been working with another guy, we first met him and talked to him about family history, he told us he was really interested in family history and we could come by, but didn't want to hear our message, so we have been coming by and talking to him, sharing cool stuff we found in the bible, then a little of the Book of Mormon, then talking about gospel topics- what is the purpose of life and  things like that. After that came up, we told him a little about the Plan of Salvation, and we said we could come back next week and share more with him, because he is interested. So this week we got to share the Plan of Salvation with him, and he said it all made sense! It was really cool how we were finally able to teach him! So everything is going good, I was sick over the weekend, but I feel a lot better today, it was nothing bad, just had a headache and was tired and allergies, we are making sure we are both washing our hands all the time, there have been quite a few people we know that are getting sick but like I said, felling better now! :) Love you! 

Us at the Temple! :)

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 55

Hey! 
The weather this week has been really nice, we got some rain at the beginning of the week, and for the rest it just has been overcast, but the temperature is in the 80`s, so it feels great for once. :) We have been staying busy as always, have been seeing people, and they have been doing good, we are getting more people at church, so the branch is still growing. Nothing that crazy or eventful happened this week, but we got a new investigator, we taught his wife a week ago, and this week when we came over, he listened too, one thing that I noticed is how cool it is when you meet people that have already come in contact with the church, so for example, our new investigator and his wife, they already have a Book of Mormon and she reads from it from  time to time, has relatives that are members, and is friends with some members, so what I would say about that is where ever you go, make sure you always act as you should, people are always watching, and it sets a positive message to someone who meets you about the church, which can help plant seeds later down in life. We volunteered at the animal shelter on Wednesday, and it started to rain while we were outside, so we sort of smelled like wet dog hahaha! And we also went down to Rush Springs, I have been really liking going down there, we are starting to talk with more people there, and for the most part everyone has been very nice. We had district meeting in Chickasha on Friday, that went well, and President Walkenhorst decided to stop by for the meeting, so that was cool to see him there. The mission is going by too fast now, people are asking me how long i have left, oh, around a year, its going by too fast!!! Love you all!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 54

Hey! 
It was a good week, on Tuesday there was a leadership meeting, so Anadarko, Wichita Falls, and Altus, dropped off their companions here with us while they went to the city to the meeting, so me and Elder Roundy are like, ok, great, what do we do with so many missionaries?! So we all got on our bikes and went tracting. I took two of the missionaries with me and Elder Roundy took one with him. It all went pretty well. We got a new investigator while tracting, we offered to say a pray with the person, and after they invite us inside and we were able to teach the restoration, turns out they know some members of the ward and have some relatives that are members as well, so know about the church. That was really cool. On Wednesday we went down to Rush Springs again, had a pretty good time there, found some more potential investigators and saw some members down there. Thursday was the best because we got to go to the temple!!! We had our zone temple trip, it was great! :) We had exchanges on Friday, Elder Day came with me to our area, it went well, did a little service mowing a members lawn, and was able to see people. We saw Tammy, she is doing better from her hip surgery, we had dinner at a members and it was really good. We met with a guy who is really into family history so we met and talked to him for a while, and told him about the churches family history center, he said that he would go and check it out! On Sunday we had a lot of people there, the branch is growing! And Tone, our investigator, brought his son with him to church, and he liked it! So they are both are going to come every week now! Love you! Have a great week!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 53

Hey!

So Elder Lyman is home now, and my new companion is Elder Roundy. So at the beginning of the week, not much happened with Elder Lyman getting ready to go home, so on Wednesday, Me and Elder Lindelof did service at the animal shelter here in the morning while we waiting for our new companions. After they got here, we went to Rush Springs, we go there every Wednesday, and it was great, we saw some members and investigators there, and also talked to a few more people and they said we could come back. So we can't wait to go back and see them again. One person we met, we knocked on there door, and asked if we could say a prayer with her, so she said yes, and we talked for a little while more, and was talking about that we do as missionaries, and we were talking about the Book of Mormon how it goes hand in hand with the Bible, and she says, that's sounds great! and I love reading! So we gave her a Book of Mormon, and she says that she feel all tingly inside, and that she couldn't wait to read it :) So that was awesome. On Thursday, we tried some former investigators and taught them again! Had a really good lesson with our recent converts and got the brakes on my bike fixed, and hopefully I can take it to a bike shop soon, should be sometime this month. Learning the area is getting a lot better, and today I bought myself a compass, don't know why I didn't do that earlier, that should help out a lot. Elder Day is our new District Leader, seems like a really cool guy, and we had a good district meeting. On Saturday, we went to try a referal from a less active, and he was awesome, we taught him the restoration and it went really well; the spirit was so strong. He was telling us that him and his fiance want to get married soon, and they want to be married in a church, so we told him that if he wants, come to our church, and then talking about marriage, we brought up that we believe that we can be married for time and all eternity and he seemed so excited about that, and that's what he wants. So it was a good week this week. We are having a temple trip this week, so I can send you a picture of me at the temple soon! Love you!

Elder Roundy and I!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 52

Hey!
So this week has been crazy with Elder Lyman leaving and saying goodbye to people, so between that and trying to find more people to teach, this week has defiantly gone by fast. We haven't been able to meet with that many people this week, so we are trying to find new investigators. Its been hot, but toward the end of the week, we have been getting some rain which cools things down quite a bit, so then it feels good outside. So, we got the transfer doctrine last night, and my new companion is Elder Roundy, I don't know that much about him, so I guess I will find out Wednesday. I'm getting more used to Chickasha, which is good, I think I'm ready to take over the area now. Sunday was really good, we had three of our investigators at church! And they had a great time. The branch here is growing! Love you!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 51

Hey! 

This week is crazy busy as usual :) one of our investigators got baptized this week! So that was great to see, everything went great, and I was able to do the confirmation, I was a little nervous for that at first, but after, that feeling went away, it is amazing how the spirit works! And I thought it was really cool that she wanted me to do it :). Our investigators are doing good, they are progressing and it is so cool to see what a change the gospel has on their lives. We had a service project for Tammy this week, members of the branch and us came over and helped her with some yard work, that was a big help to her because she is getting hip surgery soon, and then wouldn't be able to do it for a while. I think it is acts of service like that, could be big or small, that are things that someone will remember for a long time. On Wednesday, we got to have a movie night at the church! We watched Meet the Mormons, and quite a few people showed up! It was great to see more of the branch here come together and have investigators there too. We had popcorn and some other snacks there. Most people here haven't seen that movie before and they loved it!  On Friday we had exchanges, I went to Anadarko with Elder Lindelof, we had a pretty good day, talked to people, walked around a lot, and had some really good lessons. They are also having a baptism soon. I always like exchanges, you get to meet different people, and it is really cool to see when we talk with people on the street. Most of them that we talk to have talked with missionaries in the past. On Sunday we had branch conference, and we had two of our investigators come to church! The talks were awesome, I think everyone enjoyed it. We had a potluck afterward which was also super fun. Still trying to learn the area, its going a little better, I have a little map that I keep in my pocket to look at, so that helps. Have to get ready for when Elder Lyman leaves, and that is in a week and a half now! I have moved a lot, normally people stay in areas a lot longer. I don't know why I have been moved around so much and President doesn't say ahead of time. I have been in 5 areas, and have had 8 companions so far...... that's more than some get in their entire two years. Alright, love and miss you all!

 

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 50

Hey!
This has been a crazy and busy week! We have had lots of lessons with people so our days are full of rushing around to the next appointment, the weather is getting hotter outside, but it is still cooler than Arizona! So we have been riding our bikes a lot. And dont worry, I have been drinking lots of water. Every Wednesday we do service at the animal shelter, so we take the dogs out of their kennels and walk them for a little bit, that has been fun, we always smell like wet dog afterwards though. So on Wednsday or Thursday we parked our car like we always do, and rode on our bikes, well we came back to our car at about 8:45ish, and we couldn't find it! It was the wierdest thing, because we were pretty sure we remembered where we parked it, so we looked for it for about 45min, and still couldn't find it, so we called our vehicle cordinator and president to tell them. Because by now, we are thinking either it got towed, or someone stole it.... so it was a long night, between police and calling mission leaders, so the next day a member calls us and tells us that he found the car, and yup it was there, we just don't remember at all that it was parked there, to that was really weird. But we have it, and everything is all good now, so that was a eventfull part of the week. We also met a guy who is taller than President Walkenhorst, the guy was 7'3, that's pretty tall.

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 49

Hey!
Never a dull moment in Chickasha, we are always really busy and rushing around everywhere, we are seeing lots of people which is good. It is cool to watch the Branch here slowly grow. So last Monday was fun, we went to a members house and played snooker while we were there, it was fun. We have two investigators, Tammy and Ms. Yoshi, they live across the street from one another, but they both have the largest gardens I have ever seen, it is really cool looking, I will have to take a picture of it sometime. And they have everything in them, even fish, they took the back of a old truck and lined it with a tarp, and turned it into a pond, it looks really cool. So I really like going over there and seeing all the plants and fish. We helped some members move this week, it was pretty hot outside, I like it better in the winter. We went down to Rush Springs on Wednesday to visit some people, that went well, and there is a Watermelon festival happening soon down there, so that sounds cool, everyone here talks about it and how good the watermelons are. I think we are starting to do better with the miles and the car, we drive more to the center of our area and then we bike from there, so yeah, biking a lot more now. We have a few more investigators this week, everyone is doing well. Had a good time at church, it is awesome to see people coming back to church, they are so much happier with the gospel in their lives. Love you!

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 48

Hey!
It's been a good week, we are still very busy here. Finally got everything unpacked so that is good. The Mission is still downsizing so we had quite a bit of miles for our car taken away :( So, we mostly bike everywhere now. We are still teaching a lot of people, so that is good. Zone p-day last week was really fun! We went to the Wichita Mountains and hiked and explored them! I really liked doing that, and I took pictures! So that was a good start to this week. We went on exchanges on Friday so I went to Anadarko, and Elder Lyman stayed here. It was a good exchange, I forgot how different Oklahoma was from Texas, there are a lot of Native Americans in Anadarko, so I was asked quite a few times, what tribe am I from? Lots of People think I'm Native American. It's funny. Starting to meet a lot more people from the ward, and slowly learning the area. There was a Forth of July party at the church, and that was fun. At the beginning, it was really stormy and a lot of rain, so we thought at first the fireworks might be canceled, but the storm didn't last very long, so everything went great. We played ultimate frisbee, and volleyball, till it got dark, and since the church is in the park and they do the fireworks in the park it was the perfect place to watch them, and we were pretty close too. They were good fireworks. :) Chickasha is getting better, but it is still a large area, or for me it is :), so I still have lots to learn.

The Old District Is Back!!!

Our Hike

 

Chickasha, Oklahoma- Week 47

Hey!! 
So my new address is 204 E. Almar Dr. Apt 804, Chickasha Oklahoma 73018. So in Chickasha we have a huge area, we cover most of Grady County, so I'm glad we have a car. :) So this week,  has been crazy, too much change and I don't like getting transferred :( We have been so busy here in Chickasha since I have gotten here, which is good, but I'm still not totally unpacked yet, it seems like I only have a few minutes everyday to do so, so with all that going on it is a little hard, but we have seen lots of miracles this week. We got two new investigators and they are really cool! It's really funny about Texas, when you are in Oklahoma, everyone doesn't want to go to Texas, but since I have been there, I think it is the one of the best places in the mission! I am going to miss everyone there. So this week has been crazy busy like I said. So hopefully this week I can get more stuff done.... there are lots of mosquitos here, they are no fun.... so on Tuesday night, we were helping the other missionaries in Texas move their stuff into our apartment, so I just wore my socks and sandals, well, we are standing outside and then I notice, my feet feel like they are burning.... so I go inside and take off my socks to look at my feet, got bit by a whole bunch of mosquitos!! So that made it really fun to walk around in the heat for the next few days.  But they are finally better now, and don't worry I still have lots of bug spray. I was so sad to leave my investigators in Texas   :( and I hope they are in good hands, it's not the same as leaving them in your companions hands though because we both left the area.... and Chickasha is medium size, but we cover almost an entire county! Oh and the Church building here is next to a  Park! And they have a good view of it. :) It is a branch here, so there are not many people, 2 months ago one of the members went on a mission and she was a recent convert! The last time some one went on a mission here was 10 years ago... the work is hastening! Love you all! 

Witchita Falls, Texas- Week 46

Hey!
So, last Monday we had Zone P-day, and that was really fun, we got to play dodge ball, so that was a fun change from what we normally do. After that we went to dinner, and the zone leaders wanted to go to this place call Wasabi, so we and a few other went with them, it was a awesome place! It was also really expensive though, but they cooked the food infront of us! And then after that, we had a meeting, and a training, learned a lot from those. We helped out at the food bank, that is always fun to do. We saw Mike and Steve, they are doing well, his foot is getting better everyday! :) We had another lesson with Tyler and Chennel, we taught the Doctrine of Christ and it went great, they are awesome! We were able to see a lot more people this week, so we were busy most days. On Friday, we had exchanges with the zone leaders, Elder Wilcox came with me to my area. We saw lots of miracles, we got in with people that we normally don't, so hopefully it will be easier to visit them in the future. On Saturday, we did our last day of the Parade of Homes for Habitat for Humanity, it was fun, we sold tickets inside, and the homes were really pretty. Friday night it started raining again, it rained 3 inches that night, so all the rivers rose a lot the next day, the thunder was really loud, woke me up a few times, but I like the sound of thunder so it's ok. Saturday and Sunday night it rained a lot too, seems like that is what it is going to do for most of the week, I like it if it will keep the temperature down. Until next week! Love you!

Witchita Falls, Texas- Week 45

Hey!
It hasn't rained at all this week, so it is starting to get hotter outside, but we heard it might rain Wednesday and Thursday, so that would be nice, not much happen this week, we did have zone conference in Lawton on Wednesday, and it was really good, they talked about the mission focus and what we can do to become more focused on the missionary work. The zone conference took all day. We had exchanges on Friday, they went well, we got a lot of work done. On Saturday we volenteered at Habitat for Humanity, doing a parade of homes, so we were selling tickets for house tours. Mike and Steve are doing good, Steve`s foot is still healing and he was telling us, that hopefully with a little more time he could come to church with us! So we are really excited for that. Our investigators are doing good, haven't been able to see most of them this week, but we try to stay in contact with them. Tortilla tally is 2. Love you all!  

Witchita Falls, Texas- Week 44

Hey!

We have been busy this week, we have been getting lots of referals, and finding lots of prepared people, it was really cool to being able to talk to them. On Wednesday, we had our Book of Mormon class, it went well, and we were able to have good discussions about it. Mike and Steve are doing good. It rained a lot here on Thursday, we were at bishops house for dinner and we watched the storms roll in, the clouds were going really fast, it was cool to see. We saw Chenelle and Tyler again on Friday, last time we met with them we gave them a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and told them that that is what we are going to talk about next time, so when we came back on Friday, they told us that they read it! And it answered alot of questions that they had. So we taught them the Plan of Salvation, and it went so well!! I love going over there and being able to teach them. Saturday and Sunday was Stake Conference, so we didn't do that much work those days, but the conference was really good, the theme of it was about the Sabbath day and keeping it holy, Elder Frost from the 70 was there, it was great to hear from all the speakers! 

Witchita Falls, Texas- Week 43

Hey!!!
Just so you know, I didnt get washed away in all the flooding here yesterday, the library was closed so we couldn't email till today. So, last time I think I talked about Chenille  (I think that's how its spelled not sure) and Tyler, well we met with them last Monday night, Tyler wasn't home but she was, we had a amazing lesson with her! And we set up another time to come back which was last night!!!!!!!!!! It was one, if not the best lesson, Elder Santamaria and I have ever had!!!! So they were both home so we got to talk to them both, Tyler is a dog trainer in the airforce, training Malawians and German Sheppard's, so I though that was really cool. It reminded me of the animal rescue back home. So we taught them the restoration, and watched the short restoration DVD, everything went amazing, the spirit was so strong, and we set a Baptismal Date with both of them! They had so many good questions- how do I know who has the correct authority? How does the Book of Mormon and the Bible work together? -and many others like that. One of my favorite was Tyler asked us what our Church thought of tattoos, so we told him about how our bodies are like a temple, then he said "Well, I guess I better stop then with what I have." That whole family is awesome! And we set a return appointment for later this week and they are feeding us dinner! So you were talking about the storms here, yep your right, flooding was becoming a real concern for many here and the city evacuated many on the east side of town (we are safe, where we live, it could never flood into our home). So this week we really got to see all of Wichita and even some surrounding areas come together and help us out. We filled many sandbags this week, companies donated tons and tons of sand and bags, while other donated food and drinks for those who were working. There were so many people that showed up to help fill sandbags for others, and at one point about 40 airmen, showed up in there uniforms and started helping. One of the many cool things that I saw while there was a older lady showed up to the site needing sand bags for her home, so we filled as many as she needed, loaded them onto her truck for her, and then a few people jumped in the back of her truck so that when she got to her house, they could unload and set them up for her. We got to meet with Grace, Mary and Dorcas again! They are doing good, they told us that even though we haven't been there in a while, they have still been reading a little in the Book of Mormon! Luckily this weekend the storms went around us, sparing us from further flooding, so it was not as bad as everyone thought it might have been. I love you all and hope everyone is haveing a great week! 
Also, did i tell you about the three guys that moved into the ward for the summer? They all returned from their missions 6 months ago. I call them the 3 Nephites- one served in Cambodia, one was in Peru, and I forget where the other one served, but they are so cool!  

Witchita Falls, Texas- Week 42

Hey!
It was soo good to see everyone yesterday! Not sure what to put in my email now :) seems like I told you everything yesterday. There have been lots of storms this week, it all started on Wednesday after Book of Mormon Class, we got warnings on our phones about tornados, so we look out side and it starting to look a little scary out there. So we go to a members house who has a shelter. We stayed there till this storm passed over us, it seems like we were there for ever. I think we left around 11pm, so we got home late, and that is how it was for all the days after that. Around 4 or so, the storm would come in and we got to shelter. So far for this week the weather looks good till Wednesday again, after that it looks stormy. We are still doing the community service, Tuesday and Wednesday are the last two days, so ready for that to be over. With all of that going on, weather and service, we literally have done nothing else, so that has been hard, next week after all this service is done things should be picking up again, so that's why this email is shorter, but dont worry I have plently of pictures. And it is funny that you sent me that EMS stuff, because yesterday while Elder Santamaria was Skyping, Steven, the member we were with was studying for that and 911 dispacher stuff, and I was helping him study for a test, and I actually did pretty well on the test, got most of them right, he had a practice test with him and he would read me the questions and I would answer them, so that is funny that you brought it up. Have a great week!

The Storm Is Coming!

Weather Watching! Lightning!

Sister Ellis`s "Funeral"

Me with Mike and Steve

Rainbow After The Storm

Another Storm Coming

Witchita Falls, Texas- Week 41

Hey! 

This has been a long week, we had a training meeting on Monday, it was about our motivation for teaching, it was really good, and I was able to learn a lot from that, trying to apply that now in our lessons now. So about a week ago, Elder Santamaria got a speeding ticket, so now he is paying it off with community service at the food bank, so that means I have to go with him while he does that. 8-12 everyday. Except, Mondays, Fridays, and the weekend, so it's a long morning. Wednesday was the first day of service, that went ok, nothing too bad, we are just there forever! Thursday was the worst though, we had to go through bad carrots, picking out the good ones, they smelled so bad! Finally, we and another person who was working with us, got the person in charge of that area and showed him the carrots, to ask him if we could please throw the whole pallet out.... there was steam coming from a few of the bags...... he saw that and he is like, yep, get that out of here. So no more carrots! :) we had exchanges this week, I went with Elder Schwartz to his area and Elder Stailhi was here with Elder Santamaria. It was a good exchange for everyone. Us and the sisters had dinner with a member and while we are waiting, the kids are bringing out lots of foam swords and shields, so we thought that was funny as they are fighting around us. Then they brought out two metal helmets, that's when we joined in..... it was so much fun. We are working with a few members, helping them prepare for the temple, they are doing great! One of them is working on quitting smoking, and doing great! We went over to their house, and told us that in 4 days they went from 2 1/2 packs a day to 6 cigarettes a day! It is amazing to see the power of prayer and the gospel change someone's life!

Fight Week!

Witchita Falls, Texas- Week 40

Hey!
Yep, we have gotten quite of rain this week, its raining outside right now, this was a slow week, not that much happening. We are staying dry, we only had to ride our bikes in the rain once this week, so that was really nice. We saw Mike and Steve, things are getting hard for Steve, him stuck in the nursing home, his foot, and other stuff, so he has been depressed lately, so we have been trying to cheer him up again. We had a lesson with Claudia, she is doing great! Been to church 5 or 6 times in a row now! She is awesome, and learning so much. She and her fiancé just need to get married. I don't know if I told you this, but we took a member with us to see her, and it turned out that they knew each other when they were kids, they even worked together. He told us that he was so surprised when he saw her at church, and he is a convert too. Amazing how those things work out. The ward has been great at making her feel welcome, that is the greatest help that a ward can do for those that are investigating and attend church, make them feel welcome. On Sunday, the temple president and his wife came to our ward! They both gave talks and it was so wonderful, they were amazing talks about the temple. We had a miracle on Sunday too! We are working with two members to help them go to the temple. Back when it was Elder Rodreigez and I, we would always ask our mission leader every week and the other leaders when they are going to have temple prep class because we have people that really want to go. They kept saying that they don't have it right now, and it will probably start later. So this Sunday, I am walking down the hall and I hear someone talking about going to temple prep in a few minutes, so I'm like "Wait what? Se have temple prep now?" I guess the first class was this Sunday so we went to find the other people to let them know too, so now they can start preparing for the temple! We were not able to see Grace, Mary, and Dorcas this week, but we should see them next week! We had a movie night on Friday, we saw Meet the Mormons, so that was cool to see again. Tortilla tally is 2 for this week. I love all of you! Hope everyone is having a great week, and next week I will have pictures to send to you!

Witchita Falls, Texas- Week 39

Hey!

This was a great week, we actually got rain this week!! That's a miracle for Wichita Falls, and on Saturday, we actually got a tornado warning, nothing happened, so that's good. Elder Rodriguez called me on Monday, so that was cool talking to him, he is staying busy, told me he has been going out with the missionaries a lot. We did more service at the food bank on Tuesday it is fun. We saw Mike and Steve again, Mike is doing good, Steve's foot is healing so we are very glad to hear that, still he has a few more months to go. All the antibiotics he is on is making him really sick though, poor guy, he just wants to get feeling better soon, I think his has a few more days on antibiotics then they can take him off of them, and that should make him feel better. We have a new investigator that we are now teaching, she is a army chaplain, so she already knows about us which is cool, she was a referral. She wanted a Bible so we went over and gave her one and asked if we should share a message about Christ with her, she said yes, so we came back a few days later and she told us that she has been reading the Bible and Book of Mormon together! That is sooo cool and said that she will come to church next week, there has been many miracles this week. Also, one of the members here was having a birthday party and invited us, so we went over there and had party with him and his friends and a few other members of the ward, that was fun to go to. We had exchanges with the District and Zone leaders this week, got to see more miracles because of that! One thing that we have started up again was going down the ward roster and seeing if people have moved out or not, we are working on one small neighborhood that is a little ways away from the main part of the city. We have been having success with that, found out that a few have moved so far, but we got some people that said we could come back as well. So every time we have the car, we try to go out there for a hour or so, to get a little more done. The coolest person we have met out there so far was a this members husband, she wasn't home but he was nice and let us inside. In there front room, he had a lots of cages. They had a rabbit, guinni pigs, chinchillas, rats, and I think it was called a short tailed African possum. And his possum wasn't ugly like a normal one, it was a lot smaller and cuter! It was funny he held his finger out and the possum wrapped its tail around his finger and was just chilling upside down, it was funny, so we thought that front room was cool. Then he says hey, do you want to see the coolest part? Yeah! So we walked into the back room that is was full of different kinds of snakes and lizards!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of them were really cool looking, he told us that's what he does is breed these and sells them, he was really cool and said we could come back any time we wanted :) We met with Grace, Mary and Dorcas again on Saturday, had a awesome lesson with them, they can't wait to be baptized! The only thing now is for them to go to church, it's hard because Grace has to work on Sundays and is the only one with the car, so that is what we are working on right now. It's cool how we know that Mary understands, Grace and Dorcas understand English the best so they understand that way, and there are times when Grace will explain parts of something to Mary in Yoruba, she is understanding well to. So how we know Mary understands is when she will tell us something we said about the Book of Mormon or/and Bible, and she started talking about that before she reads the Bible, she will then read part of the Book of Mormon and then everything makes more sense to her! They are awesome! When we came in on Saturday, Dorcas started talking to us, "Hola, Como Esta?" And at first we didn't even realize what she was saying, and she said it again, and we were confuzed, "wait, you know Spanish?!" She told us that she is learning it, so that was cool, we told her that we could help her with Spanish if she taught us Yuruba, so she taught us, how to say Elder (Olori) and what is your name (Kini oruko re) and what's funny about that is we actually used it later on in the week! We picked up the sisters from their lesson, and they told us that the guy they were teaching was from Nigeria, so we talked with him and asked if he spoke Yuruba? He said he did so we asked him Kini oruko re? And he started laughing so hard, and was like "no way!? You know Yuruba?" and told us his name, and we said that our names were Olori Santana, and Olori Santamaria, it was really cool, and I'm sure he was very surprised. That has to be the highlight of the week it was so funny. So with interviews with President, he comes down to your area, and asks us how are we doing? how's the area, things like that, what was the last thing you studied, and he asked me if I have become more Christ like since I have been out, I told him I thought so, I felt the spirit more in my life, so then we were talking about Christ like attributes and he said "Since you have been out, are you nicer and kinder to others?" I thought that was a interesting question, as we become kinder to other we are becoming more like Christ. Hope you are all having a great week! Love you!

I have my rice bag full of stuff to take in case of a tornado :)

There are horses everywhere here, im going to start taking pictures of them all

On the way to Burkburnett, its been raining so its green here for once