Monday, September 28, 2009

letter 9-28-09

Thanks for working on the line of authority for me. It would really mean a lot to me to have it. Do you think you guys could write or type your conversion stories and send them to me? Some other Elders have suggested this because they said it was awesome to read about their parent's conversion stories.

That's too bad about Aunt Margaret. I'm really glad that she's coming in to see you guys. Tell her I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile, I'm working on making time to write people. I'm happy that Alyse likes her job. Hadyn is so dang cute. I sure do miss that little boy. Slade's family is awesome and It's good to hear that they are living with them. The flu is getting bad. We have hand sanitizer in our bags and in the car. We're covered, mom. Don't worry.

Hmm...sweater vests or sweaters...how about a mixture of both? I got the coat from Elder Schultz when he died (went home) although it is nearing the downhill side of it's journey. It's also not as waterproof as it once was haha. I'm going to buy some water-proofing spray today and see if that works. If not, then I guess I'll need a new coat. Mid-leg trench with zip-out liner, because I figured you would ask. Also, could you order me some socks from missionary mall? I think they are the premium ones. They are very thick but have a mesh top. The socks I have are wearing out but the ones from missionary mall last most missionaries their entire mission. 6 pairs or so? My tooth was feeling better, but I think the filling fell out again because it's hurting. It was a tooth that Country Club already worked on. I did get my medication this morning, thanks for sending it.

Now the news you've been waiting for: My new companion is Elder Josiah Rupp. He is pretty solid. He's from Morgan, Utah. He has been out for 16 months and has a lot of knowledge about how to do missionary work. He has two older brothers that served missions and he has two sisters. I really like him, but his personality is completely different from Elder Parkin's. He is very sarcastic and loves to joke around. He is also very loud. The members really like him though. He really seems to be able to work with them easily and so I'm excited to learn that skill from him. He is also our District Leader and so there is a lot of stuff there I can learn. Even just as a District Leader's companion I feel like I have more responsibilities. It's odd because although he is the Leader, I have to make all the plans for the people in our area. Some interesting traits of his are that he sleeps even heavier than I do so I have to be the companion that drags us out of bed. Yeah, I know right? Also, he is sometimes very easily distracted. I find myself constantly having to remind him of his responsibilities. (I think this is the reason I feel like I have more). His teaching style is also very different. I have to pretty much take the weight of our lessons, but it's been good for me because I'm learning how to take charge and control the situations. It will take me some time to get used to him, but he is a great missionary with a great testimony and a great heart. I just sometimes have to aim it for him haha.

I don't have much news this week either. We are still pushing for Kris and Tiffany to be baptized on the 17th. They are so ready! She just eats everything up that we teach her. Kris recognizes that it's true, he just doesn't realize how in tune he is sometimes. The only thing holding them back is that they have to be married and Kris has to be living the word of wisdom. Two very tough things. We pray a lot for them, and I know you are too. Susan was finally able to come to church last week and so she can be baptized on the 24th if she begins living the word of wisdom. We are still teaching a lot of people and constantly adding and removing people from the group that we teach. I just hope that we can taste some fruits soon.

Well, I better be going. I love you all. Have a great week and I'll talk to you again on Monday. Pray extra hard for me this week. I'm going to need it for myself, my companion, and the people we're teaching. I love you. Thanks for everything you do mom. Dad, keep up the good work and do your home teaching. I'm out.

Love,

Elder Mullenax

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

9-20-09

I don't need a coat yet. I have a used one that I got for free. As far as sweaters go, yes I would like some. They have to be very conservative and not much change in color (preferably all one color) but stitch patterns are okay.

For Christmas, more slacks, ties, sweaters, and music: Mormon Tabernacle choir, general church music, EFY cds.

If you want to send packages, I would suggest music for that as well. Snacks are always fun. Just whatever you want to send mom.

I have a couple requests. The first is I would like to know my priesthood line of Authority. Dad should have it. I need it for something special. I was also curious as to whether or not I was born in the covenant. Were you married in the temple before I was born?

Business Concluded.

I'm so excited for general conference. We have plans to be with a different family (both investigators and ward members) for each separate session of conference. I can't wait to hear the apostles speak because there is so much we can learn from them. My appreciation for them grows weekly haha because I really only read an ensign article once a week. This last week it increased a whole HEAP! We had Zone Conference on Friday and so we went up to Eugene. It was a very special Zone Conference because Elder Evans of the First Quorum of the Seventy was there to speak to us. He gave us so much insight on how to better do missionary work. How to work smarter. He spent a good hour talking just about mine and Elder Parkin's specific weakness: asking for referrals. The entire conference went about two hours longer than it was supposed to because Elder Evans was loving teaching us and we were all just eating it up. We started at 9:00am and didn't get done until about 4:30pm. So awesome! Elder Evans was so impressed with our mission. He said that this is honestly one of the best missions he has ever been in. He tours missions all the time and he told us that he's never said that to any other mission before. Then he also expressed his deep admiration for President Macdonald. He was confident that he is one of the best mission presidents in the world. I would have to agree. He also said something very interesting that he said is true doctrine. He said that in the pre-existence, we made covenants with our mission presidents that we would serve together. Before this world was, I knew President Macdonald and I promised him I would be a faithful servant. It's a good thing I made it here. It is my firm belief that we made similar covenants with our mission companions.

Well, I have some rather depressing news. I'm staying in North Bend, but Elder Parkin is getting transferred to Eugene to work in the mission office. I'm getting choked up just writing it right now. I'm not ready for him to leave. I love this Elder and I still have so much I need to learn from him. I'm afraid that I won't be able to meet the needs of the people here. What if I forget someone? What if I teach something wrong and offend someone? Elder Parkin's impact on this ward and the people here is too great for me to fill. I've never seen so many people so upset by the transfer of a missionary. Elder Parkin has done more for North Bend than any missionary since the mission opened. I'm confident of that statement.

All hope is not lost though. My new companion that comes on Wednesday is the District Leader. He's almost certain to be another good missionary. There is a lot of pressure on me to make sure that I give him all the information necessary to make adequate plans for the area. I really don't know if I'm ready for this, but I don't really have a choice.

Well, we've still been teaching a lot this week. All of the people are progressing well.

I have to get going. Sorry it's so short today and not full stories. I'm kind of stressing today haha. I love you all. Take care.


Love,

Elder Mullenax

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

What makes an Oregonian?...

Is it just that you live here? No, it's that you live around all these crazy people...AND YOU STILL LIVE HERE!
How are all of you doing this week? Sounds like the boys are growing up. A little too fast if you ask me! I really enjoyed the pictures I got of them this week. What was the deal with only one of Hadyn? I don't know if it was just the picture or not, but he looks a lot older. He also looks like he's thinned out a bit. Haha, I guess I'll have to try and draw pictures for coley on mondays to send to him. Geeze, Erin. What are you trying to do, make me look bad? It sounds like you're really enjoying your primary calling. I'm glad that I can be of service to you. I hope that they can learn from my example.
Similarly, we taught all of the Young Men yesterday. We thought that we were just going to be there for part of it and share our testimonies about missions. Well, about five minutes before it starts, the young men's leader asks us if we're ready to teach. We just paused for a second. "Uh, yeah." So Elder Parkin and I pulled a 40 minute lesson out of thin air haha. We talked to them about the sacrifices for serving a mission. We had each person say something they would have to give up to serve a mission. Then we explained to them that all those things will be there when you get back. Then we had all the bishopric members and those that were there that have served missions say things that they learned while on their missions. We then explained how that list was eternal and those things are not there for you if you choose not to serve. It was a really good lesson actually. I just really hope that it helped some of them in there decide to look into a mission a little more deeply.

We went to a wedding this week of someone that we're teaching. It was a little awkward because we haven't taught the Word of Wisdom yet...yeah. It was an interesting event, but I couldn't be more happy for them. They are now one step closer to baptism. I'm really excited for the progress that they are making.

We did a LOT of teaching this week. It was insane. We had 18 lessons that members were at with us. Our ward here is so amazing. They are all so willing to do missionary work. I'm so blessed to be here in North Bend right now. I really hope that Elder Parkin stays here for another transfer just because we are doing so much work right now. However, I know I'll be okay if he does leave.

I got to have a trial run at taking over the area this week. We went on exchange with the District Leader, Elder Cluff. Elder Parkin went to Florence for a day and Elder Cluff came to North Bend. I was left to make all the plans for that day, the lessons we would teach to people and getting members of the ward lined up to come to the lessons with us. I was fairly stressed out. To be honest, I was making myself sick worrying about it for the two days before it happened. I know that I always had a Stewardship over North Bend and the people here, but it never felt more real than it did then. My worst fear was that a person would cancel a lesson and I'd have to come up with something on the spot to do instead. Well, we actually had two lessons cancel that day but I surprised myself and just did what needed to be done. The entire day ran smoothly and I really felt like we met the needs of the people we were teaching. I'm excited to see what happens. I'll know on saturday whether or not Elder Parkin leaves. All the missionaries here love to joke that I'm training this next transfer. A lot of them think that I'm ready to train another missionary, but I don't think so. I think the earliest anyone has trained is 4 1/2 months. To train at 3 months would be ridiculous.

Well, not much else in the way of news. I just wanted to brag and tell you that I got to go golfing at Bandon Dunes last monday. Yeah, it's a world class golf resort with 4 courses. We have a member of our ward, Ben Knighten, who works as a golf pro there. We got to take the golf carts out (on an all-walking course, mind you) and tour all of the courses. Then we went to the practice range and got to be taught by Ben. Oh, and we got to play on the 9-hole course. I was so excited! It was an incredible experience. Some of the holes go along the cliff with the ocean right down below. It was amazing. Anyway, I have to get going. I love you all. Stay safe and I'll talk to you next week!

Love, Elder Mullenax

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Not a Monday

Got this in the middle of the weeks because the library was closed on monday! Enjoy



But oh well! I hope you check your email on days other than mondays lol. We decided to take our lunch hour today and email home.
How about some exciting news, eh? Well, Elder Parkin and I were given 2 lazyboy recliners for our apartment from Steve Anaya who isn't even a member of the church! All of our time now revolves around those chairs. It's so funny because we'll make the quickest lunch possible so that we have more chair time. At night we immediately go to our chairs and doing our planning and phonecalls there. Then we put off changing our clothes so we can sit in them longer lol. You should see how ridiculously big they are. They totally don't fit in our apartment, but we don't care! They are so comfortable!!
Okay, now some real exciting news. Elder Parkin and I had the most amazing week ever. We taught a ton of lessons and worked really hard. We were also striving to be more bold and attempt to extend better commitments to people. Well, in our attempts we ended up committing 8 people to baptism!! We have 8 people we're teaching that are scheduled to be baptized on October 17th. God is blessing this area! We can see this because we still have 3-4 other people that we want to set dates with. We are teaching 16 lessons each week with members with us. Our goal is 20 for this next week. North Bend is exploding right now! We also had 5 of the people we are teaching show up to church. I'm so excited to see what happens. Right now is one of the most critical points. I really hope Elder Parkin doesn't get transferred!
Oh, and that suit of Grandpa's I never wear because I'm always worried about ruining it. Also, it doesn't quite fit right. Well, Kris (as in Kris and Tiffany) didn't have any church clothes and they are very tight on money. They came to church and he felt a little out of place. Well, I decided that this is the reason why I brought that extra suit out. Mainly because it fit him perfectly. I hope you don't mind, but I really felt good about doing it. I'm sure Grandpa is much more satisfied seeing it used by someone than to have it sit in my closet. Kris is so excited about it! When I gave it to him on sunday after church he wouldn't take it off the whole day haha. I love this family so much. I'm so excited to see them progressing and growing in a love for the gospel Well, we have to get back to missionary work. I'll talk to you all next week. I love you!
Love, Elder Mullenax

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Weekly Letter 8-31-09

I'm glad to hear about you doing missionary work! Remember, Missionary Work is easy! All you have to do is deliver a Short Powerful Satement: 1) Give a piece of restored truth (ie:the Book of Mormon) 2) testify 3)promise blessings and invite to church, to speak with missionaries etc.
Sounds like all the boys are doing well. I sure do miss them little guys. I'm glad that Slade and Alyse are getting things together. The Lord loves them and won't ever fail them. Remember that "A study of the gospel will change behavior much quicker than a study of behavior will change behavior." -Boyd K. Packer. I'm so proud of Erin and James. They've made some enormous strides and they will continue to be blessed for it. I'm excited about their FHE group and their willingness to do Baptisms so they can participate. Members of the church need to realize that the gospel is not an individual thing. Sure, salvation is given on an individual basis, but exhaltation is a family matter. If we are not inviting others to come unto Christ then we are failing in our quest to become like Christ and obtain the blessings. We must meet people at their level of spirituality and then help them up the cliff to our own. That group, whether consiously or unconciously, understands that principle.
I got the program and the medication today. With the medication, just send it to the mission office address, but make sure that who you send it with has a forwarding service. Otherwise I won't get it except for every 6 weeks. I can't think of anything else I need right now. Thanks though. I'm glad that the letter got there. I forced myself to make time last week to write them. That's cool about grandma Mullenax though. I hope that she continues to read it. Also, what is her email address?
We have been ridiculously busy lately. We have been teaching upwards of 20 lessons each week. So this week we started officially teaching another family. Their names are Nick and Ashley. They have a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl. We started teaching them because they live across the street from Richard and Susan(another family we are teaching). Well, in our first meeting with them Ashley talked about how she wants an eternal family. She says that family is the most important thing to her and Nick also wants their family to be together forever. So in the first meeting we taught the plan of salvation. We taught about how the purpose of this life is to prepare to meet God. We then mentioned how repentence is a big part of that preparation. At the end of the lesson Ashley asked us how she can repent. She said that she wants to feel cleansed and happy and not feel guilty for things she's done in the past. We told her that we would teach her how in our next lesson. So our second lesson with them we have a member of the bishopric there. We chose to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it contains the principle of repentence. She loved it and the Bishopric member was giving so much good information. Plus he was testifying of how it blessed his life. Well, we got to the principle of Baptism. When we got done teaching it the spirit was very strong. It was then that I decided that we needed to invite them to be baptized. So, under the influence of the Spirit I asked them if they would be baptized. They both excitedly replied Yes! So in our second lesson with them we helped them decide to make the covenant with God to recieve baptism. Their goal date is the 19th of September. I'm so excited for them. I'm so happy that we are getting to teach a family. We are teaching almost nothing except families! God is blessing our area so much!
Well, I better be going. We have grocery shopping to do. Oh, I won't be able to email next week because the library will be closed. I love you all. I'll talk to you again soon.
Love, Elder Mullenax