Zachary's Mission

4-26-10

2010-04-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hi family! How are you all?

I wish I could have been there for Coleman's music program. I'm sure it was a lot of fun to see that little boy ham it up! I can't believe the kid is turning 6 this year. He is getting so old!

I can't wait to see more pictures of Lyric. She looks adorable!

So I had a very interesting experience today. I attended the funeral of a 9-day-old baby girl named Gracie Lynn Fine. It was a very different funeral. There weren't a lot of memories to be shared so it focused on the future. It was powerfully spiritual and full of doctrine of the plan of salvation. The father, John Fine, is cousins with the Candelarias in Bloomfield. Remember Lindsay that I took to homecoming? Her mom is his aunt. Talk about a small world. They are members of the 3rd ward here and a family that we have really become friends with. It was very sad to hear about their loss, but their response to the loss was inspiring. The day following her death they decided to go to the temple. How's that for eternal perspective? I was definitely touched by it.

Things are going well here. We are definitely staying busy. We had 4 investigators at church yesterday! And we have a couple other families that weren't there lined up to teach soon. We are definitely dealing with a full plate. It's not extremely unusual to only have 2 areas so far, but it is less common. I'm about average on the number of companions. President doesn't really give a lot of hints. Transfer calls come and he basically tells you right then whether you go or stay. If you go, you've got 3 days to pack and say goodbye! Sometimes in interviews he makes comments about what he thinks might happen, but a lot changes in those 3 weeks betweem interviews and zone conference.

Everything else is going well. I've turned a lot of the responsibilities over to Elder Fowles, and he's made some mistakes. But I've been so proud of him because he always learns from his mistakes and doesn't repeat them. But, the fact that he made mistakes scares him a little and makes it to where he's sometimes afraid to make a decision without asking me first. He's a funny kid. I'm so glad to be with him for another 6 weeks. I don't want to leave Springfield! But, I know that Elder Fowles needs to be able to spread his wings, no pun intended. I love you all and I miss you. Tell my sisters not to be strangers!

Love,

Elder Mullenax

Weekly Letter 4-12-10

2010-04-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Family!

I got the wonderful pictures of Lyric. She is pretty cute! It was sure nice to see pictures of her and Hadyn. To answer your questions, I don't remember how many baptisms I've been a part of. I think 7, but I can let you know next week. Generally we try to let members baptize them, but if the ask one of us to do it, then we do. I really don't like getting wet so I always push for the member to baptize. We do quite a bit of service. We mowed a pretty nasty lawn the other day. It was a half-acre lot that had thigh-deep grass. I stopped my pushups because I don't seem to have time anymore. I rarely get to work on the piano, but I'm still doing well.

This week has been amazing for referrals. We've had so many people tell us they have people they want us to teach. Today is really cool because we are emailing in the office and President Macdonald is here. I just love to be around him. He's funny though because he is so loud! I can hear him coming a mile away. We are really staying busy here. Zone Conference is this Thursday and then on Friday and Saturday we found out about transfers. I really hope I stay for at least another 6 weeks. I think our District leader is being transferred and so the position is open. People are going to end up cursing me because they keep saying I'm going to get it. I don't want it. I much prefer being able to sleep haha.

Things are going well here. Elder Fowles is still awesome. He is learning so much. He's so good at applying the things he learns. I just wish we could get his confidence up. He's always so worried he's going to offend someone. Haha he is as innocent as a little kid.

Well, not much else in the way of news. I did get to teach a lesson to a guy that thought he was a prophet. It was pretty crazy. We were co-teaching with a set of sister missionaries and we were all trying so hard not to crack up while we were talking to him because we didn't want to offend him. He was a pretty normal guy other than the fact that he thought he'd had visions and that he was called to be a prophet of God. It was super hilarious. When we left I let out all the laughter I had been saving up and so I laughed for a LONG time. It was journal worthy.

I hope you all have a great week. I know I will! I love you all. Take care!

Love,

Elder Mullenax

3-15-10

2010-03-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hi family!

How is everything for you? What?! It's snowing still? We are having like 65 degree weather. It has been so nice recently. It will be sunny for a couple days and then rain for a couple, then be sunny again and then rainy again. It's a nice cycle haha.

I'm glad my letter was helpful. I think it's probably the best one I've written in a while. I hope you are keeping all of my emails because I'm not doing so good on keeping up with my journal. I try, but when we come in at night there are so many other things to do that before I know it, it's 10:15 and time for bed! I've also had rick's family in my prayers. I hope they are doing alright.

I heard that President sent letters home, but I wasn't sure he would. Haha, you can't believe everything you read, mom. There are way better missionaries than me and ones that are much more qualified to train. Elder Fowles (my new companion) is definitely an answer to prayer, though. He is so humble and diligent. I just love being around him. He has the right attitude about missionary work. He also isn't afraid to talk to people. He is so obedient that he'll do anything I say, even if it's a really awkward situation. Like one time I was trying to stuff my coat in my bag and a guy started walking in our direction but on the other side of the street and I knew I wouldn't make it in time to talk to him so I told Elder Fowles to go and he crosses two lanes of traffic and talks with the guy without even hesitating. I was so proud of him haha. He is from Delta, Utah. He comes from a long line of mormons. He has two older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister. He is a big sports buff. I was sad to see Elder Parkin go, but he had to. He has been out 18 months so he only has 6 months left. I'm going to be so sad when he goes home!

It sounds like the assisted living center is really nice. I think that once grandpa gets in there he will come to like it. It'll be the best for them anyway. I'm excited to get to see pictures of Alyse's little girl. She will be so cute. How does Hadyn like it?

I'm glad you got the pictures. I will definitely explain the pictures when I get home.

Ah, the tag. I love that tag! It was so cool. The guy messed up in a few places, but I wasn't too worried about. I fixed what I could with a sewing needle and what I couldn't, I left. I wish I could do the pinewood derby. It would be so much fun. I think you are right about him always being in scouts though. I just realized I never wrote your class back. I feel so bad! I had it on my list of things to do and completely forgot about it! I'm sorry mom. I'll make sure to reply this time.

I don't have any other news right now. We have a baptism for sure scheduled on the 27th. A guy who's been meeting with missionaries for 7 years and finally decided to get baptized. Anyway, I love you all and miss you. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Mullenax

Photos

2010-03-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry there have not been any posts for awhile, Zacks last few letters were very personal so we thought it would be better not to share them with the entire world! But we did get some new pictures from him this week and thought we would share those! Hope you enjoy.

Coleman just couldn't figure out how they had taken this one!

I think Zack has a serious problem with goofy hats!

Hope you enjoy!

2-8-10

2010-02-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

HI family!

My birthday was great. We had the baptism and everything went amazingly well. It was a very spiritual baptism. I got choked up when I was speaking, and that hasn't happened for a long time. His name is Mike Pelkey and his wife is a member and they have 4 little girls. He is a state trooper without any religious background. It's amazing to see him go from no belief to wanting to be sealed to his wife for eternity in the temple. I'm so excited because they've already set the goal to go. The cake was really good. You'd be pretty impressed, that cake fed 26 missionaries haha. Sister Idiart brought it to combined district meeting and we had a lot of fun. I really like being in Eugene because you get to make friends with a lot of different missionaries. When we got in for the night, on saturday, we had more birthday cake with the Morgans (the couple we live with) and some friends that were staying in the house from out of town. It was almost like being home with the family. I've gotten so many letters and cards! I'll just give one big thank-you to all of you!

I'm so excited that you found some stuff on Talmage. My interest has been growing in him since I started reading Jesus The Christ in November. I finished it this week and as I read it, I feel like I know him (Talmage that is). People probably think I'm crazy when I say that I feel like I know him, but I really do. I felt like he was personally mentoring me and teaching me about Jesus Christ. It was phenomenal. My testimony of this gospel, and my testimony of this church has become deeply rooted because of that book. I'm really happy that you sent me another copy because the one that I have now is pretty beat up. It came with my "Missionary Reference Library" but it was a cheap paper back that fell apart. The binding busted on it. If you haven't read it mom, I think you should. But, I suggest a dictionary for the first little while haha, Talmage did have a doctorate.

I really liked the pictures. Erin looks so happy. She sent me a letter telling me how much she loves the temple and all I could do was smile. I did send a letter to Grandma. I enjoyed the letters from your class, and I'll work on sending a reply today. We should have some extra time.

I love Sister Idiart! She is so funny. When we're in Eugene I find any excuse to go into the mission office so I can talk to her haha. She always makes me laugh. I don't know why she's fond of me, but I won't complain. Elder Giles is a pretty cool Old guy. I talked to him about New Mexico because on one of his trips to Texas he drove through Bloomfield. They are definitely right, we have a good group of missionaries here.

Everything here is going good. It's kind of funny, but I have to argue myself out of being upset. If I argue with myself long enough, I forget why I was upset to begin with haha. Elder Wright is still Elder Wright. We get along just fine. It's not like we argue or fight, It's just his attitude chips at your ability to stay happy. He tells other missionaries that he likes me so I won't complain. I hope everything goes well with the interview. I'll pray as soon as I'm done here.

I don't really have a lot of other news to report. Have a good week! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Mullenax

1-10-09

2010-01-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

Hello family! First I'll tell you about my week so that I make sure you get that before I run out of time. On tuesday we decided to go tracting and we were looking for a spot and we drove by 33rd street and then I shouted "Miracle on 34th Street!" and turned down 34th. The first 2 doors we knocked on became new investigators haha! Pretty crazy. Well, the first door is interesting. Her name is Teresa and she has 2 kids, Dale and Angel. She got in a car wreck a couple years ago and has lost a lot of the use of the right side of her body. She also lost her job because of it. As we talked with her, we asked if there was anything we could do to help. She replied, "Well, yes actually." I was a little stunned but continued to listen. She went on to explain that some of the disability funding she was getting to supplement her income was taken away, as well as some other sources of income. She told us that she was going to be kicked out of her house on Sunday because she could no longer afford the house they were renting. She had rented a storage unit and planned to move everything in there and live in a pop-up camper until they could get things figured out. However, since she was told on such short notice, she had no way to get all her stuff moved by herself. Long story short, Elder Wright and I spent 8 hours over the next 2 days helping her pack up her house and move it all to the storage unit. We know where she has set up her camper, but it's outside of our area so we turned her over to some other missionaries until she moves back into ours. She was so grateful for the help and she seemed as though she was ready and willing to hear the gospel. I'm excited to see where she goes. The next part of my week is no less miraculous. We went up to Blue River (the branch we cover that is an hour drive away) on friday night. Instead of staying with members up there, they put us up in a hotel. Pretty weird experience to be in a hotel on your mission haha. Anyway, while we were up there the branch members had a lot of people lined up for us. We taught an 8-year-old all the lessons so she could be baptized. We taught a lot of lessons to less-actives and challenged them to come back to church, and we even taught a few active members. Well, one of the members that was gone from the branch on vacation called one of our drivers. (We had members drive us everywhere because the branch spans a distance of 70 miles. Did I mention we took a bus to Blue River?) The man told us of someone he wanted us to go visit. His name is Jason and he is a non-member who is married to a less-active and they have 4 kids that come to church every sunday. We met with Jason and discovered that he and his wife are having a lot of marital problems. She moved out of the house. Well, when we met with Jason we talked with him about how the gospel blesses families. He said that he felt like God was humbling him so he'd be willing to listen. He was extremely open and receptive and we ended up teaching him two lessons, both of which he accepted and felt they were true. I couldn't believe how inspired the whole event was. Church on sunday was good. It was awesome to be around President and Sister Macdonald on a personal level. On the drive back, he let us ask him any questions he wanted. I was asking question after question and my little greenie companion just sat quietly haha. President Macdonald is a pretty funny guy. He says that he doesn't drive if he doesn't have to and so he made me drive back from Blue River. He made me drive his brand-new Chevy Traverse. They seriously just got it a couple weeks ago. I was pretty nervous, but I got us back in one piece. Speaking of new cars, we get a new one on wednesday. I'm pretty excited haha. Well, I'm running low on time. Please tell Erin and James that I'm very happy and excited for them. I hope you all have a safe trip. Oh, let me answer your questions really quick. I see Elder Parkin every Monday and Wednesday. He is a regular missionary that has to do office work, but also has to be a District Leader. He has a lot on his plate right now haha. Our apartment is the bottom floor of their house. It's connected. Our apartment is simply some rooms off of the main living room in the downstairs of their house. I love you all. Have a great week! Love, Elder Mullenax

12-28-09

2009-12-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

Hi family. How was the rest of your week? It feels like I just talked to you haha. I don't think my voice has changed, but if it has, oh well. The boys did sound different. Pence didn't sound like himself at all. Bubba seems to be talking a lot more sophisticatedly now. Coleman sounds so much like a big boy now. I think he was the best to talk to, but it sure made me sad. He wanted me to do something and he said we'd do it when I got home and I said, buddy that won't be for awhile. Then he said yeah, when I'm 7. I just feel so bad because I don't think he understands why I have to be gone and not talk to him. I really enjoyed being able to talk to everyone though. What day is it specifically that Erin and James go to the temple?

Thank you for sending my medication. I haven't gotten them yet, but I'm sure they'll be here soon. Yeah, that address will work fine for now. I have seen our real place. It is amazing. We will probably move back in on saturday, but it could be the beginning of next week. I don't know for sure.

I don't really have a lot else to talk about either. I think all the importand stuff I talked to you about on the phone. I love you all. Have a great week and be safe on your way to Idaho.

Love,

Elder Mullenax

12-20-09

2009-12-23T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hello family!
Yes, there has been a lot of change in my life here. It is a very beautiful place, but out here is Springfield it has an interesting smell to it. It is definitely bigger. So what happened with transfers is that we have to get a member to drive us with all of our luggage to a "transfer spot" which is one of a number of locations up and down the I-5. From here, your stuff is loaded into a tailer attached to a 15-passenger van and you are taken to another transfer spot on the I-5 where you are picked up by a member that dropped off someone else that is being transferred and then you are taken to your new area. So for myself, I had to get a ride to Roseburg. What happened is on Tuesday another elder and I went to Roseburg and loaded our stuff on the Transfer van, but we still stayed in Roseburg overnight. So we actually worked tuesday night and wednesday morning in Roseburg's area. It was fun. However, because our stuff was on the van, we had no other clothes so we slept in our suits and had to go without a shower the next day. It was pretty crazy. Then wednesday afternoon the van came back north and picked us up and off we went. When I got to my new area, I found out that we are kicked out of our apartment until after the 1st. This apartment is known in the mission as "The Mansion." It is probably the nicest in the mission. The members we live with are very wealthy and so they built the basement floor of their house as a missionary apartment. It was only finished a year ago. But, they had a lot of family coming in for Christmas so we have to move out for a while. So, we are living in another apartment with 2 other elders and I don't have a bed. I sleep on the floor haha. It is very cool though because one of the Elders was with me in the MTC. My companion is very good. He is from Utah. He is a good missionary, but his trainer was definitely not the most obedient. It is difficult to break him of some of his habits. The most difficult to break is the idea that we can just hang out at members homes. Aparently they did that quite frequently. There are just a lot of things like that where he has been taught incorrectly so It makes it hard for me to teach him what is right. I'm going to ask some other missionaries and President Macdonald on how to deal with the situation. My new area is very different.
We cover 2 wards and a branch. Sundays are shot as far as proselyting goes. We are in meetings from 8:30 until 4:00. That is a big change. I also have to try and work equally in each area, but it doesn't always pan out that way. Ah, the joys of the balancing act.

I'm glad you liked the christmas package. I'm still waiting for Dad's gift. For christmas calls, I'll probably call around 3:00-4:00 on christmas. So that would put it at about 4-5 for you. Let me know if that works. The members we are calling from have free long-distance so the phone card isn't necessary. I'm running out of time on the computer so I have to wrap this up.

Yes, I lost 10 pounds. I'm feeling better, but I still have a couple issues. Nothing major. I'm working on putting the weight back on. Crazy about Lamoni. I can't believe he's gained so much weight. Elder Parkin is also a district leader now. I get to see him a lot more often. I actually see him later today and we are going on exchange this wednesday.

I love you all. Have a merry christmas. I'll talk to you on friday!

Love, Elder Mullenax

12-14-09

2009-12-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

Hello there family.

I think that if you are all not sitting down, you should be. I know I wish I would have been sitting down when President Macdonald called me. So here is the story. We were at Jim's baptism on Saturday morning, and I left the phone in my suit pants(I was wearing my whites to baptize) but a few minutes before 10:00, I decided to check the phone to see if the other missionaries had called. Well, we missed a call, but it wasn't from the other missionaries. It was from President Macdonald and there was a voicemail. So I start listening to it and it says, "Hello, this is President Macdonald. Elder Mullenax, I'm going to need you to call me back." I was a little scared, but I made the call and it went to his voicemail so I left a message saying that I was at a baptism and that I wouldn't be able to get back with him until after 11:00. Well, the baptism went by and President called back promptly thereafter. I answer the phone and our conversation went like this:

"Elder Mullenax, how was the baptism?"

"Oh, it was great, President."

"Good, good. You having a good time out there in North Bend?"

"Definitely. I love it out here."

"I'm glad to hear it. Well, I'm sorry to tell you that you'll have to leave because the Lord has called you somewhere else."

"Okay, President." "The Lord also needs your talents and skills. Elder Mullenax, you'll be follow-up training a new missionary. He's been out six weeks. We're very confident that you'll be able to do it. You're a great missionary and the Lord will bless you. So, will you do it?"

"Uh, thank-you, President. Yeah, yeah I can do that."

"Great, well the Lord loves you. You have a great day."

"President, can you tell me where I'll be follow-up training at?"

"Well, you'll be up here in my neighborhood. We'll be seeing a lot more of each other!"

Then we said goodbye and I just stood there with the phone still up to my ear in shock. Then Brother Olsen walks by and glances and does a double-take. He asks, "Elder Mullenax, are you okay?" I respond after a second, "Uh, I'm training." Well, he was really excited for me and so was Elder Rupp, but I was shocked and scared and I'm not sure it's worn off yet. I could have handled just moving, but moving and training I think may be a bit more than I can handle. I just hope I don't scar the poor kid. His name is Elder Wright(not sure on the spelling, I've only heard the name) and we will be serving in Springfield, which is basically Eugene. There's really no separation between the two, other than a line on the map. The good news is that I'll be serving right next to Elder Parkin and another missionary I love, Elder Lenz.

I'm glad you got my Christmas Card and that you liked it. The family is the Morales family. They are so awesome. I'll tell you more about them another time. I'll probably write a letter for that. I have not put on any weight. Unfortunately, I've lost 10 pounds. With being sick and everything, I dropped. I don't seem to be bouncing back from it either. I hope that I gain it all back and put on a bit more. My pants are all a bit loose now. My companion is about an inch taller than me.

Wow, I didn't know that Daniel was even back from his mission. That's pretty cool. I think we'll do Christmas day, and I think we'll shoot for the evening. I'm not sure though. I still have to find out who I'm spending Christmas with. I decided to stick with the counsel of the First Presidency and not talk to Kristin. I've learned that following the rules, even if you don't understand all the "whys" is always the best choice.

I did get the Jerky and the package from Erin. I loved the pictures of the boys. Elder Parkin did not tell me you sent him a christmas card. I'll have to get angry at him for that. I found out that Parkin is a District Leader now! He is definitely the man for the job. I just wish I was in his district haha.

Well, I don't really have much more to say. Oh, I did have to open all my christmas gifts since I'm being transferred. I love everything. I'm actually wearing one of the ties you sent right now. I really like the gloves, but they are very much too small. The beanie fits very well though. Tell Erin and James I said thanks for the CDs and all the candy. Maybe that will help me gain my weight back. I haven't opened the book that Mark and Lindsey sent yet because it was small enough I could pack it wrapped. My black shoes are toast. The soles are pretty much gone and they are cracking. I tried to find some new ones here in North Bend but the selection was slim and I couldn't find anything. If you have a chance, look into a brand of shoes for me. They are "Ecco". The soles are very hard and durable and the leather on top does not crack. Quite a large number of missionaries make it their entire mission with one pair. My guess would be to look online or at Dillards. I also don't know how much they are. I just asked Elder Rupp and he thinks that they run $80-90. I will also be looking around up in Eugene when I get there. I love you all. Have a great day and I hope that you have a good week. Keep me in your prayers, as well as my new companion. He'll probably need them more than I do.

Love, Elder Mullenax

12-7-09

2009-12-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
I have had an interesting week. I was definitely worn out, and maybe a tad homesick. Actually, on Friday I was for real sick. I woke up with a sore throat and a bit of pressure in my head, but we went about our day normally. As the day wore on, It got worse and worse. I gained some relief from 800mg of Ibuprofen, but it didn't last. When we got in for the night, I took some Nyquil and went straight to sleep. I slept well until about 3:00am, and then my body couldn't seem to regulate it's temperature and so I tossed and turned. On saturday morning, I went into the shower and just layed there (with the shower running), feeling miserable(aches, chills, sore throat, headache, and a fever). I thought, "How am I going to make it through this day?" Well, after I pulled myself out of the shower I called Sister Macdonald and asked her what to do. She told me that she figured I had the flu and that I should treat the symptoms, and that I shouldn't leave the apartment for a couple days. She said I wasn't allowed to leave until 24 hours after my fever broke. When I got off the phone, Rupp drove me to Rite Aid and I stocked up on DayQuil and NyQuil. We ended up staying in the apartment all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Luckily my fever broke yesterday morning because I could not stand another day in there. I did make good use of my time though. I made it all the way through the Book of Mormon in those two days. I'm feeling much better today and my sore throat is mostly gone. I'm glad to be out and about though haha.

Jim Cates will finally be baptized on Saturday! I'm so excited. Reed Aurdahl should also be baptized, but he's not 100% committed yet. I also find out on Saturday whether I stay or go.

We do need to pick a time to call on Christmas. I'd prefer Christmas Day in the evening. Whatever time you think would be best. What we've been counseled to do is to call briefly and give you the number and have you call us back so that it charges our family, not the one that we're calling from. However, if the member has free long distance, they usually just have us call you and not worry about the whole call back thing. I took down Erin's number so I can call her too.

I have to confess something...I already opened the gift that you're talking about. Let me explain though. Okay, so firstly, It(the box) was at the mission office. The office elders decide to give it to the Assistants to bring down to me during their exchange with my Zone Leaders. That's pretty rare and unheard of. Second, the Zone Leaders deliver it to me that evening and won't leave until I open the big box. I open it. Then, inside, there is only one box that doesn't have wrapping paper and that catches my attention, but then the box is mangled and whatever is inside of it is poking out. I grab ahold of it to see what it is and there is an apostolic quote on the front. Way to peak my interest. So I open it up and begin to read the letter and BOOM! Instant spiritual witness that I need to read them all now. So I did. It was amazing. Replaying everything that led to that point, it was there to give me strength when I needed it most, especially after reading Pamela's testimony about there being no coincidences. I had to give a talk in our district meeting and didn't know where to start and Hank's addition was exactly what I needed. I needed something inspiring to share with a Part-Member family and Sister Kutch's was a perfect fit. I know that this is the best Christmas Present I have ever received. I've already begun asking people here prepare their own to add to my book. Thank you so much mom. I really love it. I can't tell you how many times I've reread them all. It's something I'll draw upon for the rest of my mission and probably the rest of my life.

I had better get going. I just want to say that I love you all. I miss you terribly, but I feel your love. You're always in my prayers.

Love, Elder Mullenax

11-23-09

2009-11-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hey mom. How are you doing? Feeling any better today? I did get the line of authority in the mail. I was so happy to finally have it. I can't wait to put it to use! Yes, it is time to order meds again.

Sounds like you had a fun time in Blanding. I watched sister Beck speak at the Relief Society broadcast the week before conference and I was really impressed. I bet she was even better in person.It's comforting though that Alyse lives with the Perkins. They are so awesome and I know they are a huge strength to her. Tell Alyse I said it's okay to be homesick!

AH! I miss shooting. Everyone is hunting lately and I feel like I'm missing out on the experience! Unfortunately, it says specifically in the Missionary Handbook "no firearms" although there are a lot of members of the ward that would take us. Even some investigators. Wow, I didn't realize the stake was getting so big. That's pretty amazing. Maybe by the time I get home it will have split into 2 stakes. Wouldn't that be something? Haha I'm glad that you find joy in hearing my name.

Aunt Margaret is always really good about keeping in touch with me and she sends me packages pretty often. She is so awesome. It is always a lot of fun to get a random package in the mail. I was hoping the boys got there letters! I really enjoyed writing them and drawing the pictures. I feel bad that they miss me so much, especially Coleman. I feel extremely blessed to be able to be an example to them though. I hope that they all decide to serve missions.

Isn't it interesting how our family ended up? You and dad joining the church just a few years before your only boy was born, giving him the opportunity to grow up in the Gospel and serve a mission. Now, your daughters have sons(by the boatload) that will be able to grow up in a knowledge of the truth and have the opportunity to serve missions. God's preparations began a long time ago and we are just catching a glimpse of what is to come. It's a belief that I have developed recently, but in mission life some are called to be trainers(appropriately named "Fathers"). These trainers are called to teach other missionaries("Sons"), but I feel for a specific purpose: To progress the new missionary to the level of the trainer faster than the trainer achieved that level. A mission is a "life" of sorts, so I feel it acceptable to compare it to the mortal probation we all have. So, the only possible conclusion is that each generation has the call to progress the next generation to their level faster than they attained it. This allows the future generation more time to spend surpassing the overall level of the previous generation. In short, we are here for our kids. There is my philosophical insight for the week, take it for what you will haha.

Well, I have some awesome news! We had 2 baptisms on Saturday and they were both confirmed yesterday! I am so excited! The baptism was so awesome. Oscar, the husband of Jeamilette, gave the opening prayer. His prayer was so sincere that it felt like the Spirit dropped a bomb in there. He kept getting choked up on his words and by the end most of the people in the room had tears in their eyes. You could feel Oscar's joy at being able to see his wife baptized. He wants so badly to be married in the temple and be sealed to his parents, his wife, and his son. He only has a year left to go! His prayer set the mood for the entire baptism. The speakers were excellent. Well, when it came to the actual baptism, Kiyrah was first. She is a funny little girl, and very easy to get down into the water. Jeamilette was second and when she stepped down into the water, the tears came back to everyone's eyes. Unfortunately, she didn't make it all the way under on the first try so we had to try again. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to pull her back up once, let alone twice. I started praying hard in my heart that God would give me the strength to do it again. Well, the second one was perfect and I really did not feel any weight at all. It was incredible. At the end of the baptism, I broke a mission rule: Jeamilette asked if she could have a hug and I let her haha. I think Heavenly Father will understand. The confirmations on sunday were equally impressive. I feel so blessed to be in this place. I truly feel that I'm doing what my Father wants me to do. One very interesting thing that I did not expect is the fact that I don't feel any more successful now than I did before we were able to baptize someone. I have been a successful missionary the entire time, and I just didn't recognize it. I think I finally understand what you were trying to tell me in your letter about changing the standard by which we judge success. In both cases, I taught, I worked, I prayed. I did what God asked me to do. The difference between a baptism or not lies within the person being taught. I just hope I can remember that the next time things become hard.

Well, I better get going. I love you all. Have a great week. Happy Thanksgiving!

Love, Elder Mullenax

11-15-09

2009-11-19T09:49:00.000-08:00

I got some pictures from zack this week, I will try to post them by next week!

I'm sorry to hear that you're sick mom. Give Hadyn lots of hugs and kisses for me. How is Slade doing, mom? I always worry about him. I want him to be able to take Alyse to the temple. Hadyn needs that bond.

I'm so happy to hear about the line of authority. I really hope that I'm able to get it in time to do what I would like to with it.

I'm glad that you liked the pictures. I'm hoping to have some really really good ones soon to send home. Maybe even church bulletin board worthy haha, just kidding. I am having a better week. I had my interview with President Macdonald this week and it helped out a lot. Also, I got your letter on the same day. I know exactly what you mean about changing how you view success. It's something that is in Preach My Gospel but I didn't really learn from the spirit how to do it until I got your letter. We will spend thanksgiving day with a lot of different members and investigators. It should be a lot of fun and a much needed break.

I'm super excited for this next week because we have 2 baptisms on Saturday. Elder Rupp didn't want to get wet so I'll be baptizing both of them. One is a 9-year-old girl, Kyirah Stover, and the other is a lady in her 30s whose husband is a member, Jeamilette Morales. It is so amazing to see people committed to the gospel enough to change everything about their lives to be able to live it. We also have another baptism on the 28th for Tiffany Ruddell. If I had to pinpoint a reason why I was sent to North Bend, it would be Tiffany. I have grown so much through working with her. Because of all the things that happened to her, it caused me to really rely on God. I've never prayed harder for anyone in my life, I've never worked harder for anything, I've never worried about someone this much, and I've never seen so many of my prayers answered as I saw with her. I don't think I was sent here for anyone else's benefit, but for my own. Other missionaries could have just as easily taught her the lessons. Any other missionary could have listened to the promptings of the spirit and been able to resolve her concerns. However, I could not have gotten to where I am now, spiritually, without Tiffany and her particular situation. I feel so blessed to be a part of it. She has an 18-month-old and last night all I could think about is how his life will be impacted by all of this. Think of how awesome it would be to go to his mission farewell and hand him the tie I wore when I baptized his mother. The things we do impact so much more than what's in our immediate field of vision. Now the key is remembering that when times get rough.

In my interview with president, it sounds like I'll be leaving North Bend after this transfer is up. He said that it's time for me to change areas and move on to bigger things. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I have some guesses but they worry me haha.

Well, thanks for everything. I love you all. Have a great week and try to start feeling better.

Love,

Elder Mullenax

Letter 11-4-09

2009-11-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

Hi family!

Zone conference was awesome as usual. It was great to see Elder Parkin. We had some good talks. He also gave me some CDs with pictures on them so I'm going to attach some to this email if I can. Well, I'm not being transferred. Only one missionary in our Zone is changing and it's because he's headed home. I'm glad to be serving around all the same guys because they are a great strength to me. I learn something important from each one of them.

Jim Cates is doing better. We taught him this week. It was not as serious as we thought it was. He will still be baptized on the 7th if he comes out clear on the scan today. If not, it will only move back a week or 2. We have a few very promising people we're teaching right now. I think we're going to see a lot more baptisms in the next month. I'm very excited.

Well, I don't really have much else to say today. I seem to be short of words and experiences. Be safe this week. I love you all. Good luck with the spanish! Oh, and ask Alyse if she still loves me. It's been almost 6 months and not even a single email? SHEESH! haha, I love you.

Love, Elder Mullenax

letter!

2009-10-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hi family!

Sea food? Yuck! I can put it down now, but I still don't care for it. I'm glad that you guys had a good time. Thank you for continuing to try on the Line of Authority. I'm excited to find it out haha.

I got the sweaters you sent and I really like them. I wore the black one to my interview with President Macdonald on Friday and he really liked it. The church building is too hot to be able to wear the brown one with my suit, but there is plenty of winter left! Thanks a lot for sending them.

It has been raining a lot here. I guess that fall and winter here means constant rain with the same moderate temperature. It really makes you grateful for the sun. I'm afraid that I'll have seasonal depression and so I asked some members about it. They said that doctors tell them to make sure they increase the amount of vitamin D they take in and it prevents it. I'm going to look for a good multivitamin today and see what my options are.

I got your letter today that had Elder Parkin's letter in it. I have to tell you that I am not as good as that letter makes me sound. Elder Parkin loves to exaggerate my strengths. I sure do miss that guy though. I just like to give him a hard time by saying that all we'll ever have is a facebook relationship. It makes him so upset haha. In truth, I see myself being friends with him through eternity. President and Sister Macdonald both commented about that at interviews. It's interesting what others can see simply by how we interact with others. Did I tell you last week that I met Elder Parkin's parents in person? They were visiting a bunch of temples all along the west coast and to get down to california they had to use Highway 101 which passes right through North Bend. They stopped by the apartment and I talked to them for a bit. His family is so nice. All they could say was how grateful they were for me and how much Elder Parkin loves me. I couldn't help but laugh. I learned way more from him than he did from me.

I'm really enjoying the piano. I transposed "Praise to the Man" this morning and it sounds so cool. It has a little bit darker tone that I think fits the second verse perfectly. I practice before studies, for 15 minutes during personal study, any spare time at lunch, and when we come in at night usually for 15 minutes. Not a lot of really focused time, but God consecrates and blesses those short periods. It is also relaxing. When I play all the stresses just disappear and I'm ready to take on the day. It's also a time when I think I feel the spirit the most. It really sets the stage for the rest of my study. It's going to be sad when I have to leave it, but I'll be okay.

Well, I have some sad news, but Susan won't be baptized this week. Her family wouldn't be able to make it. I was so devastated. We are refocusing though, and we have reset the date to Nov. 14th. Happy Birthday to you dad haha. I'm confident that she'll make it though. I just hope that I don't get transferred because If I do it'll be a week before her baptism. But we also have another baptism set up for Nov. 7. His name is Jim Cates and he is so solid. He keeps all his commitments and comes to church. He always reads and is always willing to accept the commandments. He is 78 years old. Can you believe that? He reminds me a lot of Grandpa Driever.

I don't think I have any other news for this week. Take care. I love you all.

Love,

Elder Mullenax

10-12-09

2009-10-14T14:05:00.001-07:00

I had a good week. It was also tiring, but not that busy. We found a few more people to teach and taught the people we have been teaching. We attended a baptism yesterday and Kris and Tifanny came with us. They both felt the spirit and really want to be baptized. They were supposed to get baptized on the 17th but it's not going to happen because they won't get married. It is very frustrating. Especially to think that I've been here four months and haven't helped anyone recieve baptism. So many of them get so close and right and the end they have one issue that keeps them from being baptized.

It looks like Susan Olson's baptism is going to go through. She just has to meet with bishop on wednesday to get the "all clear" but I don't forsee any problems. It's pretty exciting because she asked me to baptize her. We tried to get her less-active husband, Richard, to do it but he didn't feel comfortable. So I guess I'll be getting wet on the 24th haha. I'm so glad that she finally gets to be baptized. Out of everyone we've been teaching, she deserves it the most. She is so in tune with the spirit it's ridiculous.

I think you'll be proud to hear that your son is at least mildly musically gifted. I decided week ago that I wanted to learn to play the piano. I wanted to be able to play when we tour the chapel with people because it really brings the spirit into the room. Well, I've been working pretty hard and really pressing forward. I can now play the entire right hand of "Praise to the Man" (that's for you, Lindsey) as well as several other hymns. I just have to work on the left hand and putting it all together. I can't believe how easy it's becoming to just pick a song and start playing it. I really feel like God is blessing me with the ability to learn it quickly because of my purpose in learning. We also found an old electronic keyboard at the church so we took it to our apartment and I practice every day. I really enjoy playing the piano and it's very relaxing. I always start out my personal study by spending a little time practicing. Who knows, maybe when I get home I'll be decent?

I'm sorry to hear that dad got sick. Everyone around here is getting sick too. Luckily I haven't caught it yet. It may just be a matter of time though. Things are getting better with my companion. I wrote on a sheet of paper and tacked to the wall my new "Plan of Action." It outlines what we do every day and what things are inappropriate to talk about and it really seems to be helping. I'm just trying to be the best I can be serving his needs above mine. It's hard, but I've seen it working so I have to just continue doing it. Just as with all things, some days are better than others and I don't always have the best moments, but I quickly apologize and do what I have to to make it right.

I don't really have much more to write about this week. Like I said, not a lot changed this week. It's kind of funny because people always ask us what we've been up to and being that we do the same thing every day there's not much to talk about haha. It also makes it kind of hard to find interesting things to write home about. The days just kind of blend together.

I love you all. Have a good week and I hope everyone stays healthy. Thanks a lot for the letter you wrote, it came on a day I really needed it. Lindsey, I'm sorry I didn't reply to your individual letter, but I want you to know I read it. I sure do love hearing about my boys. Coleman sounds like he's becoming a big boy. Little pence sounds like a tyrant haha. I can't believe gray is crawling now! Crazy! Tell Mark I said hi and not to take Stan's offer unless it's a really really good one. Also, put in a good word with stan for me for like 2 years from now haha. How is everything going with Elder's Quorum? I'm sure you're doing a great job.

I love you guys. Stay healthy and happy!

Love,

Elder Mullenax

10-5-09

2009-10-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

It sounds like everyone had a good time on the train. Mmm steamworks sounds good. Coleman is an interesting little boy. I bet he had a lot of fun at the pumpkin patch. I've been thinking about the boys a lot lately. They've got big things ahead of them. I was also thinking about how much they are going to change before I see them again. The conference talks really make me want to be a better example for them because we are preparing the way for them to receive Christ.

Thanks for doing the socks for me. Everything from missionary mall has a 2-year guarantee. They should last. Wait, they limit what gifts you can give for christmas? That's odd. I think the phonecall would be better on christmas day because we are asked to call from member's phones and we will be proselyting on christmas eve. I did find a coat. I got a columbia with a zip-out liner that is also waterproof. It was $160.00 but I also bought a belt because the one that I had broke this morning. The total ended up being like $190.00. I have not gotten my tooth rechecked yet. I'll do it when I can find some time to breathe.

My companion is definitely a lot different than Elder Parkin. I miss him. Everyone we're teaching has been dropping us since he left. I'm having a hard time keeping Elder Rupp focused. Mom, I don't know what to do. He's a great guy and all, but he has become way too casual. He doesn't take the work seriously anymore and he feels spiritually capped out. I feel lost. I'm trying to make sure North Bend stays in a state of growth, but I can't devote all my energy to missionary work anymore. This isn't meant to be a complaining session, I'm just trying to explain my situation and explain how I feel.

I have some exciting news about Susan Olson though! Since Elder Parkin works in the office now he's around President Macdonald a lot more. Well, he talked to him about Susan's situation and not being able to come to church because of work and President felt strongly that she should be cleared to be baptized even though she can't always come to church. We are so excited! She'll be baptized on the 24th at 5:00. She is so ready and she will benefit so much from the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

So how did you all like conference? I loved it! I love being able to receive so much counsel and direction. I was so impressed with Elder Holland's testimony of the Book of Mormon. I wish I could make copies and just hand it to everyone I meet haha. It was powerful. I also really liked Elder Scott's talk about inspiration and being led by the spirit. I've been working on being able to recognize and understand the promptings of the spirit lately. That talk, as well as others, helped me feel the spirit and be able to have a reference point for developing discernment.

Well, I don't really have much to say this week. Don't forget to work on the line of authority! Dad, I love you. I want you to know that I'm sorry I didn't ask for advice from you before my mission. The priesthood session really opened my eyes and I want you to know that I plan to take the advice to return missionaries when I get home. Keep up the good work and know that I pray for you and your calling. I love you too, mom. Stay safe and I'll talk to you next week. Love you all!

Love,

Elder Mullenax

letter 9-28-09

2009-09-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

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

9-20-09

2009-09-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

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

What makes an Oregonian?...

2009-09-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

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

Not a Monday

2009-09-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

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

Weekly Letter 8-31-09

2009-09-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

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

Letter 8-24-09

2009-08-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

sorry its late again. it's a crazy life! Feel free to leave comments or questions and we will do our best to answer them!

Sounds like Coleman's first day was good. I'm so glad that he can't remember any of it haha. Silly boy. I sure do miss him.

The new medication sounds great. I'll do a trial month and if I think it's better then we'll continue, sound good?

Uncle Jim's funeral sounded amazing. I know he was a great man. Even now I think sometimes, "I wonder if Uncle Jim is watching. Guess I'd better do better." I know what he's doing now mom. But tell everyone I said hi and that I'm sorry Jim is gone, but I know he's better now. I'll write Grandpa and Grandma today, or at least I'll try my best. I may just sit wherever we go today and write letters instead of play ball or golf. I know I need to write them.

Teaching this week was a lot of fun. Friday night we went to the High Priest's social. It was at the Group Leader's home. He invited us to come because he wanted us to teach them (16 or so people) how to be better missionaries. Elder Parkin and I were pretty nervous. We were asked to speak for about 15-20 minutes. Well, it ended up at that we taught for closer to an hour because everyone was very involved. The spirit was directing us so much. Elder Parkin and I were trading off so perfectly and we taught in unity, always testifying of what the other had just spoken about. Everyone was blown away. I know this church is true because nowhere else in the world will you find a room full of retired people with a whole life's worth of experience seeking help from two 19-year-old boys. It just doesn't happen. The calling of a missionary places within us some of the most amazing abilities ever seen. God has truly given us what is required to help his people. Well, everyone really loved it. They were all talking so excitedly after it was over. We got so many genuine compliments. I think it really helped the members feel like they can trust us as missionaries with their friends. The work here is EXPLODING! The ward is doing a 40-day fast for missionary work. One family a day for 40 days fasts that the missionary work will prgress in the area. I know it's working. We are finding more and teaching more than anyone else in the Zone.

I want to talk now about a family that I really love. Chris is 22, his wife Tiffany is 20 and they have a 14-month old named Mason. We tracted into Chris a while ago and on our first meeting with him he invited us right in. He knew us because he works at a restaurant that we eat at every monday morning. Well, we met with him a couple times but never caught his wife there. Well this last week we dropped by and they were both home. Tiffany blew me away. She started talking about how she's been looking for a church and how she thinks that we might be it because chris talks about us all the time to her haha. She talked about how she went to church last week and it was fun but she was disappointed because she didn't learn much. I was thinking "are you serious? She can't be that golden. Come now..." Well, she kept talking and said she wanted to have a big meeting with her son and husband but also wanted a time when mason could go somewhere and they could do scripture study. Me thinking: "I don't believe this, it just doesn't happen like this." Then she says she wants a time when it's just girls and just guys learning separate things. I about passed out. I am like dying trying not to shout for joy. Well we met with them again yesterday and we shared a lesson. After we started talking about prayer. I'm going to quote tiffany. "After you guys left last time I prayed. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell you because I didn't want you to think I'm weird. But when I prayed I got this really warm like tingley feeling. I can't explain it." She looked at her son: "It's kind of like unconditional love like I have for Mason. I felt that. I knew it was from God." Elder Parkin and I were on the verge of praising Hosanna to the Most High God! Then Chris said that after he read a prayed that they got a random check in the mail for $119. They have been short on money and he said he knew it came because he's doing what is right. I love this family. They are just going to eat the Gospel up!

I'm going to be sending a box of stuff home soon. I'm going to send Grandpa's suit home because I never use it. I'm always afraid of getting something on it so it's better if I just send it home.

Well, I better get going. We have a lot to get done today. I love you a lot mom and dad. I know that you care a lot for me. Oh, one more thing i forgot to mention. The High Priest Group Leader, Brother Bacon, is a dentist. He said he'd fix my filling for free! So exciting. The ward here loves its missionaries. I really do feel at home away from home. I look forward to the next email. I love you all. Tell the family I said hi. Happy Birthday Lindsey. I'm working on getting your present in the mail.

Love,

Elder Mullenax

letter 8-17-09

2009-08-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's a day late, everyone was sick at my house yesterday.

Nice Apartment

The Fog that comes every day

Zack and his Comp. trying not to want to swim!

Zacks Companion hugging the fridge, they didn't have one for a couple of weeks, they were very excited to get a new one.

This is the "munitions depot"!! LOL

Family,

I'm glad that Lindsey's birthday was fun. How does she always guess what it is? It makes no sense! I just hope she doesn't slip into inactivity. It's a dangerous road. We see people all the time out here that went inactive because of very little things. Mostly it's because it's like riding a bike up a hill: if you stop pushing forward, you start rolling back.

I'm sorry to hear about Grandpa. I feel like I should write them, it's just hard to find time. I'm sad about the dog. That must have provided some form of normalcy to their life. It will probably be better in the end though.

I'm glad to hear you're heading to the temple. Nothing beats the spirit there. We don't get to go to the temple unless we're in a temple district (an area close enough to the temple to go) and even then we get to go every other transfer(a transfer is a 6-week period). The nearest temple is in Medford and it takes 3 hours to get there. So, out here on the coast we don't go to the temple haha.

I can't believe that Coleman is starting Kindergarten. Can you believe that in three years he'll be baptized? INSANE!! I wish I could be there to take him, but it's better that I'm not. I'd probably not let him go!

I'm excited for Sloan and I'm happy that Cody is finally heading out. Washington would be a cool place. Not as cool as Oregon, but it'll do. Honestly, I think your letters are the longest. I always tell you the most stuff.

WHAT!?!?! WHAAAAAAAT?!?! WHAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!?!?!???!! Goodness gracious. That's just rude. You tell them that I don't approve. They are not grown up enough! Haha. I'll pray for a girl though because this family needs one.

Okay, before I start into my week, I need to tell you that my filling came out in one of my teeth. I'm going to talk to a Dentist this week and get some quotes before we decide. There are 3 in our ward so I may be able to get it for free. We'll see. I'll keep you posted. Just be thinking of some ideas.

This last week has been AMAZING! We taught 25 lessons this week and the Mission Standard of Excellence(like the mission goal of perfection) is 20! The funny thing is that it didn't feel that different. We were just adding up our numbers last night to call into the mission and we had one of the most spectacular weeks we've ever had. We felt so blessed! God is truly rewarding us for doing what he asks: WORK HARD! My attitude is improving too. I'm trying not to do anything resentfully or to get done with it to do something I want to do. I've been working on becoming what we call the 4th missionary. He's the missionary that changes himself while on the mission, not just serves. He doesn't pass through the mission, he lets the mission pass through him. I want that!

I'll talk about they Anaya family today. They are the most Wonderful family in the world, partially because they're from New Mexico! I will miss them so much! Suzann is a member but she is less active. Her husband steve is not a member. Their daughter Audrey is like the perfect mormon girl. We went over last night and read scriptures with them. It was interesting because Suzann was once married in the temple but got a divorce. So we talked about that a little bit and I said that I'm never getting married until I die. And then she gave me a talkin-to about the need for it here haha. She is so funny. We love teaching them because they're always willing to learn. Steve is the most giving man I've ever met. He'll give us a ride anytime we need it. It's funny because it's the nonmembers that give us the most rides around town!

One more experience. We're teaching Richard and Susan Olson. Richard is a less active member in his 50s. Susan is progressing better than any of our other investigators. However she can't get work off for church. Well, we had a BBQ over at their house on Friday and they had their Son and Dughter-in-law there as well as three of their neighbors! Well, after dinner we all went into the house and we watched the Restoration DVD. It was so spiritual. After the movie Elder Parkin and I shared our testimonies. Well, Richard's son was very anti. He just wanted to bash Joseph Smith. So did one of their neighbors. Well Susan then bore her testimony of how the gospel has given her a purpose in life and how it makes her feel like she's found what she's been missing in her life. This touched the other neighbors, Nick and his girlfriend Ashley. We are now teaching them too! So despite the negative influence the spirit was still able to bear witness to them that it was true. I know that the Lord is preparing people. We just have to find them.

I love you all. For everyone that I didn't write individually, I'm sorry. This letter took my entire hour! I love you mom and dad. Congratulations Alyse and Slade. Good Luck Coleman! You're Uncle Gock is proud of you! Be safe. I'll talk to you next week.

Love, Elder Mullenax

letter 8-10-09

2009-08-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here is Zack's latest Letter and a Few of the Pics that he sent home!

Zachary Fighting with Elder Teddy
Like Men In Black, but not! LOL

They have this crazy closet full of junk that they dig through when they are bored. They call it Narnia, and this is a pic of him going to "Narnia" Such a Dork!!

Eating Healthy as usual

His messy Desk area

Family,

I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying your laptop. I think that if you really wanted to you could be completely computer literate. I think that you are just to lazy and you enjoy letting others do it for you haha. The war at the beach is probably the funnest thing i've done in the last year lol. I didn't say who I was because I wasn't anyone special. I really like these missionaries, they are great. This is Elder Schultz's last p-day. He heads to eugene tomorrow and then he heads home thursday. Pretty ridiculous! I can't believe how fast these last 6 weeks have gone. I've already been out a full transfer. I'm done with training and now I'm into follow-up training. Good news, Elder Parkin and I both get to stay in North Bend for at lease 6 more weeks! We are both really excited. We are both doing really well. We've had our disagreements and our struggles just like anyone else, but we always work it out instantly and we always get along well. It's not really that weird. We're outside talking to people most of the day so really we only sleep and study in the apartment. He is an amazing missionary. I can't believe how knowledgeable in the gospel he is. Any time I have a question he always knows the answer or knows where I can go to find it for myself. I really enjoy being around him because I'm always learning something new from him. Sounds like the house is really coming along. I'm so glad to hear that hadyn has a big boy bed lol. I wish he could show it to me haha. Coley's a frisbee player huh? We are going to go play frisbee golf today for preparation. It's a lot of fun and it's Elder Schultz's dying request haha. I think it's so funny that Coleman thinks I taught him to play battleship good. It's nice to hear about the boys because it lets me know that I had some sort of impact on their life. I sure do miss them, but I know they'll be there when I get home. I miss you guys too, I just miss my boys more haha. I'm so glad to hear that President Dugger is still doing the MTC camp. That is the best thing for priest age boys. The spirit is incredible there and it gives you almost a "high" that you just want to feel again and again. Luckily, the only way to get that is through missionary work! So according to dad, how is my mission going? Sometimes I feel like I'm failing as a missionary. I teach these people and I share with them what has blessed my life but they still don't see a need for it in theirs. It doesn't make any sense. This week, I got sick, but we still went out and did missionary work. I'm so glad we did. Elder Parkin was sick too, but his worst day was tuesday. When we looked back on the week, if we had stayed home we would have missed out on our most productive day of the week. We had 6 lessons with members present that day!! 6!! Sometimes we get 6 in a whole week. The Lord tries us and then blesses us for our diligence. I know he does. We usually make our own lunch, but we get fed almost every night. We have a lot of member support, but the ward is smaller. There are two wards in our stake building. The North Bend Ward and The Coos Bay Ward. I'm in the North Bend ward and we go at 9:00. I did get my jerky. Elder Parkin and I have only eaten one bag haha. Well, I better get going. We have a lot of stuff to get done so we can go play frisbee golf, but I love you. I'll talk to you again next week. Tell everyone in the ward I said hi. Oh, and tell the Clarks that I know Ephraim Morris. I know someone in my ward that knows Greg and Trish! How odd is that!! I love you and miss you all. Have a great week! Love, Elder Mullenax

8-3-09 Letter

2009-08-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

Elder Mullenax and Elder Coleman

Outside the Provo Temple

He says his dad can use this tag when he goes on his mission!

Elder Mullenax's Latest letter! Enjoy

Hey family!

The laptop sounds great. I'm glad to hear about slade and bubba. Speaking of
Bubba, I was reading an old ensign the other day and saw that picture of
Alyse and Bubba again!! I couldn't stop laughing! I showed it to Elder
Parkin and he laughed too. Especially because the article was about
Disfunctional families!! lol

Yeah, I'm sorry about not getting back with everyone. I have ZERO time to do
anything. I don't have enough time to even do my missionary work. It's so
frustrating lol. I email for an hour, and then if I find time between doing
all my other preparations, I'll write. Sometimes I don't have time to email
everyone back. I'm sorry!!

I took the bike back, no problem. The money went back to my credit card.
Elder Schultz is giving me his bike. I did get a nice razor, thanks! I
really appreciate it. I can't think of anything else I need. If I do, I'll
let you know.

The beach was awesome last week. What do 4 missionaries that can't swim do
at the beach you might ask? Well, I'll tell you! First we bury a
dying(meaning he's headed home at the end of this transfer) missionary in
the sand. Then we reenact the War Chapters of the Book of Mormon!! It was
great. The tide was coming in so the waves were getting closer and closer.
These were the Lamanites. We then began buliding walls around out Nephite
City to keeo the Lamanites out. We eventually had to build a circle fortress
because the Lamanites would move passed us and surround us. Then
Moroni(Elder Schultz) showed up and brought us supplies(rocks and sticks)
from the Land of Desolation(up the beach toward the road). When he would
leave he would yell, "Teancum(Elder Wilson)! Protect the city!!" Then when
the Lamanites would breach the walls, we would have Helam(Elder Parkin)
convert the Lamanites(pour dry sand on them to make them mud).
Unfortunately, apostasy overtook the city and the Lamanites conquered. It
was a lot of fun and people were pointing and laughing at us. Four spiritual
20-somethings playing in the sand at the beach lol.

Leo is doing well. He got a job at McDonald's this week so we haven't met
with him yet but he is so excited for baptism. We're a little worried though
because he had to work this last sunday. We felt like it was going to
happen. We know the craftiness of the Devil... We are going to call him
later today and set up a time for us to come back and teach him. He should
be moving towards baptism rapidly.

Robert is progressing well. He asks a lot of questions and he always reads
what we ask him to. We can tell because he has very specific questions about
what he's read. He wants to play college basketball so he's trying out for
SWOCC this year. I hope he makes it. I really like Robert. He's a really
good guy and always very polite.

Steve Anaya is slipping a lot on the Word of Wisdom. He can't stop drinking
coffee. It sucks so bad! We always joke about Steve saying "There couldn't
be two perfect men in the world so God had to give Steve PTSD" lol. He is
such a great guy. He will be a wonderful addition to the ward, if we can
help him get off coffee.

Richard and Susan are progressing amazingly. They are both so capable and
intelligent when it comes to reading the scriptures and being able to pull
out principles. We were sharing with them about the tree of life vision in
their front yard and their neighbor came over and listened in. Guess what?
We are now teaching their neighbor and his wife! On top of that, Susan's
kids have been contacted by missionaries and they've been meeting with them
for a while! They are so wonderful! I love them.

It's getting close to the end of the transfer and Elder Schultz leaves. I'm
going to miss him a lot. He is the best missionary that I know. Honestly, if
I could be like one missionary, it would be him. I even told him that on
Friday when I was on District Tract with him. He will be tough to see go. He
lives in Mesa, AZ and he's going to start school a week and a half after he
gets back. Ridiculous!! Lol.

Well, not much more to report. I love you all. Keep studying Preach My
Gospel. We will need it because perilous times are about to spew forth. We
need to be prepared. It will happen in the next 8 years. It's a prophecy
from President Hinckley. Become more deeply rooted in the gospel through
Preach My Gospel. I love you all so much. I miss the boys a lot. Tell them
that Uncle Elder Gock Loves them.

Love,

Elder Mullenax

Starting thisBlog

2009-08-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

I am starting this blog so that anyone who would like to know how Zachary is doing on his mission can follow him through his weekly letters to the family and see the pictures that he sends. He writes once a week on Mondays, so I will Update once a week, unless we get an extra letter or package.

Lindsey