Dear Family,
It's been a crazy week to say the least. Monday was pretty normal but then Tuesday! Oh my... Tuesday! So, Elder Parkinson had his exit interview that day and I thought, "Well, if President Whitney has anything to say to me about leadership he'll tell me then." Literally, I looked him straight in the eyes, shook his hand, and he didn't say anything... Then he called at 10:00pm to tell me I'm training again. I then asked him if the district leader area would be changing since this has been it for the last few transfers. Basically I was asking if I'd be district leader too. He replied, "Ya know Elder. I don't know. It's not on my list and I only know what's on my list!"
On Thursday we drove down to Hurst to the new trainer meeting. Texas traffic in the morning is always an adventure so that was fun. I asked the assistants if they were changing the district leader area at the meeting and they said yes so that was a relief. I also discovered that Elder Brinkerhoff and Elder Andreason from my MTC district are training for the second time as well. President Whitney must've felt like we needed a mid-mission boost to purge the trunky out of us. Probably true.
After the meeting we drove back to Denton and had to almost immediately leave to Decatur for a baptismal interview. I hadn't eaten much up to that point because 1. I didn't have the appetite in the morning and 2. I didn't have time in the afternoon. The sisters were kind enough to provide me with a brownie and a granola bar out of pity. We then went to dinner and taught some recent converts afterward. Then, ya know, crashed in bed.
Friday of course was the day y'all were excited for and that I didn't know what to think about. The thought might've crossed your mind, "hey, wonder what that one other guy in the family is doing right now." Well, in the morning we were planning. About the time that Eric walked off the plane I was sitting in McDonalds with Elder Parkinson and one of his recent convert friends while they tried to dump all of Elder Parkinson's iPad photos onto a hard drive. That night when I saw the photos of everyone at the airport I'll admit I was probably the most trunky and homesick I've been my whole mission. Seriously it felt like having to leave my family all over again and start a whole new mission except the decision was ten times harder because I actually know what a mission is like. I kind of started to think why am I here? Why am I here doing things that are so difficult when I could be back home with my family? It's a good question really. I decided that night that I'm here because I love God and I trust Him. Plus, from what I've heard this week, coming home seems pretty anti-climatic.
Saturday was pretty good. We taught Amy about the temple and she's super excited to go when she can. At first she said it seemed pretty ominous that you can only go if you're worthy and stuff. The last few weeks though she's realized how sacred the temple really is and now has made it her goal to prepare for the temple. She's exactly where she needs to be spiritually right now. It's awesome!
Have a good week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Friday, August 19, 2016
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
August 1, 2016
Dearest Family,
Where to start... Well, as of yesterday we had 8 potential baptisms for the next couple months with 3 dates set. As of right now, we have 5 potential baptisms and 2 dates set. The story is thus: Last Sunday a recent convert couple brought their 2 children, Tomi and Oyia, who just came from Nigeria to church and wanted them baptized as soon as possible. We taught both of them on Tuesday and set a date with them for August 13th. Only Tomi came to church on Sunday though so we're going to have to move Oyia's date. Tomi still technically has a date so he's one of the two.
On Wednesday the bishop in 2nd Ward introduced us to a lady who wanted the lessons immediately. Apparently she went to some health initiative conference where 75% of people were LDS women. Long story short, she had some really good experiences with them and they convinced her to read the Book of Mormon and seek out the missionaries. She found Bishop before us and he invited her 2 daughters to come to mutual that night. We taught her the next day and it went really well. The whole time she was super sincere and believed everything we said about the apostasy. She said she wanted to join the church so we planned to set a date with her and her children on Saturday during our next appointment. On Saturday she cancelled on us because she had to take her kids to see her husband who she's in the process of divorcing. She told us she would try to be at church though. That didn't happen either. At about 11:30 this morning she texted us and said basically, "Me and the kids' father decided that Mormon beliefs are not our beliefs. We disagree on some core beliefs about the trinity." We tried to get her to meet with us one more time so we could help her remember what she felt but she hasn't answered us. That's where we're at right now. Hopefully I'll have an update next week. One thing we know she can't escape is contact with all those LDS women her brought her to us in the first place. Anyway, there went 3 golden investigators.
The good news for the week is that Amy is still doing well. A member in the ward invited us and her family over for dinner and a lesson. It went awesome and we finally got to meet her two sons. Amy wants them to at least learn about the church so they can decide for themselves if they want to be baptized. I suspect they'll get there soon. They have your regular ol' preteen concerns like "fasting is too hard" but that's about it. Amy's family is pretty much a member family already: a parent who loves the gospel trying to get her kids to at least give the church a chance.
I was thinking about it this week and Amy will probably be going to the temple within weeks of my release date. So help me, if it's the Saturday after I'm not leaving! Seriously though, it's been something that's been on my mind. A big boom in the exact middle of your mission is a blessing and a curse. Mostly a blessing but you know...
So, yeah, fun week. I'm not even going to wish y'all a good week because I know it will be. Do me a favor and bring a picture of me or something when you pick Eric up from the airport. Also, don't get too trunky for me, I'll join the party soon enough! Just pray for me on Friday because I'll be thinking of you! Talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Where to start... Well, as of yesterday we had 8 potential baptisms for the next couple months with 3 dates set. As of right now, we have 5 potential baptisms and 2 dates set. The story is thus: Last Sunday a recent convert couple brought their 2 children, Tomi and Oyia, who just came from Nigeria to church and wanted them baptized as soon as possible. We taught both of them on Tuesday and set a date with them for August 13th. Only Tomi came to church on Sunday though so we're going to have to move Oyia's date. Tomi still technically has a date so he's one of the two.
On Wednesday the bishop in 2nd Ward introduced us to a lady who wanted the lessons immediately. Apparently she went to some health initiative conference where 75% of people were LDS women. Long story short, she had some really good experiences with them and they convinced her to read the Book of Mormon and seek out the missionaries. She found Bishop before us and he invited her 2 daughters to come to mutual that night. We taught her the next day and it went really well. The whole time she was super sincere and believed everything we said about the apostasy. She said she wanted to join the church so we planned to set a date with her and her children on Saturday during our next appointment. On Saturday she cancelled on us because she had to take her kids to see her husband who she's in the process of divorcing. She told us she would try to be at church though. That didn't happen either. At about 11:30 this morning she texted us and said basically, "Me and the kids' father decided that Mormon beliefs are not our beliefs. We disagree on some core beliefs about the trinity." We tried to get her to meet with us one more time so we could help her remember what she felt but she hasn't answered us. That's where we're at right now. Hopefully I'll have an update next week. One thing we know she can't escape is contact with all those LDS women her brought her to us in the first place. Anyway, there went 3 golden investigators.
The good news for the week is that Amy is still doing well. A member in the ward invited us and her family over for dinner and a lesson. It went awesome and we finally got to meet her two sons. Amy wants them to at least learn about the church so they can decide for themselves if they want to be baptized. I suspect they'll get there soon. They have your regular ol' preteen concerns like "fasting is too hard" but that's about it. Amy's family is pretty much a member family already: a parent who loves the gospel trying to get her kids to at least give the church a chance.
I was thinking about it this week and Amy will probably be going to the temple within weeks of my release date. So help me, if it's the Saturday after I'm not leaving! Seriously though, it's been something that's been on my mind. A big boom in the exact middle of your mission is a blessing and a curse. Mostly a blessing but you know...
So, yeah, fun week. I'm not even going to wish y'all a good week because I know it will be. Do me a favor and bring a picture of me or something when you pick Eric up from the airport. Also, don't get too trunky for me, I'll join the party soon enough! Just pray for me on Friday because I'll be thinking of you! Talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
July 25, 2016
Hello Family!
We actually had a relatively good week. Things are finally picking up it the area. I almost forgot what it felt like to have a teaching pool but it's finally happened. Woohoo! We met a couple people this week that are at least semi-interested and are willing to meet with us consistently. That does not include the referral whose door I knocked on from last week unfortunately. That one said she has no interest and that her friend who referred her is a "bit of an extremist." Oh well! Immediately after that we contacted a former investigator named Martha who was dropped because she was apparently difficult to contact. We contacted her first try though so long story short, she's an investigator now.
Things went super well with Amy again this week. It's going almost too well so we're kinda holding our breath right now. Anyway, we invited her to a stake fireside last night. President Whitney and a couple other converts spoke at it and Amy seemed to really enjoy it. I did too, so I knew she would. Afterwards, she texted us and said basically, "I just wanted to thank you for inviting me to that meeting tonight. You're changing my life with your time and service. Thank you." That's definitely what I needed so I was grateful for that.
Well, we have some great plans and high goals for this week so I'm excited to see what can be accomplished. Wish me luck!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
We actually had a relatively good week. Things are finally picking up it the area. I almost forgot what it felt like to have a teaching pool but it's finally happened. Woohoo! We met a couple people this week that are at least semi-interested and are willing to meet with us consistently. That does not include the referral whose door I knocked on from last week unfortunately. That one said she has no interest and that her friend who referred her is a "bit of an extremist." Oh well! Immediately after that we contacted a former investigator named Martha who was dropped because she was apparently difficult to contact. We contacted her first try though so long story short, she's an investigator now.
Things went super well with Amy again this week. It's going almost too well so we're kinda holding our breath right now. Anyway, we invited her to a stake fireside last night. President Whitney and a couple other converts spoke at it and Amy seemed to really enjoy it. I did too, so I knew she would. Afterwards, she texted us and said basically, "I just wanted to thank you for inviting me to that meeting tonight. You're changing my life with your time and service. Thank you." That's definitely what I needed so I was grateful for that.
Well, we have some great plans and high goals for this week so I'm excited to see what can be accomplished. Wish me luck!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
July 18, 2016
Hello Family!
My week was mostly uninteresting but there were at least a couple things worth mentioning. First of all we set a baptismal date with Amy for August 20th which was awesome! She practically interrupted me to say yes so I think she meant it. Sometimes you can't be sure. We talked about getting her sons baptized too and she said she'd like them to but that it's ultimately their decision. They also have to get permission from their father which is kind of up in the air right now. Him and Amy are divorced but they have a good relationship and he's not opposed to the church or anything. If nothing else Amy will go to the temple and get her parents baptized! She's already looking forward
to it. Needless to say, it was an awesome lesson and we're pretty excited.
We also had interviews with President Whitney this week. That was a little weird without President Ames. Basically he just asked the typical get to know you questions and said, "Well, you've been in the mission longer than me so what do our missionaries need to be trained on to become successful?" It was supposed to take 20 minutes but it only took maybe 10 for me. Neither of us are really talkative... Oh well!
That same day we tried by a few potentials and decided to knock on a few of their neighbors' doors. Absolutely nobody answered but funny enough, we got a referral for one of those neighbors three days later. Should've been home the first time! Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what comes from this one.
I swear, every week as a missionary is a weird mix of mundane tasks and "wait, what just happened?" moments. Here's to another one! Wish me luck!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
My week was mostly uninteresting but there were at least a couple things worth mentioning. First of all we set a baptismal date with Amy for August 20th which was awesome! She practically interrupted me to say yes so I think she meant it. Sometimes you can't be sure. We talked about getting her sons baptized too and she said she'd like them to but that it's ultimately their decision. They also have to get permission from their father which is kind of up in the air right now. Him and Amy are divorced but they have a good relationship and he's not opposed to the church or anything. If nothing else Amy will go to the temple and get her parents baptized! She's already looking forward
to it. Needless to say, it was an awesome lesson and we're pretty excited.
We also had interviews with President Whitney this week. That was a little weird without President Ames. Basically he just asked the typical get to know you questions and said, "Well, you've been in the mission longer than me so what do our missionaries need to be trained on to become successful?" It was supposed to take 20 minutes but it only took maybe 10 for me. Neither of us are really talkative... Oh well!
That same day we tried by a few potentials and decided to knock on a few of their neighbors' doors. Absolutely nobody answered but funny enough, we got a referral for one of those neighbors three days later. Should've been home the first time! Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what comes from this one.
I swear, every week as a missionary is a weird mix of mundane tasks and "wait, what just happened?" moments. Here's to another one! Wish me luck!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Friday, July 15, 2016
July 11, 2016
Dear Family,
It's been yet another hot week. I am in Texas though, so I guess that's to be expected. We've mostly been doing some tracting and street contacting lately so I've been spending a lot of time outside which gets a little rough. Right now we're just trying to figure out where to find people between the hours of 10:00am and 5:00pm. It's mostly been trial and error as far as that goes but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude.
It's been really weird lately having a companion and a brother who are going home so soon. On top of that, I'm almost at my year mark so I've been looking back a lot on the last year. I'm not really getting trunky or anything, it's just weird and hard to believe it's been so long. I thought I'd know what I was doing by now but nope. Someday! Probably in the afterlife, but someday!
Even though most of the week was spent in the hot sun, it ended really well with another couple lesson with Amy. I am still convinced that she has been completely prepared for baptism through her experiences. Things are just falling into place and it's crazy. Every member she meets has some experience very similar to her own that just solidifies her desire to come to church. She was actually able to this week by the way! As we taught the apostasy the weather even went nasty as if to enhance the effect. It was awesome! Unfortunately the member couple that was with us had to leave quite abruptly due to the storm so we didn't get a chance to invite her to baptism. From yesterday it sounds
like she's planning on having us teach her two sons though, so we could easily have three baptisms by the end of summer.
We still haven't taught or seen Willie or Bob since I talked about them last so that's a little frustrating. Hopefully stuff gets rolling this week. I'll let ya'll know, but for now have a fantastic week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
It's been yet another hot week. I am in Texas though, so I guess that's to be expected. We've mostly been doing some tracting and street contacting lately so I've been spending a lot of time outside which gets a little rough. Right now we're just trying to figure out where to find people between the hours of 10:00am and 5:00pm. It's mostly been trial and error as far as that goes but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude.
It's been really weird lately having a companion and a brother who are going home so soon. On top of that, I'm almost at my year mark so I've been looking back a lot on the last year. I'm not really getting trunky or anything, it's just weird and hard to believe it's been so long. I thought I'd know what I was doing by now but nope. Someday! Probably in the afterlife, but someday!
Even though most of the week was spent in the hot sun, it ended really well with another couple lesson with Amy. I am still convinced that she has been completely prepared for baptism through her experiences. Things are just falling into place and it's crazy. Every member she meets has some experience very similar to her own that just solidifies her desire to come to church. She was actually able to this week by the way! As we taught the apostasy the weather even went nasty as if to enhance the effect. It was awesome! Unfortunately the member couple that was with us had to leave quite abruptly due to the storm so we didn't get a chance to invite her to baptism. From yesterday it sounds
like she's planning on having us teach her two sons though, so we could easily have three baptisms by the end of summer.
We still haven't taught or seen Willie or Bob since I talked about them last so that's a little frustrating. Hopefully stuff gets rolling this week. I'll let ya'll know, but for now have a fantastic week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Friday, July 8, 2016
July 4, 2016
Dear Family,
Happy 4th of July and belated Canada Day! We just got done walking in the Big Parade in Denton with the rest of the zone and the Spanish Ward who put the float together. It was a little awkward being Canadian and all but I wasn't the only one. There's a Sister from Vancouver who came out with me last August so we were awkward Canadians together.
On Canada Day we got to celebrate by meeting our new mission president. We had a big meeting with a couple of other zones where he introduced himself, shook our hands, and shared a few thoughts. President Whitney and his wife are definitely a lot more soft-spoken than President and Sister Ames which is an adjustment. I'm sure both of them are still trying to get used to the whole leading a mission thing. I'm really hoping we as a mission can have some super spiritual experiences with them so they can trust and love us a little more and we can do the same. I think for the most part the rest of mission feels about the same. We miss President Ames but we feel like the best way we can honor him is by loving President Whitney.
After the meeting we had lunch at the apartment and got a call from a random foreign number. Elder Parkinson answered it and apparently it was some British evangelist who somehow got our number. Elder Parkinson bashed with him for a while until finally he asked, "Can I ask how you got our number?" In response, this guy said he'd tell us if we revealed some very sacred things we learn in the temple... Well, I'm sure glad I can count on grown adults to be mature in this world! You kind of have to wonder why somebody took the time to call two young missionaries in North Texas if what they're saying doesn't have some truth to it that Satan doesn't want being spread.
That's alright though, because I'm pretty sure we found a golden investigator this week! Well, she was a referral from a guy in Keller so WE didn't find her but you know, close enough. She's a single mother who recently lost her own mother. Her friend gave her a Book of Mormon about a month ago and she's read until about the middle of 2 Nephi. She told us, "I've been struggling to hear my mother's voice since she passed, but when I started reading the Book of Mormon I heard it." Can't get much more sincere than that! To me it's just so amazing to hear a testimony like that from someone so unbiased that's just looking for truth. Definitely made my week.
Hope you have an awesome day and such. Take care!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Happy 4th of July and belated Canada Day! We just got done walking in the Big Parade in Denton with the rest of the zone and the Spanish Ward who put the float together. It was a little awkward being Canadian and all but I wasn't the only one. There's a Sister from Vancouver who came out with me last August so we were awkward Canadians together.
On Canada Day we got to celebrate by meeting our new mission president. We had a big meeting with a couple of other zones where he introduced himself, shook our hands, and shared a few thoughts. President Whitney and his wife are definitely a lot more soft-spoken than President and Sister Ames which is an adjustment. I'm sure both of them are still trying to get used to the whole leading a mission thing. I'm really hoping we as a mission can have some super spiritual experiences with them so they can trust and love us a little more and we can do the same. I think for the most part the rest of mission feels about the same. We miss President Ames but we feel like the best way we can honor him is by loving President Whitney.
After the meeting we had lunch at the apartment and got a call from a random foreign number. Elder Parkinson answered it and apparently it was some British evangelist who somehow got our number. Elder Parkinson bashed with him for a while until finally he asked, "Can I ask how you got our number?" In response, this guy said he'd tell us if we revealed some very sacred things we learn in the temple... Well, I'm sure glad I can count on grown adults to be mature in this world! You kind of have to wonder why somebody took the time to call two young missionaries in North Texas if what they're saying doesn't have some truth to it that Satan doesn't want being spread.
That's alright though, because I'm pretty sure we found a golden investigator this week! Well, she was a referral from a guy in Keller so WE didn't find her but you know, close enough. She's a single mother who recently lost her own mother. Her friend gave her a Book of Mormon about a month ago and she's read until about the middle of 2 Nephi. She told us, "I've been struggling to hear my mother's voice since she passed, but when I started reading the Book of Mormon I heard it." Can't get much more sincere than that! To me it's just so amazing to hear a testimony like that from someone so unbiased that's just looking for truth. Definitely made my week.
Hope you have an awesome day and such. Take care!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
June 27, 2016
Dear Family,
Well, it's transfers this week and for the first time I was actually surprised. I'm staying here luckily, but Elder Reich is leaving! We were sure we'd stay together! This is my third one 'n done with a companion in a row and my seventh with a district leader. That's not changing next transfer either because my new companion, Elder Parkinson, is going home at the end of the transfer. Also, apparently in the next couple transfers we're getting about 40 new missionaries total which means that a quarter of the mission will be training. It could be me... Again... I guess we'll see!
As far as the work goes, this week most of our plans fell through again, but we made the most of it. W and B have had a lot of trouble making time to meet with us lately so we haven't taught either of them in a couple of weeks. Hopefully Elder Reich leaving will inspire them to make a little more of an effort tomorrow. As soon as we get in there we're setting some baptism dates! Hopefully.
The most interesting thing that happened this week was when we got bashed. It was the first time I've been told the church is a cult by people who aren't drunk. I really don't have much to say about it though, just that the Book of Mormon is true! Every time someone tries to convince me it isn't it just confirms it to me more. Muahahahaha!
Whelp, wish me luck this week with my new companion AND mission president. Have a wonderful week full of happiness and unicorns! Which reminds me, there's this street nearby named Unicorn Lake. Fun fact.
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Well, it's transfers this week and for the first time I was actually surprised. I'm staying here luckily, but Elder Reich is leaving! We were sure we'd stay together! This is my third one 'n done with a companion in a row and my seventh with a district leader. That's not changing next transfer either because my new companion, Elder Parkinson, is going home at the end of the transfer. Also, apparently in the next couple transfers we're getting about 40 new missionaries total which means that a quarter of the mission will be training. It could be me... Again... I guess we'll see!
As far as the work goes, this week most of our plans fell through again, but we made the most of it. W and B have had a lot of trouble making time to meet with us lately so we haven't taught either of them in a couple of weeks. Hopefully Elder Reich leaving will inspire them to make a little more of an effort tomorrow. As soon as we get in there we're setting some baptism dates! Hopefully.
The most interesting thing that happened this week was when we got bashed. It was the first time I've been told the church is a cult by people who aren't drunk. I really don't have much to say about it though, just that the Book of Mormon is true! Every time someone tries to convince me it isn't it just confirms it to me more. Muahahahaha!
Whelp, wish me luck this week with my new companion AND mission president. Have a wonderful week full of happiness and unicorns! Which reminds me, there's this street nearby named Unicorn Lake. Fun fact.
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)