Dear Family,
This week was definitely a lot better! For one, Tomi and Oyin were baptized which was great. I don't think we could've fit one more person in that room, a ton of people came. We had two youth give the talks which turned out to be a good decision. They did awesome and it was just a very spiritual experience overall.
On top of that, I finally was able to reach the standards of excellence for number of lessons taught. The mission has been pushing everyone for that for a while it felt awesome to finally do it. The key I think was teaching shorter lessons. At first I was afraid to try doing that because I thought we would have a ton of extra time that we wouldn't know what to do with. Turns out that really only lasts a week (last week for us) and then you become busier than ever. Feels good!
I'll be staying in the area this transfer which makes this week even better. I'll be switching apartments though. Yay, six months in another area! This transfer went by super fast so I'm sure this next one will be even faster. Hopefully we can get Amy's sons baptized before I leave. That would be the icing on the Denton cake. It's the best kind of cake.
Thanks for your prayers this last week, I'm doing a lot better. Here's to another week without any disappearing vehicles!
Love,
Elder O'Brien
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
September 12, 2016
Dear Family,
I really try not to be negative in these letters so I'm going to begin by stating some simple facts:
1. On Friday we got our car towed from an apartment complex for not parking in visitor parking. We just came out and our car wasn't there any more.
2. Yesterday we went by a couple less-actives we'd met before in a trailer park nearby. Security then came up to us and told us we're not allowed there because it's a no soliciting area and that they have towed us before for not complying.
3. By law, we are not solicitors.
4. The impound services sector is booming in Texas.
5. This morning I walked outside to find that my bike was gone. Yes, it was locked and yes it was the kind of lock that the mission office warned us people sometimes cut.
6. Our neighbor saw a "weird guy getting on a bike that said 'howdy!!' really harshly and left" late last night as she was walking in. He was on the ground floor though so she didn't think much of it I guess.
I was about to put "nobody died" as the seventh fact but then I remember that we witnessed a guy on a stretcher with a blanket over him being put into a weird looking vehicle as we pulled into an apartment complex. I felt so bad. And no, I did not share the Plan of Salvation with the family. We as a companionship decided the timing may not have been right for that one.
The rest of the week was pretty good though. Tomi and Oyin are all set to be baptized this Saturday which we're super excited about. We also got to meet with Amy and one of her sons. The other son had a football tournament. Things went alright with them but Parker was still quite shy. Him and Cooper really don't have any religious background so most things we talk about are pretty foreign to them. It may take a bit longer but we'll get them baptized. I think once they understand who Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are to them and feel the spirit they'll be ready. It's just a matter of helping that
happen.
Saturday was an interesting day for really good reasons. Elder Oaks came Colleyville this Saturday and led the first ever religious freedom broadcast. It was broadcast to all the stakes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area so I got to watch it at the Denton Stake center. Elder Oaks gave a very precisely worded talk to start it off. You could see him following the words with his finger and everything. It was the strangest thing ever to see from an Apostle. He gave some closing words without notes though and acknowledged that he had read his first talk word for word. He didn't give much of an explanation from what I remember but we all understood. A couple other people spoke too, including some members who were specifically chosen based on their study of law and defending religious freedom. Basically they laid out what religious freedom means exactly, how it is and isn't being threatened and what we as regular citizens and members can do to defend it. They came right out and said that the church is not at risk of having to perform same-sex marriages. Religious schools however are at risk of being denied funding for example. It was an interesting couple hours for sure. I'll send the notes I took.
Well, have an awesome week and stay away from trailers and apartments as much as possible!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
I really try not to be negative in these letters so I'm going to begin by stating some simple facts:
1. On Friday we got our car towed from an apartment complex for not parking in visitor parking. We just came out and our car wasn't there any more.
2. Yesterday we went by a couple less-actives we'd met before in a trailer park nearby. Security then came up to us and told us we're not allowed there because it's a no soliciting area and that they have towed us before for not complying.
3. By law, we are not solicitors.
4. The impound services sector is booming in Texas.
5. This morning I walked outside to find that my bike was gone. Yes, it was locked and yes it was the kind of lock that the mission office warned us people sometimes cut.
6. Our neighbor saw a "weird guy getting on a bike that said 'howdy!!' really harshly and left" late last night as she was walking in. He was on the ground floor though so she didn't think much of it I guess.
I was about to put "nobody died" as the seventh fact but then I remember that we witnessed a guy on a stretcher with a blanket over him being put into a weird looking vehicle as we pulled into an apartment complex. I felt so bad. And no, I did not share the Plan of Salvation with the family. We as a companionship decided the timing may not have been right for that one.
The rest of the week was pretty good though. Tomi and Oyin are all set to be baptized this Saturday which we're super excited about. We also got to meet with Amy and one of her sons. The other son had a football tournament. Things went alright with them but Parker was still quite shy. Him and Cooper really don't have any religious background so most things we talk about are pretty foreign to them. It may take a bit longer but we'll get them baptized. I think once they understand who Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are to them and feel the spirit they'll be ready. It's just a matter of helping that
happen.
Saturday was an interesting day for really good reasons. Elder Oaks came Colleyville this Saturday and led the first ever religious freedom broadcast. It was broadcast to all the stakes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area so I got to watch it at the Denton Stake center. Elder Oaks gave a very precisely worded talk to start it off. You could see him following the words with his finger and everything. It was the strangest thing ever to see from an Apostle. He gave some closing words without notes though and acknowledged that he had read his first talk word for word. He didn't give much of an explanation from what I remember but we all understood. A couple other people spoke too, including some members who were specifically chosen based on their study of law and defending religious freedom. Basically they laid out what religious freedom means exactly, how it is and isn't being threatened and what we as regular citizens and members can do to defend it. They came right out and said that the church is not at risk of having to perform same-sex marriages. Religious schools however are at risk of being denied funding for example. It was an interesting couple hours for sure. I'll send the notes I took.
Well, have an awesome week and stay away from trailers and apartments as much as possible!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Thursday, September 15, 2016
September 5, 2016
Dear Family,
It's been a super quick but very weird week. Not like Joshua weird but more of a "that was an odd moment..." kind of weird. It came in 2s. First of all, two attempts to anti us from random people. The first came in the mail from a couple in Utah named John and Jane and was a collection of audio book CDs designed to make me a "master teacher". Subjects included "Was Adam set up to fail?" and "Why was the priesthood restricted?" Despite the kind words expressed in the personal letter and the "A for effort" attempt at spelling my name, I chose not to listen and just threw the CDs away... in tiny pieces. The very next day we were sitting in a lesson and that same guy who called Elder Parkinson and I three times last transfer to bash with us called again!
The second set of 2s involved us knocking into less-active members who are not in our wards' records. On Friday we went by this one potential investigator who was apparently given a Book of Mormon. This lady answered acting all nice and told us that the guy we were looking for was a member in Greenville, Texas and that she went to church there also. We could tell she hadn't been in while so we told her, "You know, there's a church here in Denton if you'd like to come." She said, "Really? I haven't seen one! That might work a bit better because Greenville is an hour and a half away." I think she's right.
Once again, the very next day almost the exact same thing happened. This time it was the very first door we had knocked that day and this guy just opens the door and tells us to come in. Suddenly we were in this house with a bunch of people we didn't know but they somehow knew us. I was just trying to figure out what was going on for a bit but eventually we found out that they were members. Apparently they love the church and always defend it but they just haven't been for several years. Obviously, because there was no record of them in the ward. We were so confused and didn't even get their names.
The third set of 2s was a good one actually. Two days in a row we placed two copies of the Book of Mormon. One of them was named Elder. True story.
Besides all that, Tomi and Oyin are still doing well. We didn't get to teach Amy's boys this week and they weren't at church so that was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe this week! Amy did get a calling this week though. That was cool.
Talk to y'all next week!
-Elder O'Brien (the younger)
It's been a super quick but very weird week. Not like Joshua weird but more of a "that was an odd moment..." kind of weird. It came in 2s. First of all, two attempts to anti us from random people. The first came in the mail from a couple in Utah named John and Jane and was a collection of audio book CDs designed to make me a "master teacher". Subjects included "Was Adam set up to fail?" and "Why was the priesthood restricted?" Despite the kind words expressed in the personal letter and the "A for effort" attempt at spelling my name, I chose not to listen and just threw the CDs away... in tiny pieces. The very next day we were sitting in a lesson and that same guy who called Elder Parkinson and I three times last transfer to bash with us called again!
The second set of 2s involved us knocking into less-active members who are not in our wards' records. On Friday we went by this one potential investigator who was apparently given a Book of Mormon. This lady answered acting all nice and told us that the guy we were looking for was a member in Greenville, Texas and that she went to church there also. We could tell she hadn't been in while so we told her, "You know, there's a church here in Denton if you'd like to come." She said, "Really? I haven't seen one! That might work a bit better because Greenville is an hour and a half away." I think she's right.
Once again, the very next day almost the exact same thing happened. This time it was the very first door we had knocked that day and this guy just opens the door and tells us to come in. Suddenly we were in this house with a bunch of people we didn't know but they somehow knew us. I was just trying to figure out what was going on for a bit but eventually we found out that they were members. Apparently they love the church and always defend it but they just haven't been for several years. Obviously, because there was no record of them in the ward. We were so confused and didn't even get their names.
The third set of 2s was a good one actually. Two days in a row we placed two copies of the Book of Mormon. One of them was named Elder. True story.
Besides all that, Tomi and Oyin are still doing well. We didn't get to teach Amy's boys this week and they weren't at church so that was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe this week! Amy did get a calling this week though. That was cool.
Talk to y'all next week!
-Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Saturday, September 10, 2016
August 29, 2016
Dear Family,
It's hard to believe that as of this Thursday I'll have been in Texas for an entire year! And what a year it's been: pet kangaroos, investigators running away, investigators almost killing each other, investigators running away again, investigators almost killing us... Oh, and Joe, Chris, and Amy getting baptized. It just goes on and on! Last night I was looking at a photo of my MTC district from exactly a year ago and we all look so green! Our shirts are still perfectly white, our faces have the greenie fire look, and we have no idea what's coming. It's been good though. I'm sure we've all experienced things that have changed us for the better with more to come of course.
Well, enough of the cheesy retrospect. This week was quite eventful actually. We got a couple more Bible referrals which we contacted on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was our first zone conference with President Whitney which was a bit of a weird concept at first. It was done a little differently but turned out to be pretty spiritual anyway. I think what I got most out of it was that we should be teaching members more so that we can give them the spiritual experiences they need to share the Gospel. We had a meeting with all our ward councils and the stake president afterward. The stake president shared something that was pretty interesting. He said, "Sometimes people aren't ready for the meat of the Gospel (the doctrine of Christ) so they need an appetizer (the fruit of Gospel)." As missionaries, all we have to offer is the meat so it's the members responsibility to share the fruit, or the blessings that the gospel has brought them. Here's how:
-use gospel language in everyday conversation; spark interest.
-talk about the fruits of the gospel (what it does for you and what it can do for them)
-go where the non-members are. Community events, boards, etc.
-ask them to serve with you
-if religion comes up, ask them what questions they have about God and religion
Apparently only 9% of people on average become interested in the church because of the doctrine so it's stuff like this that leads to the other 91%. Our stake president also said he believes that much of the success had as far as baptisms is due to the efforts of those who don't see the success. So, even if the person you're working with doesn't ever accept the Gospel, your efforts lead to others accepting it. I'm pretty confident in that too because the work here in Denton is moving faster than I could ever make it.
Saturday was also pretty awesome, though pretty exhausting. We started the day by helping a lady in the ward move to another apartment within her complex. About six or seven others were helping but there was so much stuff to move that we ended up being there 4.5 hours. They weren't even done then. Some stuff wasn't packed and there weren't enough boxes for it anyway so we just kinda threw it in trash bags and called it good. It was worth it though because Amy came to help for a bit so we got to do some service with her.
She's so willing to serve and wants so badly for her sons to have what she now has. We were able to teach them shortly after the move. It's amazing to me how she's already beginning to teach her children the Gospel. They both came to church yesterday too which was great. They were a bit shy but hopefully they'll open up about what they're feeling so we can not only set a baptismal date with them, but have them set it with confidence. Tomi and Oyin are also progressing well towards their baptism on Sept. 17th. There's not a whole lot else to tell you there.
Wow, that looks like a long email... Oh well, hope you enjoy it!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
It's hard to believe that as of this Thursday I'll have been in Texas for an entire year! And what a year it's been: pet kangaroos, investigators running away, investigators almost killing each other, investigators running away again, investigators almost killing us... Oh, and Joe, Chris, and Amy getting baptized. It just goes on and on! Last night I was looking at a photo of my MTC district from exactly a year ago and we all look so green! Our shirts are still perfectly white, our faces have the greenie fire look, and we have no idea what's coming. It's been good though. I'm sure we've all experienced things that have changed us for the better with more to come of course.
Well, enough of the cheesy retrospect. This week was quite eventful actually. We got a couple more Bible referrals which we contacted on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was our first zone conference with President Whitney which was a bit of a weird concept at first. It was done a little differently but turned out to be pretty spiritual anyway. I think what I got most out of it was that we should be teaching members more so that we can give them the spiritual experiences they need to share the Gospel. We had a meeting with all our ward councils and the stake president afterward. The stake president shared something that was pretty interesting. He said, "Sometimes people aren't ready for the meat of the Gospel (the doctrine of Christ) so they need an appetizer (the fruit of Gospel)." As missionaries, all we have to offer is the meat so it's the members responsibility to share the fruit, or the blessings that the gospel has brought them. Here's how:
-use gospel language in everyday conversation; spark interest.
-talk about the fruits of the gospel (what it does for you and what it can do for them)
-go where the non-members are. Community events, boards, etc.
-ask them to serve with you
-if religion comes up, ask them what questions they have about God and religion
Apparently only 9% of people on average become interested in the church because of the doctrine so it's stuff like this that leads to the other 91%. Our stake president also said he believes that much of the success had as far as baptisms is due to the efforts of those who don't see the success. So, even if the person you're working with doesn't ever accept the Gospel, your efforts lead to others accepting it. I'm pretty confident in that too because the work here in Denton is moving faster than I could ever make it.
Saturday was also pretty awesome, though pretty exhausting. We started the day by helping a lady in the ward move to another apartment within her complex. About six or seven others were helping but there was so much stuff to move that we ended up being there 4.5 hours. They weren't even done then. Some stuff wasn't packed and there weren't enough boxes for it anyway so we just kinda threw it in trash bags and called it good. It was worth it though because Amy came to help for a bit so we got to do some service with her.
She's so willing to serve and wants so badly for her sons to have what she now has. We were able to teach them shortly after the move. It's amazing to me how she's already beginning to teach her children the Gospel. They both came to church yesterday too which was great. They were a bit shy but hopefully they'll open up about what they're feeling so we can not only set a baptismal date with them, but have them set it with confidence. Tomi and Oyin are also progressing well towards their baptism on Sept. 17th. There's not a whole lot else to tell you there.
Wow, that looks like a long email... Oh well, hope you enjoy it!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Saturday, August 27, 2016
August 22, 2016
Hello Family!
It's been a pretty great week. For one, it finally cooled down a bit into the 80s and we actually got some rain. It's super weird for Texas in the summer but I'm not going to complain. It's nice to not feel like an ice cream cone in Hades all day.
Anyway, the work has been going well too of course. We set a date with Tomi and Oyin for September 17th like we were hoping and had another Sister in the ward tell us that she wants her 11 year old daughter baptized. She's only here every second weekend so it'll be a couple months but again, I'm not complaining! We also had a few good contacts this week that will hopefully become new investigators. One of them--an older lady--tried to give us $40 for a Book of Mormon. It was tempting... We said no however. She then told us "Well, you're obviously not [insert her current church membership] if you don't take money!" She said it, not us!
Most importantly, Amy got baptized this week! I was getting nervous and stressed about all the logistics but it turned out great and went forward without any setbacks. That is not normal. I was asked to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and when I got up there all I had was a few points and some scriptures but the spirit just totally took over. I still worry a bit when I don't have everything written out but faith precedes the miracle as they say. Amy had no preferences about who should confirm her so I half volunteered, half was told to do it during ward council. Apparently Amy rethought about it and wanted me to do it anyway, so that worked out. That was a neat experience and definitely a first for me. Again, the spirit just takes over and you start saying things that you never even considered before. You can probably tell that I learned a ton about the Holy Ghost this weekend. It's not too often you get to speak by the Holy Ghost on the Gift of the Holy Ghost and then give somebody the Gift of the Holy Ghost, blessing them by the Holy Ghost.
That's been my week in a nutshell. Well, other than all the Bible referrals. Texans like free Bibles, especially after terrorist attacks and apparently at the beginning of the semester. Fun fact. Have a great week and remember to read your Book of Mormon because there's old ladies out there who would pay big money to have that opportunity!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
It's been a pretty great week. For one, it finally cooled down a bit into the 80s and we actually got some rain. It's super weird for Texas in the summer but I'm not going to complain. It's nice to not feel like an ice cream cone in Hades all day.
Anyway, the work has been going well too of course. We set a date with Tomi and Oyin for September 17th like we were hoping and had another Sister in the ward tell us that she wants her 11 year old daughter baptized. She's only here every second weekend so it'll be a couple months but again, I'm not complaining! We also had a few good contacts this week that will hopefully become new investigators. One of them--an older lady--tried to give us $40 for a Book of Mormon. It was tempting... We said no however. She then told us "Well, you're obviously not [insert her current church membership] if you don't take money!" She said it, not us!
Most importantly, Amy got baptized this week! I was getting nervous and stressed about all the logistics but it turned out great and went forward without any setbacks. That is not normal. I was asked to give the talk on the Holy Ghost and when I got up there all I had was a few points and some scriptures but the spirit just totally took over. I still worry a bit when I don't have everything written out but faith precedes the miracle as they say. Amy had no preferences about who should confirm her so I half volunteered, half was told to do it during ward council. Apparently Amy rethought about it and wanted me to do it anyway, so that worked out. That was a neat experience and definitely a first for me. Again, the spirit just takes over and you start saying things that you never even considered before. You can probably tell that I learned a ton about the Holy Ghost this weekend. It's not too often you get to speak by the Holy Ghost on the Gift of the Holy Ghost and then give somebody the Gift of the Holy Ghost, blessing them by the Holy Ghost.
That's been my week in a nutshell. Well, other than all the Bible referrals. Texans like free Bibles, especially after terrorist attacks and apparently at the beginning of the semester. Fun fact. Have a great week and remember to read your Book of Mormon because there's old ladies out there who would pay big money to have that opportunity!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
August 15, 2016
Dear Family,
As you might expect, it was another crazy week. Getting a new missionary is always a little stressful. Actually, a lot. A lot stressful. Anyway, my new companion is Elder Cockrell from Salmon, Idaho. He was pretty quiet at first but seems to be more talkative now.
We've already had some pretty crazy times together. On Saturday we started the day by vacuuming up cat hair for a less-active then discovered a flat tire. Yep, third area in a row where I've gotten a screw or nail in a tire. As a side note, Saginaw just got sisters so that may turn into another streak. Back to the tire though. Obviously I'm well acquainted with this process so I immediately called the vehicle coordinator and headed to Firestone. We then got lunch down the street, came back, and drove to the church just in time for Amy's baptismal interview. Time worked like magic! She passed, by the way.
Not that I doubted it because she's awesome.
That same day we taught Tomi and Oyin about the Plan of Salvation at our ward mission leader's house. Let me tell you, getting that set up was an adventure and a half. The lesson went well though. This week we're hoping to reset a baptism date with them for September 17th.
I'm now realizing that not a whole lot actually happened that is worth talking about. It still felt like a crazy week though.
I did have some interesting studies this week. I finished the Book of Mormon recently so I've been studying the New Testament alongside the institute manual. This week I was mostly reading about Christ's last instruction to the Apostles before and after he enters Jerusalem.
In Matthew 16:20, after giving the keys of the kingdom to them, Christ tells the Apostles to "tell no man that he [is] Jesus the Christ" which I found a little ironic at first. That's exactly their job right? In the institute manual it explains that the more people were told that Jesus was the Christ the more they would want to kill Him. The time wasn't right for that yet so that's why the Apostles were instructed not to tell anyone. That's also the reason Christ didn't go into Jerusalem until near the end of His life; He knew the people would be angry with Him and His teachings to the point that it would take hardly any time at all for them to crucify Him. Knowing this, Christ's entrance into Jerusalem in Matthew 21 becomes super profound and powerful.
I think we're all familiar with the story, He rides in on a donkey and all the people lay their garments and tree branches before him. This of course was done to show His royalty. What comes next blew my mind though. As Christ entered, the people "cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Hosanna means "save us" or "save now." The people plead for safety from sin and affliction at the exact moment Christ was being lead into the city where He knew he would have to perform the single act that could provide that for them. Definitely worth a read.
Take care this week and try not to get any screws or nails in your tires!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
As you might expect, it was another crazy week. Getting a new missionary is always a little stressful. Actually, a lot. A lot stressful. Anyway, my new companion is Elder Cockrell from Salmon, Idaho. He was pretty quiet at first but seems to be more talkative now.
We've already had some pretty crazy times together. On Saturday we started the day by vacuuming up cat hair for a less-active then discovered a flat tire. Yep, third area in a row where I've gotten a screw or nail in a tire. As a side note, Saginaw just got sisters so that may turn into another streak. Back to the tire though. Obviously I'm well acquainted with this process so I immediately called the vehicle coordinator and headed to Firestone. We then got lunch down the street, came back, and drove to the church just in time for Amy's baptismal interview. Time worked like magic! She passed, by the way.
Not that I doubted it because she's awesome.
That same day we taught Tomi and Oyin about the Plan of Salvation at our ward mission leader's house. Let me tell you, getting that set up was an adventure and a half. The lesson went well though. This week we're hoping to reset a baptism date with them for September 17th.
I'm now realizing that not a whole lot actually happened that is worth talking about. It still felt like a crazy week though.
I did have some interesting studies this week. I finished the Book of Mormon recently so I've been studying the New Testament alongside the institute manual. This week I was mostly reading about Christ's last instruction to the Apostles before and after he enters Jerusalem.
In Matthew 16:20, after giving the keys of the kingdom to them, Christ tells the Apostles to "tell no man that he [is] Jesus the Christ" which I found a little ironic at first. That's exactly their job right? In the institute manual it explains that the more people were told that Jesus was the Christ the more they would want to kill Him. The time wasn't right for that yet so that's why the Apostles were instructed not to tell anyone. That's also the reason Christ didn't go into Jerusalem until near the end of His life; He knew the people would be angry with Him and His teachings to the point that it would take hardly any time at all for them to crucify Him. Knowing this, Christ's entrance into Jerusalem in Matthew 21 becomes super profound and powerful.
I think we're all familiar with the story, He rides in on a donkey and all the people lay their garments and tree branches before him. This of course was done to show His royalty. What comes next blew my mind though. As Christ entered, the people "cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Hosanna means "save us" or "save now." The people plead for safety from sin and affliction at the exact moment Christ was being lead into the city where He knew he would have to perform the single act that could provide that for them. Definitely worth a read.
Take care this week and try not to get any screws or nails in your tires!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Friday, August 19, 2016
August 8, 2016
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)
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)
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