Dear Family,
Well, that all happened fast. I mentioned last week that I'd be emergency transferred in the next few days probably. President Whitney told me it would be at least until Tuesday before him and the assistants could figure out all the logistics but sure enough I got a call at about 6:00pm. He told me I'd be going to Fort Worth 8th with Elder Arndt (if I would've written down a guess, that would've been it so that's cool) and that his assistants would get back with me on when that would happen in the next day or two. Since it was official I went to tell one of our Ward Mission Leaders I'd be leaving sometime during the week. While there, the assistants called and asked if I could be ready to leave at 11:30 the next day! I told them I could then went back to the apartment to pack frantically.
I suppose you probably want to know a bit about my new area. It's definitely one of the more interesting areas I've been in since it covers downtown and pretty much most of Fort Worth. I'm definitely not in suburbia anymore. It makes for some interesting views driving around all day. I actually enjoy it quite a bit. Probably because I'm not the one driving right now but hey. The traffic was especially bad this week because of the stock show too.
Most of the work here right now is contacting bible referrals. We get one or two a day it seems and when I got into the area we had sixty or so that weren't contacted. Elder Arndt and his old companion were whitewashed in at the beginning of the transfer so they had all this kinda plopped in their laps and now I do! The difficult part is trying to get everyone contacted without going over our mile limit. It takes a lot of planning and making people work around our schedule. They're getting a free Bible though so it should be all good.
The people in general are a lot poorer and more diverse than in Heritage. Nothing against either area, it's just true. The culture is just overall different. My first meal in the area was spaghetti and cornbread which I didn't mind at all. It was delicious just not a meal I think people would think of in Heritage.
Anyway, it's been fun. I'll tell more funny stories and hopefully send some pictures next week. For now, I have to go to the zoo since it's in my zone again. Love ya!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
P.S. I wrote this 5 hours ago and just got wifi. Also, I'm sitting in a hospital waiting to give someone a blessing. Life is crazy.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Monday, February 6, 2017
January 30, 2017
Dear Family,
Crazy
week to say the least. I'm sure you've heard about the new key
indicators and schedule. After thinking about it a lot it seems to be a
step in the right direction. I can't tell you how many times I've heard
of missionaries just doing things so they can count a lot of lessons or
something. As for the rest of the week, I'm just going to copy and paste
my journal entry that I've been working on all week.
It's been a couple of those days again. Wednesday was transfers and half my district finished their missions. I especially had gotten close to Elder Rarotoga and Elder Reich so it was super tough to see them leave. Overall, I felt that my mission this transfer has as much to do with my companion as it does my area and that the Lord is pleased with me.
It's been a couple of those days again. Wednesday was transfers and half my district finished their missions. I especially had gotten close to Elder Rarotoga and Elder Reich so it was super tough to see them leave. Overall, I felt that my mission this transfer has as much to do with my companion as it does my area and that the Lord is pleased with me.
Thanks for all the prayers! Love ya'll!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Thursday, February 2, 2017
January 23, 2017
Dear Family,
Well, probably the toughest transfer of my mission is coming to a close... aaand I'm training again. How do I keep ending up agreeing to this? Curse you submissiveness! It'll only be for a transfer this time though because the Elder is already a transfer into his mission. His name is Elder Peck and he'll be coming to my current area. Just to clarify, Elder Rarotoga is indeed going home this week along with two others in the district. Actually, the only missionaries leaving our zone this transfer are going home. There's only one way out! Kidding of course.
You would think that I'd be used to training by now but it freaks me out every time. I could hardly sleep last night worrying about the area and Elder Peck. It's really hard to describe. I guess I've survived everything in my mission so far, so I'll most likely survive this too. Plus, maybe some greenie fire is what the area needs. We'll have to see what happens I suppose.
I really have nothing to report teaching-wise for this week. We're still working with members, trying to help them with their missionary work. I can see slow and steady improvement though. Timber Creek almost has a Ward Mission Plan put together so that should get things moving a little. Hopefully I'll have happy news for everyone soon. Until then I'll have to just make the most of what the Lord is giving me. There must be something I'm supposed to be learning.
Take care! Thank you for all your support and prayers!
Love,
Elder O'Brien
Well, probably the toughest transfer of my mission is coming to a close... aaand I'm training again. How do I keep ending up agreeing to this? Curse you submissiveness! It'll only be for a transfer this time though because the Elder is already a transfer into his mission. His name is Elder Peck and he'll be coming to my current area. Just to clarify, Elder Rarotoga is indeed going home this week along with two others in the district. Actually, the only missionaries leaving our zone this transfer are going home. There's only one way out! Kidding of course.
You would think that I'd be used to training by now but it freaks me out every time. I could hardly sleep last night worrying about the area and Elder Peck. It's really hard to describe. I guess I've survived everything in my mission so far, so I'll most likely survive this too. Plus, maybe some greenie fire is what the area needs. We'll have to see what happens I suppose.
I really have nothing to report teaching-wise for this week. We're still working with members, trying to help them with their missionary work. I can see slow and steady improvement though. Timber Creek almost has a Ward Mission Plan put together so that should get things moving a little. Hopefully I'll have happy news for everyone soon. Until then I'll have to just make the most of what the Lord is giving me. There must be something I'm supposed to be learning.
Take care! Thank you for all your support and prayers!
Love,
Elder O'Brien
Monday, January 30, 2017
January 16, 2017
Dearest Family,
We actually had some good stuff going on in the area this week. In Timber Creek we got to meet with our new ward mission leader and get a plan going. He's really awesome so hopefully we can get the work moving a little more with his help. In Heritage we finally got to teach a couple of less-actives that we haven't been able to contact in a while. Unfortunately that lady we taught last week has apparently been avoiding the friend that referred her. We talked to her briefly on Friday while we were waiting for our ride to dinner but I guess the friend hasn't had contact. We'll give it some time, she might come around.
In other news, there is a new family, the Sheens, that moved into Timber Creek last week. You know where they're from? West Lethbridge! Actually it's just the husband right now because the wife is about to have a baby and that's a lot cheaper to do in Canada. Anyway, we met him yesterday when the family we had dinner with invited him over as well. It was like two worlds colliding! I would have sworn up and down that the Canadian accent isn't a thing before yesterday, but he had one. Even said "eh" a couple times. Don't tell him I said that... Also, fun fact, he said it felt colder here than in Canada the day he moved in.
The highlight of my week, even with meeting another Canadian, was probably going to the temple on Tuesday. It had been eight months which is way too long, so it was a much needed trip and everything just fell into place to go. A senior couple from my district in Denton and a few other missionaries were also in the session which was cool. The session itself was also super awesome of course. I've been studying the creation and fall a lot the last few months so light bulbs were going off all over the place in my head. Both those make for some interesting symbolism. The overall impression I got from the session though was that I just need remember who I am and answer to the call. I think the same is true for all of us.
Have a good week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
We actually had some good stuff going on in the area this week. In Timber Creek we got to meet with our new ward mission leader and get a plan going. He's really awesome so hopefully we can get the work moving a little more with his help. In Heritage we finally got to teach a couple of less-actives that we haven't been able to contact in a while. Unfortunately that lady we taught last week has apparently been avoiding the friend that referred her. We talked to her briefly on Friday while we were waiting for our ride to dinner but I guess the friend hasn't had contact. We'll give it some time, she might come around.
In other news, there is a new family, the Sheens, that moved into Timber Creek last week. You know where they're from? West Lethbridge! Actually it's just the husband right now because the wife is about to have a baby and that's a lot cheaper to do in Canada. Anyway, we met him yesterday when the family we had dinner with invited him over as well. It was like two worlds colliding! I would have sworn up and down that the Canadian accent isn't a thing before yesterday, but he had one. Even said "eh" a couple times. Don't tell him I said that... Also, fun fact, he said it felt colder here than in Canada the day he moved in.
The highlight of my week, even with meeting another Canadian, was probably going to the temple on Tuesday. It had been eight months which is way too long, so it was a much needed trip and everything just fell into place to go. A senior couple from my district in Denton and a few other missionaries were also in the session which was cool. The session itself was also super awesome of course. I've been studying the creation and fall a lot the last few months so light bulbs were going off all over the place in my head. Both those make for some interesting symbolism. The overall impression I got from the session though was that I just need remember who I am and answer to the call. I think the same is true for all of us.
Have a good week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Friday, January 20, 2017
January 9, 2017
Dear Family,
Things actually sort of started to get moving in the area this week. The first half of the week was mostly talking to random, uninterested potential investigators in our area book. On Friday though a member from another Stake called us and said she set up an appointment for us with one of her friends. We taught her on Saturday and it turned out to be a pretty decent lesson. She has a couple doctrinal concerns to work through but has a lot of potential otherwise.
We also got a new ward mission leader in Timber Creek yesterday. He's a pretty awesome guy so I'm excited to work with him. The ward fast in Heritage went well from what I heard. I went to the other ward yesterday but Elder Rarotoga said there were a couple of good testimonies about missionary work. Hopefully that continues and we can get people thinking about it more.
As you saw, it was rather chilly this week. Let me just say that you get used to Texas weather fast so when cold first hits, your face is like "what is this sensation? This is not normal." It also doesn't help when your furnace breaks in the middle of the night. Yep, that was fun. Luckily it got fixed before we went to bed the next night. I'll send some pics of the snow just to prove it happened.
I totally forgot! This week we had interviews with President and Sister Whitney was here too. Sister Whitney, me and a couple other missionaries were talking in the hallway and Sister Whitney mentioned that there was a baptism on Saturday in Denton 5th. I got excited and asked who and she told me it was a young man named Rocket. Here's the story: Back during my first transfer with Elder Cockrell we had a dinner with a family and the teenage daughter told us she felt strongly that this was the school year she was going to get someone baptized. A few weeks later she brought Rocket to church and eventually to Amy's son's baptism. We later heard that Rocket basically thought Mormons were a cult and all that and had no belief in God. He kept coming to church for the couple weeks before I left Denton though and we'd just talk to him a bit here and there. That's pretty much all it was on our end. I guess he's baptized now though. Cool.
Have a good week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien
Chris' snow
Things actually sort of started to get moving in the area this week. The first half of the week was mostly talking to random, uninterested potential investigators in our area book. On Friday though a member from another Stake called us and said she set up an appointment for us with one of her friends. We taught her on Saturday and it turned out to be a pretty decent lesson. She has a couple doctrinal concerns to work through but has a lot of potential otherwise.
We also got a new ward mission leader in Timber Creek yesterday. He's a pretty awesome guy so I'm excited to work with him. The ward fast in Heritage went well from what I heard. I went to the other ward yesterday but Elder Rarotoga said there were a couple of good testimonies about missionary work. Hopefully that continues and we can get people thinking about it more.
As you saw, it was rather chilly this week. Let me just say that you get used to Texas weather fast so when cold first hits, your face is like "what is this sensation? This is not normal." It also doesn't help when your furnace breaks in the middle of the night. Yep, that was fun. Luckily it got fixed before we went to bed the next night. I'll send some pics of the snow just to prove it happened.
I totally forgot! This week we had interviews with President and Sister Whitney was here too. Sister Whitney, me and a couple other missionaries were talking in the hallway and Sister Whitney mentioned that there was a baptism on Saturday in Denton 5th. I got excited and asked who and she told me it was a young man named Rocket. Here's the story: Back during my first transfer with Elder Cockrell we had a dinner with a family and the teenage daughter told us she felt strongly that this was the school year she was going to get someone baptized. A few weeks later she brought Rocket to church and eventually to Amy's son's baptism. We later heard that Rocket basically thought Mormons were a cult and all that and had no belief in God. He kept coming to church for the couple weeks before I left Denton though and we'd just talk to him a bit here and there. That's pretty much all it was on our end. I guess he's baptized now though. Cool.
Have a good week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien
Chris' snow
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
January 2, 2017
Dear Family,
Happy New Year!
Our week was nothing special again. Taught a few members, less-actives, etc. We totally forgot about New Year's Eve until about halfway through the day and then didn't really do anything different that night. I guess we did have a really good dinner, that was nice. Other than that I just woke up to fireworks at 12:15 and thought, "Cool."
Yesterday we had something interesting happen. Our Bishop in Heritage got up during the sacrament meeting announcements and called for a ward fast that we can baptize at least one person this quarter. He said "we're not fasting just for missionary experiences, we're fasting for a baptism." It was prompted partially by a mission call in the ward. A priest we know quite well was called to the New Hampshire Manchester Mission. It's right next to the Canada Halifax mission. We went over when he was opening it which was a neat experience. Anyway, back to the ward fast. I think this new year has reinvigorated the ward council a bit which is good. Now we're just waiting for the ball to get rolling. It's pretty tough right now but hopefully things begin to happen soon.
Sorry for the short letter, but that's all I've got. Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Happy New Year!
Our week was nothing special again. Taught a few members, less-actives, etc. We totally forgot about New Year's Eve until about halfway through the day and then didn't really do anything different that night. I guess we did have a really good dinner, that was nice. Other than that I just woke up to fireworks at 12:15 and thought, "Cool."
Yesterday we had something interesting happen. Our Bishop in Heritage got up during the sacrament meeting announcements and called for a ward fast that we can baptize at least one person this quarter. He said "we're not fasting just for missionary experiences, we're fasting for a baptism." It was prompted partially by a mission call in the ward. A priest we know quite well was called to the New Hampshire Manchester Mission. It's right next to the Canada Halifax mission. We went over when he was opening it which was a neat experience. Anyway, back to the ward fast. I think this new year has reinvigorated the ward council a bit which is good. Now we're just waiting for the ball to get rolling. It's pretty tough right now but hopefully things begin to happen soon.
Sorry for the short letter, but that's all I've got. Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
Sunday, January 8, 2017
December 26, 2016
Dear Family,
Hope the last 24 hours have treated you well. It was awesome talking with ya'll and I'm glad you got to sort of see the Castlemains (the members who had us over) and my companion and the three Christmas trees. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful.
I did remember one thing that I didn't tell you about yesterday. We went caroling together as a district on Thursday. All of us bike Elders were trying to get a ride set up for the night but they all fell through so we ended up having to bike from place to place while the sisters drove around and waited for us at every house. Needless to say, biking and singing should not occur in sequence. One returning less-active kind of just peeked out with the door barely open but, you know, we just sang like normal. Then, at the end Elder Rarotoga went to shake his hand and the guy stuck out his left hand and said, "Sorry, there's a gun my other hand."
That's about the only thing of significance that we didn't talk about yesterday. It was a wonderful week though. The members treat us very well here which kind of gets me through the slow times. Though the amount of chocolate I received this week makes me sick to think about. The struggle... All the clothes I got for Christmas fit perfect right now but I can't promise they will in a week or two. Anyway, my love hasn't changes since yesterday! Take care!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
P.S. We are currently having a Zone Christmas party, here's a pic. Also, one from caroling.
Zone Christmas Party Caroling
Christmas Eve with Christmas Tree
Bishop's Family
Hope the last 24 hours have treated you well. It was awesome talking with ya'll and I'm glad you got to sort of see the Castlemains (the members who had us over) and my companion and the three Christmas trees. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful.
I did remember one thing that I didn't tell you about yesterday. We went caroling together as a district on Thursday. All of us bike Elders were trying to get a ride set up for the night but they all fell through so we ended up having to bike from place to place while the sisters drove around and waited for us at every house. Needless to say, biking and singing should not occur in sequence. One returning less-active kind of just peeked out with the door barely open but, you know, we just sang like normal. Then, at the end Elder Rarotoga went to shake his hand and the guy stuck out his left hand and said, "Sorry, there's a gun my other hand."
That's about the only thing of significance that we didn't talk about yesterday. It was a wonderful week though. The members treat us very well here which kind of gets me through the slow times. Though the amount of chocolate I received this week makes me sick to think about. The struggle... All the clothes I got for Christmas fit perfect right now but I can't promise they will in a week or two. Anyway, my love hasn't changes since yesterday! Take care!
Love,
Elder O'Brien (the younger)
P.S. We are currently having a Zone Christmas party, here's a pic. Also, one from caroling.
Bishop's Family
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)