Week 7: Of course we have pamphlets!

This week has been an incredible week! Even though we had both baptisms fall through we ended up rescheduling one of them for this week and there is no canceling this one! This girl is absolutely incredible. She has one of the strongest testimonies and it has grown so much in the past 8 weeks that she has been meeting with the elders. She actually referred herself online! One incredible thing that she shared with us is that she wants to wait a year to be able to go through the temple and the second that is done she wants to serve a mission! It was incredible to meet and teach her!

We had Greenie Follow up this week in Edmund. It was one of the coolest training meetings that I have been to. I learned that my personality type is expressive!

Greenie Follow Up Training

(Elder McMinn is in the back row by the mission president)

During the training, we had an earthquake and it was pretty strong. It shook the church building but it didn't phase my mission president. He just paused while it happened then continued talking. I'll be honest, I was a little scared when it happened.

This week I have seen quite a bit of miracles! One of the most incredible ones happened yesterday. After church, we had planned that morning that we were going to visit some less active members and go knock some doors. Two seconds before we were about to head out the door, my companion and I had the impression that we needed to go visit some specific people instead. Obviously, that is what we did. We went and visited the first two and there was no answer at either home. The next house we planned to visit someone actually answered  the door. It was super cool to visit with him. He told us, "Hey, I'm kinda curious about what your church believes, do you have any pamphlets or something that I can read?" We are missionaries, of course we have pamphlets! He then told us that he wants to come to church with us next week! As we left his house I was thinking that we had done our job and that is where the Lord wanted us to be. It absolutely was but we still had one more house to visit. The next house that we went to was one that we have knocked 6 times this week but nobody answered all week. I was really hoping that somebody would answer this time. The second we knocked, the door swung open. The guy that we met is named JT. We had met his wife, who is a member of the church, two weeks before but JT was out of town for business. We had an incredible conversation with him and got to know him really well. It turns out that he has read/listened to the Book of Mormon three times through and is working on the 4th time. He loves it and says he gets a special feeling as he reads it. He says that it is the only book that he has read that does that to him. As we kept talking to him, he expressed his desire to be baptized and sealed to his wife!!! I got so pumped at that moment that I had the largest smile on my face. I don't think that smile left the whole night! This week has been incredible. I love it here!

He might need some cooking lessons!

So I didn't realize that I hadn't taken any pictures all week until last night so I took a picture of me with my toaster strudel that was sitting in the over for over an hour while we played Ticket to Ride with the other elders and I completely forgot about it! Then my companion and I had a photo shoot this morning with Miley the Malibu. (Do you see what I did there, because of the song...) I think that I'm pretty clever! (Oh dear....)

Love,
Elder McMinn

 Miley the Malibu

Get on your knees and pray. Then get on your feet and work.

- President Gordon B. Hinckley

Week 6: Two Baptisms

My week has been an interesting week. All the worries, concerns, and problems that I had bottled up the first week are now being released and I have fully been overwhelmed. I knew it was going to happen at some point but I didn't think it would happen all at once. Thank goodness for the incredible zone leaders that I have and the assistants to the president that I have been coming close with. The one thing that has not wavered for me is the truth and validity of the church and THE Book of Mormon. I have gained such a powerful testimony of it these past few weeks and it has really helped me bring others unto Jesus Christ. We have tow baptisms planned this week. I am super nervous because it obviously is my first time but also every time I think about it I get so happy! I am so excited for the two being baptized and you can really see the true desire that they have to be baptized and become part of the church! We have a group of about 12 people that my companion and I are teaching. They are all, for the most part, progressing and it has been one of the most wonderful things ever to see how the spirit has worked in these people and the truth has been revealed to them through the Holy Ghost. 

P-day fun!

I have had some incredible P-days. Last week, my companion and I and the Elders from the OKC 2nd Ward all took a trip up to Chesapeake Arena where the Thunder play. We wandered on the outside of it for a while. Then we went to the top of the tallest building in all of Oklahoma. The Devon Tower. On the 49th floor there is a restaurant called Vast. During the lunch hours it is an "upscale buffet." The food there was incredible and it really wasn't too expensive. The view from the top was incredible and you could really see how flat Oklahoma actually is. That was one of the coolest day that I have had. This week we decided to try bowling out. I haven't bowled in forever so this is going to be interesting.

 A view of Oklahoma from the Vast restaurant.

 

I haven't gotten a haircut yet but in about 3 hours we are going over to an investigators house where he will be giving us free haircuts so I can't complain about that. Well I guess we will have to see if that statement is true after I get my haircut. The members out here are the best anywhere. There is not one night htat we have had that a member hasn't had us over for dinner or taken us out for the meal. The only thing I have to worry about when it comes to meals is if I have enough Cocoa Pebbles and do I have enough salad and dinosaur nuggets. The members are so willing to help out the missionary work. We have a list of about a dozen members who want to come to lessons with us and about a dozen more that want us to bring investigators over to their houses and give lessons there. As you can tell I love it out here in Oklahoma and I am so excited for another week!

We have a Sooner fan!

Sometimes we can learn, study, and know and sometimes we have to believe, trust, and hope! 

-Elder M. Russell Ballard

Week 5: A Trip to the Temple too!

 Elder McMinn and Elder Bowman

This week has been a really good week. I was able to extend my first baptismal invitation and the light and happiness that came into my investigators eyes was absolutely incredible. You can tell that she has had it confirmed to her that all of our teachings have been true. I was able to go to the temple this week too. I didn't participate  in any ordinances but I was able to go and watch two new converts participate in baptisms for the first time. 

Elder McMinn and Elder Knight

That same day I went on exchanges with my Zone Leader Elder Knight. He is one of the nicest guys that I have ever met. He has been out 23 months and shared some really incredible insight that helped me this week. After the temple we went to South Oklahoma City which is primarily an Hispanic area. Elder Knight is a Spanish missionary. So as we were going around looking for people I spent most of the day trying to pick up on all of the Spanish words that I could. I was able to start a conversation then Elder Knight would do all of the teaching of the doctrine while I would sit there and nod. It makes me wish that I was more willing to learn a language because that was a lot of fun.

This week has been a good one and nothing too seriously crazy happened but I was able to notice the Spirit directing me at all times which has been incredible for me. One month down. Only 23 more to go.

My favorite scripture this week is Alma 32:27.

But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let his desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

"Above all, never lose faith in your Father in Heaven who loves you more than you can comprehend."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Week 4: Welcome to Moore, Oklahoma

This week has been absolutely incredible. I love it here. It is hard work but it is good work. Everyone here is so loving and even if they aren't part of the LDS faith they will still make sure that I have enough water to help me get through the day. A lot of people here love to have conversations and love to have us inside but not very many are extremely in tune with the message that we have to share to them. They are extremely respectful but don't want to hear that part so it's a little tricky there. I have already run into two people who wanted to bible bash but my companion and I found ways to avoid that situation. 

Kyle's district 

My companion is Elder Bowman from Rigby, Idaho. He says that he has been into Barrie's a lot so there is a possibility that I could have run into him before we came here. I really like him. He is nice and hardworking. Knocking door to door here is not effective so we try to talk to as many people as we can at parks and on the streets. I am in the Moore 1st ward and it is an area that is 7 miles long and 3 miles wide. We bike everywhere we go so I am dead everyday when we come home. I haven't taught very many lessons but we have had a lot of at the door discussions. We ended up having 5 investigators come to church. It was crazy to see that. I actually got up and bore my testimony during sacrament meeting too. 

Welcome to Moore, Oklahoma

The apartment that I am staying at is one of the best in the mission. Every night is filled with a dinner at a members house and if it isn't the family will give us money for dinner so this whole month I don't have to worry about dinner. The people that we meet on the streets out here are so nice too. Yesterday a member of the ward brought my companion and I over to a house of a woman who is investigating. The thing is she only spoke Spanish so my companion and I just sat there smiling and nodding. 

Pizza Night

The night of the big storm I went to bed at 10 and slept all the way through it. I guess it was a really cool lightning storm. Do you remember the giant tornado that hit Oklahoma back in 2013? Yeah that is Moore, Oklahoma. The apartment complex that I stay at is only 1/2 a mile from the elementary school that was hit. 

It is not what I expected because it is so flat and the dirt is so red. The humidity isn't really a bother because the temperatures have actually been very comfortable. 

I have met a lot of interesting people out here. The most interesting is a man who has been in and out of prison so many times. This man used to be a member of the Mexican Drug Cartel. While he was incarcerated, he got a hold of the bible and Book of Mormon and has a lot of questions about the two books. The thing is he doesn't really care to hear our discussions. He wants us to pray for him and to bring him over a pamphlet on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For some strange reason I feel like I have met this man before and it is really bothering me because I know for a fact I haven't. We have had a few other discussions but nothing that is truly progressing. I have been able to feel my testimony grow and I have been able to notice how the Holy Ghost has been guiding me to safety and also leading me to certain people. 

The Lord will reward and richly bless you as you humbly and prayerfully serve him. More happiness awaits you than you have ever experienced as you labor among his children.

- Preach My Gospel

Week 3: Oklahoma

Kyle flew out to Oklahoma yesterday. We got to talk to him for a few minutes before he left. He absolutely loved the MTC experience. He had a great companion and they worked hard together. He is hoping he and Elder Riley will get the opportunity to serve together in Oklahoma too.

He emailed yesterday to let us know that he arrived safely. He flew out with 27 missionaries. That is a big group! He loves the missionaries he will be serving with and his new mission president and his family. We have heard wonderful things about President and Sister Mansell. They fed them pizza, helped them to get settled and start to feel at home.

We won't know for sure where he is serving until we hear from him on his next P-day which Monday but we are excited to see where he is going.

 President and Sister Mansell with Elder McMinn

27 new missionaries in Oklahoma

Don't worry about being homesick. Don't worry about being new. Don't worry about the language. None of that matters. God loves you. This is the truth. You can do it. Start fast. Run hard. You can rest later! 
- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland