Week 11: Have I Done Any Good?

 Knocking the streets of Moore

This week has been an interesting change. Not much to report on either. We have been doing a lot of door knocking and have not had the largest amount of success. My companion and I  just need to keep walking and knocking and we will eventually be able to find someone that is ready. 

Brother Elliott

A miracle I saw this week was, my companion and I were on our way to the car to drive to district council when someone came up to us and asked for a priesthood blessing. We did not know that he was a less active member until we came to church this Sunday and we say him there. It was great to see the blessing really helped turn things around and he now wants to keep coming back. 

Have a great week. 

Still out working with a sprained ankle too! hahaha

Elder McMinn

Note from Mom: So a cute couple from Shelley, Idaho who both served in the Oklahoma City Mission a few years ago recently made a trip back. They both served in Moore so that is where they wanted to visit. They ran into Kyle and his companion and even got to go on splits with him. They stopped by the house on Sunday because Kyle had sent gifts back for us. Yes, I cried knowing that they had just seen my missionary the day before but it was so good to see them and hear that he is doing well. They told us that we should be super proud of him because he is an incredible missionary. I haven't got to talk to him for 3 months but knowing that they had just seen him made me feel a little better. Thanks to the Parks for serving in Oklahoma and being great examples to our missionary. Kyle said that they were some of the best people that he has ever met!

Elder McMinn and Bowman

You may sometimes be tempted to say, "Will my influence make any difference? I am just one. Will my service affect the work that dramatically?" I testify to you that it will. You will never be able to measure your influence for good. 

-President Thomas S. Monson

Week 10: Missionary work is not easy!

This week has been a completely new change from the last transfer because of the major boundaries change that my ward had. I now don't do anything on the south side of OKC. I cover all of Moore. We had 12 investigators and less actives we were working with and then with the boundary change we have 1. These next few weeks are going to be filled with A LOT of door knocking and so many different finding activities. One thing that I learned this week is that this is not going to be easy. I knew that but I heard a quote that said "Why would this be easy for us if it was not easy for Him." by President Henry B. Eyring. Every time something gets hard and I feel I can't handle it I think of that quote and know that I can give more and work even harder. I love it out here as a missionary!

Top Golf - Longest Drive

Last week on P-Day we went to Top Golf. I'm not sure if you have heard of it but it is the coolest driving range that I have ever been to. I lost in the points category but I destroyed all the other elders in the longest drive contest and they were using drivers and I used a 5 iron. We have some of the funnest P-Day activities. This week we were going to go to the Oklahoma State Fair but it started raining so hard so sadly we are going to have to pass on that this time!

So one of our recent converts had his birthday last week on the 14th and I decided to buy him a present. His name is JT. Some of the things that he loves the most are riding motorcycles like big Harley's and then he also loves taco truck tacos. One of his favorite things to do when he rides his motorcycle is to wear the dorkiest cat shirts he can find. I hit up Walmart and found the best one I could find! This week has been so good!  I am excited for this next week!

Love,
Elder McMinn

 "If you feel a little overwhelmed, take that as a good sign. It indicates that you can sense the magnitude of the trust God has placed in you. It means that you have some small understanding of what the priesthood really is." 

- President Henry B. Eyring

Week 9: More time in Moore

If you forgot the wine...go home! (I don't think that he will be staying long!)

This week was another great week! We worked with so many great people on the south side Oklahoma City. That area includes some of the roughest parts in all of OKC so it is kind of fun to go out there and meet with a bunch of people that are super rough but when you talk to them about their love for Jesus Christ their whole personality changes to a loving and caring one. It really is great to be able to see the love in everyone out here.

So since my companion and I did such great work on the south side, the stake decided to shake up the boundaries. I now work only in Moore. No more humble south side folks but I am absolutely sure that I will be able to find people who are just as loving and have just as strong of faith as those that I previously taught.

This week I was able to have another baptism and this time, instead of being the one who did the confirmation I was the one who did the baptizing! That is the first time that I have ever done that so it was both a first for our recent convert and for me!

JT's Baptism Day

This week is going to be another change in adventures but it is definitely going to be a fun one. This week was transfer week and I found out that both my companion and I are staying in the Moore Ward! We are now going to have to work a lot on reorganization and making it efficient to work the area but it is all big farm land and homes with lots of land. I love it out here in Moore and I am so glad that I am staying!

The football out here is incredible! The whole town turns into a ghost town during football games because no one wants to miss the game at all! I want to find some place that I can buy a University of Oklahoma tie because then I can get people on my good side faster. The people are still just as incredible as ever and the members are so great!

University of Oklahoma

Love, 

Elder McMinn

The most effective missionaries always act out of love.

- Dallin H. Oaks

Week 8: Southern Hospitality is real!

Baptism Day

This week has been one of my favorite weeks so far. We started the week off with visiting a new member that has moved into the Moore 1st Ward (the best ward). It turns out that one of the sisters just married a non member a week prior to moving in and he wants to know more about the church! When we met with him the fist time he expressed to us how thankful he was for us to come over to his house and teach him. We now have a baptism date set with him for this next Saturday and it is going to be so, so, so great! I am excited for him because just in the little time that we have visited there has been a noticeable change in him and how happy he is! He has been one of the coolest guys to talk to.

We have been doing a lot of finding this week too and it is so much fun to see the different types of people that you run into here. The north part of my area is known for being a Hispanic area so I have been practicing my Spanish and no have been able to have basic conversations with a lot of people and it has been so much fun!

Southern hospitality is real too. I can't tell you how many people pull over and give us water and when we knock on doors even when they aren't interested in our message, they express how great it is for two young men to be teaching about Jesus Christ.

Tennis with the OKC missionaries

This P-day we woke up at 6:30 and played tennis for an hour and a half. Then we went and played basketball for two hours, went shopping for about an hour, then drove to Edmund to play soccer for three and a half hours. I love soccer and  every time I play with Hispanics and get totally crushed. It is still super fun. They have been teaching me more Spanish while we play too.

Oh Kyle...

I love the areas. The weeks have been going by so fast. This is my last full week before transfers happen next Wednesday. I love Oklahoma!

Courage is an 18 year old boy stepping onto an airplane and leaving for 2 years not knowing if his family will be okay without him, but knowing that they will be with him every step of the way!

We love Elder McMinn!