Week 16: Happy Halloween

Transfers

This week has been an interesting one. We went and saw all of our recent converts and said goodbye to them since Elder Bowman is leaving. In the process we found a recent convert's boyfriend who is interested in the church. So with transfers this week I am staying in my original area and Elder Munns is coming here. The first night we were together we ran into a less active who hasn't been to church in 2 years and was baptized 4 years ago. He wants to come back to church but didn't feel ready. We told him no matter what he is ready and he will be accepted. At the end of the conversation he told us about how his fiance and him want to find a common church and the only church that he will attend is the church he was baptized into, which is our church, so he wants his fiance to take the lessons from us! The next few days were regular missionary days with walking and knocking. We actually found another less active who has not been to church in 4 years and now wants to come back. She has the strongest testimony and loves the church she just needed some motivation to come back! Bringing a less active member back is almost as exciting as a baptism!

This week we had district council and while I was out walking and talking on Wednesday we tracted into a man who was growing ghost peppers and tons of other really hot peppers. He gave me a ghost pepper and a whole Winco bag filled with peppers. I took them back to District council on Thursday and one of the Elders ate the ghost pepper. It was one of the funniest things! You could tell Elder Hales was in pain but it was still really funny. In all it was a great week.

Today is an all day p day and we are coming together as districts and having a Nerf gun war!! I am going to get pictures from that. It is going to be really fun. After the Nerf war, we are going to have a movie night and we are watching the movie The Best Two Years. 

My new companion is Elder Munns. We were in the MTC together. I am the senior companion since I am staying in my area. It is really tough to take over an area when you are only 2 transfers out and barely have an idea about what you are doing but work is actually still getting done so that is good! I don't know what i am doing half the time but "faith it until you make it" right? I have been trying to go by the Spirit as much as I can but man that is tough.

Love,

Elder McMinn

"The Lord has more in mind for you than you have in mind for yourself! You have been reserved and preserved for this time and place... The lord needs you to change the world. As you accept and follow His will for you, you will find yourself accomplishing the impossible!"

- Russell M. Nelson

Week 15: Staying in Moore!

Mountain Biking on P-day

My week has been really stellar!! It started of with the mountain biking with Tim who is in my ward and used to race mountain bikes. I loved it! So I got transfer doctrine this morning on the trail and I found out that I am staying in Moore!!!! My companion is going to be an elder who was in my MTC district.

Kyle is loving the trails.

On Tuesday we had Greenie Graduation. That is where we role play the first three lessons we teach and then combine the word of wisdom, law of chastity, and polygamy(which is talked about more than I thought would be). 

We have had a lot of opportunities to go finding and it has been a lot of fun because you run into some of the coolest people around and everyone is down to talk but it is hard to get people interested because they already have their faith. The rest of the week we have been just running around trying to keep our heads straight. Friday we had one of the most incredible lessons we have ever taught with our investigator named Rady. We taught her about the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost that you receive after you are baptized and that is something that she really desires in her life but her husband keeps holding her back and doesn't want her to join. I am trying to work with him because he loves fishing so I am trying to get a member to come fishing on a Monday hopefully to get a friend in the church. 

We had a little tornado scare on Saturday. So all we have to listen to is a little weather radio that is in our bedroom and we happen to be home at that time and our alarm goes off.... Turns out there was a tornado warning right in our area. Not 30 seconds later we get a text from our ward mission leader saying, "I'm coming to get you." Turns out there was a potential for a tornado to less than a mile from where we live. By the time we got to our ward mission leaders home, the tornado swell moved direction away from us. That was a super fun experience!! It has been such a great week. 

Elder McMinn

Those who move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out.

- President Gordon B. Hinckley

Week 14: Temple Days

This week has been such a great week. We were able to go to the temple two times. The first one was just for us because we had our interviews with president there on Monday. Then we did a session. The second time we went with a recent convert who has not been to the temple yet so we went and took her to do baptisms. It was awesome to see the happiness that she had after being in the temple and then we talked about how happy the people in the spirit world must be now that some of their work has been completed. 

Oklahoma City Temple closed on Saturday for  a year and half so Kyle was lucky enough to go twice last week.

We went to breakfast with a non-member whose son is a member. Jim took us to breakfast at a hole in the wall restaurant that was next to a private airfield. You could see all the private jets lined up by our table. 

Breakfast with Jim.

It was a busy week and we did a lot of walking and knocking again but this time we found a new investigator. She is the girlfriend of a less active member who has come back to church recently. It all started with us inviting him to come play basketball with us on Saturday morning. The miracles of church ball!

It is getting soooooo cold here! It got down into the mid 50s when I woke up... hahaha

Love,

Elder McMinn

Mountain Biking on P-day

(I am sure that Kyle is in heaven!)

"Every time you turn your hearts to God in humble prayer, on your knees, at home, in church, in private places, you experience His light. Every time you see His word and will in the scriptures, in the Book of Mormon, in everything the Lord has given us, the light grows in brightness. Every time you notice someone in need and sacrifice your own comfort to reach out in love, the light expands and swells. Every time you reject temptation and choose purity, every time you seek or extend forgiveness, every time you courageously testify of truth--through deed and through words--the light chases away darkness and attracts others who are also seeking light and truth." - President Dieter Uchtdorf

Week 13: Elder Bednar came to visit!

OK! This week has been so incredible! We had a special visitor and it was Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the 12!! He gave a 3 hour devotional to us that was so stellar!!! I had never experienced anything like that before! He had so many good things to say and I was moved so much by the Spirit. There are so many things that I would like to work on this week but it is going to take time to get it all done.

Oklahoma City Mission with Elder Bednar

This week we had 2 flash flood warnings. One was a little rain storm but the second, we got 4 inches of rain in 2 hours! We got soaked and it was super fun because we were out knocking doors. We thought about going back to the apartment but we ended up just staying out for another hour just knocking because we were already soaked and it made it a lot more fun! 

Just a little down pour!!

We aren't teaching very many people but the ones we are teaching are doing really well and it is so fun to talk to them and help them recognize the light that they can have in their lives. This week we had one of our recent converts come to a lesson with us and JT pretty much taught the whole restoration lesson on his own while he bore testimony through out the whole lesson. He is extremely solid and loves the church so much. We are working with a less active Misty and she has a dog that is a malamute and that dog is giant!!! I love it so much. The dogs name is Pebbles too, it doesn't match but it is the best dog who almost knocked me on my back when it jumped on me. 

I have noticed that I have been looking at the concerns of other people more this week than I have been looking at myself. So I ended up getting hit by a car yesterday and it was actually kind of funny because I wasn't hit hard at all but I got thrown a little bit. My first question I asked her was if she was alright and if the car was fine!!!! hahahahaha. No damage to me at all, it was a tender mercy that I was protected like I was. I tried
teaching her a lesson but she was in tears so it wasn't going well so I got her name and phone number. Good times. I hit a good milestone yesterday today. Hahaha

Elder McMinn

"Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things."

-John C. Pingree

Week 12: General Conference

This week has been a lot of finding as well. A lot of walking and knocking again but our work this week has paid off because we now have 2 investigators from tracting. A miracle that I have seen is the heart of one of the mom's of our recent convert Jasmine has been softened so much that she wants to learn more and she says she wants to join our church!! How great is that? Before Jasmine was baptized she was opposed to joining but once she saw the incredible change that her daughter has had it made her want to know more! 

Fiesta Time!

General Conference was incredible! Every question that I had coming into it was answered when I left. I have never paid as close of attention to conference as I did this time. I had 18 pages of notes that I took now I need to condense them down to maybe like 8 to 10 hahaha. It makes me wish that I had paid more attention to it in the past because it is so beneficial! One thing that I learned that opened my eyes about it was, "The Lord feels General Conference to be so important that we pass on the ordinance of the sacrament for a week!" I never thought of that but it really shows how crucial it is. Elder Anderson's talk at the end had the most powerful spirit that I had felt and I was totally locked in, especially when he quoted Elder Hales. My eyes welled up with tears. I love it! I also had to keep the tradition alive with going to get sushi after priesthood conference so I am good!!!

Keeping the sushi tradition alive!

The weather out here is so comfortable. It is around 70 and 80 most days! I found out my shoes are completely waterproof. Not in the way that I wanted to but it works. We were out  biking and were a lot of miles from our home and a flash flood happened. It was so high I loved riding in it haha. It is so great here!

Haircut!

I did end up getting a haircut! it is shorter than I have ever had it and at first I was regretting the decision but now it is slowly growing on me.

  

Elder McMinn

When we choose to have faith, we are prepared to stand in the presence of God. After the Savior's crucifixion, he appeared only to those who had been faithful in the testimony of Him while they lived in mortality, those who rejected the testimonies of the prophets could not behold the Savior's presence nor look upon His face. Our faith prepares us to be in the presence of God."

 - Robert D. Hales