Week 76: Merry Christmas!

We celebrate at Christmas -- not only that Christ was born but that He lived.

-Craig Christensen

Zone Conference

Lawton Teepee

Merry Christmas!

Best Christmas Present! We loved our Skype with Elder McMinn!

He looks and sounds so good! He loves Lawton and the people take great care of him there. We love Oklahoma!

 Christmas Eve Fun - this family spoiled the missionaries. They had a great time eating, visiting, opening gifts, and playing games.

 

 Thanks for taking care of our missionaries!

Merry Christmas!

Elder McMinn

Week 75: I Made it to Texas!

This was a really fun week. We went out to Norman for a multi-zone all day P-day. We went HayDay and bowled for a long time. We went interviews in Norman the next day and had interviews. Interviews are always a lot of fun. I love to talk to the mission president. This week we had transfer calls. Elder Hymer and I are staying in Lawton and Elder Turner is going home. 

We had a lot of work done in the Lawton 1st ward. It was really fun to see all that is happening in both wards. We are now only taking over Lawton 2nd ward which is going to be nice only working with one ward. It should be fun. We have a few people that are interested like Douglas, Johnathan, and the Schroeder family. It is looking good out here. I love it.

Elder McMinn

“When you do your part, the Lord adds power to your efforts.”

-Henry B. Eyring

“We cannot control all that happens to us, but we have absolute control over how we react to the changes in our lives.”

-W. Christoffer Waddell

Week 74: Snow Day

"Heavenly Father knows all about you, your strengths and your weaknesses. He knows you perfectly who you are but... He also knows who you can become and with that knowledge, he has placed you here, now -- at the exact place and time in which you can do the most good with the talents and gifts that He has given you."

-Elder Craig C. Christensen

This week we were juggling the two wards and it was a lot of fun. We had a lot of lessons and one that actually set a baptism date for January 12. Her name is Bianca. She is a drill sergeant in the army. That threw me off because before we met her I had the stereotype of a drill sergeant running through my head and so I was mentally preparing myself. We walked in and she is the nicest lady that you will ever meet. She and her cousin are shooting for a baptism date that day. We go on to Fort Sill and teach them at their home there. It is cool to be on base and teach there. 

Friday we had a snow day. It only came down an inch but there was freezing rain right after it too so the roads were terrible and everything was slippery. It felt like the town shut down with an inch of snow. It was coming down for a total of 10 hours straight... I kept track.

We visited a few other investigators and they were awesome. It was a good week for the people that we were seeing. 

I didn't take very many pictures this week so there is a few random and a sneak peak at what is going to be on our Christmas card this year....

"In happy moments, praise God. In difficult moments, seek God. In quiet moments, trust God. In every moment, thank God."

This week I was reading the stories of Ammon and his brothers. One of the best verses that came up was the one talking about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis and how they would not fight against their brethren. The Lamanites that slayed them had their hearts softened after that slayed 1,005 of them. Then the number converted after that time was greater than the number slain. It showed that our example of living the gospel can be one of the greatest tools of conversion. Also, those who became converted never fell away. Obviously, that is what everyone is striving for but now that is one of my major goals. It goes along really well with what you were talking earlier about turning my will over to God. 

"God gives us difficulties to bring out the best in us."

-Marvin J. Ashton

Elder McMinn

Week 73: Trio Missionaries

This was a really good week. We had an opportunity to teach quite a few lessons and had a few return appointments too. The people that we are focusing on are Douglas, Julius Lee, Joseph and Sarah, James and Tiffany. We are currently working both the Lawton first and second wards with one of the Elders that was in that area. We have almost the whole town to cover which is pretty fun actually. We had a few really good lessons in their ward as well and some fun referrals.

We are now in a trio until Elder Turner goes home in two weeks. It is fun being in a trio but the dynamic is really interesting as well because going to a door with 3 is kind of intimidating in my opinion. The lessons we have been teaching are going really well. We have been teaching A LOT. We have 3 lessons just tomorrow so I am pumped about that. It is cool to have so many lessons scheduled.

It was a cool week. We had a tornado watch in our area but I have not heard of anything that was even close to us. It was interesting because before dinner the sky was so green and it looked so funny but was really cool. After dinner, it was just a crazy cool lightning storm. We went and saw a really cool part member family after that too. 

Elder McMinn

"You are not alone on this journey. Your Heavenly Father knows you. Even when no one else hears you, He hears you."

-Elder Uchtdorf

Week 72: Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving was really fun. That morning we played football with the two wards here in Lawton. We had about 30 people show up and we had to sub out a lot of people but I got lucky and didn't have to sub out at all. That day we had an interesting meal. We had the turkey and all the regular things with it but with the bonus, we had fried chicken and other southern dishes. It was a fun experience. 

We did a lot of finding this week and found 3 really solid people who we set up lessons with. Johnathan, Cindy, and Julius. Julius was able to make it to church because his friend was speaking in sacrament meeting. We had two people ask if he was going to make it next week and he was so pumped to come back next week. We are working with him. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elder McMinn

“I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are the Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we ever believe it was going to be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?”

- Jeffrey R. Holland

Week 71: It's Getting Cold in Lawton!

This week was pretty fun. We went and did a little bit of knocking and trying potentials. It was a lot of fun. We had a few investigators come from it. There will be a lot of potentials that we have to go see this week so I am pumped to see where they will go. There is one family that we are going to see and they were pumped the first time around so we will see how that goes this next time.

 Light the world!

There have been a few baptisms in the area so we now have a goal for just one person in the area to be on a baptism date. We have few who are close but none that are ready yet.

For Thanksgiving this week we are going to play football with the 2 Lawton wards. Then we have 2 dinners that are set so we are all good that day. It will be another P day which will be fun. We are just going to be with other missionaries later in the day too.

The members here are so awesome and they love missionary work. We have a lot of members that want to come out and work with us that makes things really good.

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.”

-C.C. Milne

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elder McMinn

Week 70: Birthday Week and Transfers!

“You hold in your hands the happiness of more people than you can imagine”.

- Gordon B. Hinckley

McMinn and Hymer

My new area of Lawton is so awesome. It is a military town with the Fort Sill Base as part of the city. It is a fun area to be in and there is a lot of work. I am still trying to figure out the area and to see if I can get all the people and roads figured out.

My role is to get to know the members and to be with investigators at sacrament meeting. My companion goes and teaches church on Sunday on the base while I go on splits with another elder from the Lawton 1st ward. Then I go to that ward for church. We meet up again right after all the church services. It is a fun dynamic and really different but works well.

My new companion is Elder Hymer and he is from Queen Creek, AZ. He is the coolest guy. We came out of the MTC together so I am pumped to be with him.

I am splitting the area with a set of sisters and the way it works is you find, you teach. It is a free for all and the dinners are really fun. We have a few investigators but none that I could tell you about yet because I don't konw much about them because we haven't met them. Something cool about the area is that on Sundays I go to church alone while my companion goes and teaches on a military base. The base sounds awesome. He had 3 baptisms on Sunday and should have 3 more next Sunday. That doesn't count for our area but it is still awesome.

It's been a great week in Oklahoma!
Elder McMinn

“God knows you. You are His child. He loves you. Even when you think you are not lovable, He reaches out to you. This very day — every day — He reaches out to you, desiring to heal you, to lift you up, and to replace emptiness in your heart with an abiding joy. He desires to sweep away any darkness that clouds your life and fill it with sacred and brilliant light of His unending glory.”

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Sister Collier called me earlier this week to ask me for Kyle's favorite meal and treats. She took really good care of him and made him chicken pillows. He was pretty excited about that. We appreciate all of the special families that watch over and take care of our missionaries!

Birthday dinner with Kathryn (Hanks) and Greg Welch. Kathryn is Kyle's Grandma McMinn's cousin. They drove all the way from Edmond to celebrate his birthday with him. She also met Rob while he was serving in Tennessee many years ago. It was such a fun connection for them.

Birthday treats from Sister Barbara Collier while serving in Cushing. She spoiled the missionaries while they served there. 

Elder McMinn and Blocker on Kyle's birthday!

 Gifts from Sister Collier

Week 69: Happy Birthday Elder McMinn!

I know that you all heard from me on Thursday but things are going pretty well. We had a lesson with the Laws and that was so cool. We started to re-teach the lessons and had taught the restoration with an emphasis on the Bible. It was really good and we had a fun time teaching them too. They came to church as well too. We had another lady and her husband come to church and they are so awesome. They came up to us right after church was over and asked us when the next time we can come over would be.

I am getting transferred to Lawton this week and my new companion is Elder Hymer. He was my district leader when he was on UCO. I was in the MTC with him too. My new address is...

4016 SW Sunflower Ln
Lawton, OK 73505

Elder McMinn

“If we look at ourselves only through mortal eyes, we may not see ourselves as good enough. But our Heavenly Father sees us as we truly are and who we can become.”

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Week 68: Happy Halloween

The most powerful thing you can do is believe in yourself.

This past week, for our P day we ended up going down to Edmond and playing football and soccer on the UCO practice field. We had exchanges with the district leader on Tuesday so we just stayed the night there. It is fun to do missionary work on the campus because you have so many people around you and they are more willing to listen most of the time.

Back in Cushing, we have been doing a lot of knocking and have had some good opportunities to find people who are actually looking for truth. We have two people who are interested. Inetta, who is a former Jehovah Witness who no longer believes in that but is really curious about us. She had neighbors in Arkansas that were members of the church. They seemed to have planted a seed that has now started to grow 40 years later. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she was really excited about all of it. "These things just make sense and I thought it should always have worked that way." She told us after it all. Brooke Matteson committed to being baptized in our lesson this past week. She and her mom are going to pray about the day of the baptism and then get back to us on that.

One of the members in our ward got a doe this past week. We visited him when he was butchering it. He ended up giving us the heart to cook. It was really tough and chewy but didn't taste too bad. I never imagined I would eat a deer heart but I guess it is normal for other people.

Elder McMinn
  

"The purpose of the gospel is ... to make bad men good and good men better, and to change human nature."

-David O. McKay

"For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment may we choose a positive attitude."

-Thomas S. Monson

Week 67: Cushing Life

We have a good list of people that we are teaching. We were able to have a lesson with a girl named Brooke Matteson. She really understood the restoration lesson because it turns out that she had been going to primary up until the time before she turned 8. Then they had a family situation so baptism just slipped through the cracks. We are still teaching the Laws and we are going over the lessons with them again but this time we are going to be focusing on the Bible this time. 

We have been doing a lot of tracting this week. We have been trying to find a lot more people. We have been knocking a lot which actually has been a lot of fun. Cushing is a good area.

Elder McMinn

"The Lord never asks the impossible. Often the difficult, but never the impossible."

-David B. Haight

Week 66: It's Getting Cold in Oklahoma

The weather out here has been dropping. I know it as not as cold as up north but 38 is pretty cold for me. The common phrase we have heard is... "You guys have chosen a terrible day to come outside and do this." Well, we don't pick our days, so oh well.

Things have been going really well out here in Cushing. We have 9 set appointments this week and have a lot of promising new potential investigators so that is nice to work with. We have had 4 more Book of Mormon referrals but they are a good drive away so the ward has been willing to step up and help us out. I am thankful for that.

It's been another good week in Oklahoma!
Elder McMinn

Week 65: Referral Story

Ok so cool story time. We got a Book of Mormon request for a girl named Crystal Bray and she lives right next door to a part member family that we go teach every week. When we went over there Crystal wasn't home but we walked up to the yard on a dirt road and we could see two guys sitting out in lawn chairs. These were big guys with big beards so I was honestly a little intimidated walking up there but before we were close enough to talk to them one got up and grabbed two more lawn chairs for us to sit down in. Their names are Tony and Bill. We were talking to them and they have been trying so hard to find the truth and they aren't sure if their church has it. We handed Tony the one Book of Mormon we had and he had already been flipping through it and found a passage that we highlighted that caught his attention and while we were teaching about it he comes out and says... "This passage I was reading right here about children being baptized is absolutely true. I know it. I don't know how but that makes sense." Tony and Bill now want 8 Book of Mormons for their whole family and they want us to come over and talk more about our church next time we go over to visit the part members, the Laws.  

It was a good week with a tender mercy of finding some new investigators.

Elder McMinn