Week 42: I got a brand new Tacoma

My week this week has been fun. On Monday, I got a haircut and the older lady in the picture is named Bonnie. She was the sweetest lady and we had a really good talk. By the end of the visit she wanted to get a picture with me and she also wanted to set me up with her granddaughter. Well, I only went for the picture. 

We started the week off by meeting a less active family who is really, really nice and wants to have us over for dinner. The daughters of the family aren't members either so that is going to be good. They want to have us over for a cookout. 

On Wednesday, we had another zone conference! This one was about how to help members with ministering and how we will now try to go out and minister with different partners in the ward. We are now also marking all the Book of Mormons that we pass out. We go through it spending about 15 minutes marking our favorite scriptures and then writing our testimony in them. 

Thursday we had exchanges with our district leader. I was up in Guthrie with the DL companion. We had some really good conversations with people but not much too exciting. Friday, the vehicle coordinator needed some help picking up some brand new Toyota Tacomas. He called us and asked me if I would take the lead again and lead the convoy of vehicles back to the church in Edmond. This is the 3rd time he has asked me to do this so I got pretty pumped! I got to drive a brand new truck and also got to see how the mission leaders trust me! 

On Saturday we went back up to Guthrie and had 3 sit down lessons with people and were able to share the Book of Mormon with a mom and her son.

 

This week after Zone Conference ended I had a really cool experience. So we carpooled with the sisters over to the church building and they drove. When we were about to leave, one of the sisters realized that the keys were missing. We searched everywhere!!! The chapel, the gym, and the lawn. We had no idea where they were. We ended up going to the chapel and the sister was so shaken by losing the keys. We all decided to say a group prayer. After the prayer, the sister's companion put her arm around her to give her a hug and felt something in the hood of her jacket! Somehow the keys slipped into the lining of the jacket and made their way to the hood!! I had never had an instant answer to a prayer so that was really awesome to see.  

Mission life is good!

Elder McMinn

"Because it is His Church, we as His servants will minister to the one, just as He did. We will minister in His name, with His power and authority, and with His loving kindness."

-President Russell M. Nelson

Week 41: We didn't escape

It's raining in Oklahoma!

This past Monday for our P day we went and joined the OKC zone and went to the escape rooms. Our room was an Egyptian theme. If we got out in under an hour and didn't use any clues then we would get free t-shirts. We failed at that one.

Escape Room

We went on exchanges with our zone leaders this week. I was with Elder Turner from Heber City, Utah. We ended up going to Guthrie and found a new potential named Corahn. The next morning we went out to breakfast and found this really good bagel restaurant. I had a french toast bagel.

Bagel Cafe

Elder Turner

This week was the 89er Days in Guthrie. The town was established in 1889 so they have a party around this time every year with street vendors, food trucks, and an amusement park. On Friday they have a car show. We found a potential investigator named Destiny who lives in Guthrie and works at a nursing home. She drives a brand new Camaro so obviously, I went to talk to her. There were so many people there. We had really good conversations with a lot of people.

Lake Arcadia

Saturday was the 89er Days parade, supposedly it is the largest parade in OK. On that day it dumped rain on us. It made it a lot more fun and people just laughed about the rain. We were drenched by the end of the day.

POPS

This morning we went to take pictures for the sisters in our area and ended up at a lake called Lake Arcadia! It was the coolest lake. We also stopped at a soda place called POPS. They sell all random sodas. This afternoon we are going to play volleyball and tennis.

Love, 
Elder McMinn
  

Week 40: Staying in Guthrie with a New Companion

Working hard

I have a new missionary with me. His name is Elder Mazzarelli. He is from Newport Beach California. He has been on his mission for 15 months now. 

This was a fun week. On Wednesday, we were able to go over to inactive member's home and were able to give her a blessing. After sitting down with her and getting to know her we were able to extend the invitation to have her retake the lessons to try and feel the spirit again and rekindle the fire that she once had.

Pet Chicks

We spent some time in Guthrie too. We met a woman named Brandy who we have talked to in the past. It had been a rough week for her and she may have to move. We ended up talking and walking around town with her and taught about our loving Heavenly Father. It was so awesome to see her mood of sadness change to hope and happiness.

It's not all hard work sometimes you get to play at the Park! 

We were able to have a lesson with John this week. He has a fairly agnostic belief so we were teaching him about the importance of prayer and how he is able to know truth through that. John committed to read the Book of Mormon and also to try and pray again. He too ended up coming out of the lesson a lot happier than he was when he came into it.

There is a lot happening in both wards now and it is getting me really excited! Have a great week.

Elder McMinn
  

Some things never change...we are constantly getting pictures of cars that he loves!

"We can have a positive influence on everyone with whom we come in contact with...we need to radiate the happiness we have found in the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Joanne B. Doxey

Week 39: Chicks for sale...but really they are ducks

Chicks for sale...but really they are ducks!

This was a really cool week. The first half of the week we were in our area and were able to meet with a lot of potential investigators and a few part member families so that was really good.
Thursday we had interviews with our mission president in Stillwater. Zone Conference and Interviews are my favorite part of the transfer. 

After that, we went over to Cushing Oklahoma. Our District leader is there and he is a ways away from us so we decided to split the area. Cushing is a small oil town but everyone in the small towns seem to be a tiny bit nicer. On Saturday we went up to Guthrie to see some investigators and it turns out that at the Mason Temple there, they were having their semi-annual reunion so we walked around and got to talk to a lot of people. 

We had a really cool miracle happen this week too. We were going to visit a potential investigator to set up a time to come by and teach him and his family. While we were talking to him, his neighbor, Jesus, came up to us and was like "Hey church people, Mormons right? Huh, I have been looking for a church to baptize my son into and for a church for us to attend."  My jaw dropped... It was the coolest thing ever. We are going over tonight after P-day ends to go and see Douglas and Arlene. Hopefully, it goes well. 

We have been working with a lot of less active members too. We have a meeting with a part member family on Wednesday night. The son of that family is 12 and the dad (non-member) said that he wants his son to have the priesthood. We are going over to teach him about it on Wednesday.

There is a lot going on now! I am pumped about it. So transfers are this week and I am staying in my area!!!!! I really like this place.

PS: One of the pictures explains the subject. Haha

Elder McMinn

Kneel down to pray. Step up to serve. Reach out to rescue.

-President Thomas S. Monson

Week 38: Crashing an Easter Egg Hunt

This week was really more eventful in the conclusion of the week. We went up to Guthrie one day this week because we were a little over on miles so we weren't able to drive around a lot. The day we were up there was one of the days that the Mason Lodge was having some of their large classes so we got to talk to a few of the people in that.

We biked around a lot of Edmond this week but nothing too much happened but it was still really fun. In the latter part of the week, people started coming outside more. On Saturday, in between the conference sessions, we went to Mitch Park and walked around. Turns out Edmond First Baptist Church was holding a massive easter egg hunt and we walked right in the middle of it! There weren't many people who would talk to us but we had a group of high school boy and girls that came up and had a few questions regarding "church history" and what are basic beliefs were. One of the kids asking questions was Seth and he is the preacher's son. He had really good questions and sounded sincere. We ended up giving our number out and later that day we got a phone call from Seth and he was really interested in knowing more of what we believe so we had a miny discussion over the phone and we are trying to set something up for later this week.

General Conference this week was so awesome! I am really excited for all of the changes and also with the new apostles! It was fun to hear all of their messages and how a lot of them were about increasing our own personal testimonies. I am accepting all of the challenges that they sent out and I am excited to see what happens.

For easter morning session we went to the church and watched conference and then right after we went to the Chandler family for an in between meal. It was potatoes and ham. We then booked it over to the Goodrich families home and watched conference there and then had dinner with them. It was ham and potatoes! So much Ham!!! It makes me think of Timone and Pumba from the Lion King singing the big pig song!!!! I loved this conference. It was so good and all the speakers were so good. All the changes are going to be interesting but they are going to be so beneficial!

Zone conference is so much fun. This last one was on certain topics that we get asked a lot like polygamy and deification so now we know what to study and how to respond to people! The chili here is so different, it is almost all just meat so that is really really nice! (Kyle has never loved beans in chili, in tacos, or anything but he is being a good sport and trying new things. I think that he might actually like Oklahoma chili.)

Elder McMinn

"The most important day in the history of mankind was the day when Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, won the victory over death and sin for all of God's children. And the most important day in your life and mine is the day when we learn to 'behold the man'; when we see Him for who He truly is, when we partake with all our heart and mind of His atoning power, and when with renewed enthusiasm and strength we commit to follow. May that be a day that recurs over and over and over again."

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf