Week 50: A Week in Guthrie

Stuck in the mud

The weather has been half decent all week. It hasn't been too hot at all but it has been rainy for 3 days this week. Yesterday was bad. It was a total downpour. We went to go visit some new members that came into the ward with the area change and we ended up getting the car stuck.... We ended up going to the neighbor across the street and they ended up pulling us out. I wish I would have gotten a video of it but I got a few pictures so it made it fun! That was an awesome memory.

This week we spent every single day up in Guthrie. We are experimenting to see if missionaries could work there and just live up there so we went up there to see if it would be hard to work every day. It was actually really fun. Every day we just ended up tracting. I think that the shortest time that we spent knocking doors was about 2 hours. I actually do not dread knocking doors now so I am glad I got over that because there is no way that I can avoid it at all.

We were not able to have any lessons this week. All of our investigators were on vacation which actually gave us a lot of time to find people. We have quite a bit of potential investigators and now we have gotten to know our part member families a lot better and also know the less actives in the ward.

Elder McMinn

One skill that I have been told that I have is the ability to start a conversation out of nothing. I am pretty happy with that. It makes it a fun challenge sometimes.

I went on an exchange with the assistants to the president and they are awesome! It was fun. 

In contrasts to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.

Dallin H. Oaks

When we put God first all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. 

Ezra Taft Benson

Week 49: Elder Pearson visits and more area to cover

This was an awesome week! On Wednesday we had Elder Pearson come to our mission and do a mission tour. He and his wife gave an incredible training and it was so great to have them in Oklahoma. They taught us how we can plant seeds and then help nourish them to make them grow. He also talked about how we must be positive and work diligently because we will never have a time in our life like this again.

Friday we had an awesome lesson with Irene. We hadn't met with her in a while and she has been reading the Book of Mormon so we answered a lot of questions that she had. We also extended the invitation be baptized. She was so happy and excited that she would have the opportunity. She wants to be baptized but she also wants to talk to her husband and see what he thinks because she wants the whole family to be involved. We will meet with her again on Friday!

We did a lot of tracting this week and have a few potentials that we can come back and see and things are really looking up in our area.

Yesterday Elder Pearson was in charge of some realignments in the stake and now we have a massive area to cover but it is going to be great. We already have a lunch planned with a part member family tomorrow and we will see how that goes.

On Saturday I went to lunch with JT and his wife, Kristen. It was so awesome to see him again and to see that he is doing awesome. He still loves going to church after his baptism about 8 months ago.

Elder McMinn

“God will guide your footsteps if you are willing to move your feet!”

Week 48: Bike Week

This week is a really great week! I had a lot of fun just biking around. It is very fun just to see things on the bike! We were so hot and sweaty this week and I like it. I have been told that this week is mellow on the heat but it was only 94 degrees average.

We went to Topgolf on Monday for P day and that was so awesome.

This week we had a lot tracting but not much had happened so not much to report on. We came in contact with some really good part-member families and we are going to try to work with them this week and see what happens with that. We have a lesson with Irene this weekend and a lesson with Rayanna coming up too!

Rayanna has been spending the week at a friend's house but she is going to get back to us on when a good day will be to go meet her again. Irene is going to meet with us on Thursday or Friday. We were talking with the member who usually comes to a lesson with us and she thinks that it is time that we extend the baptismal invitation to Irene so we will see how that goes! I am pumped!

Elder McMinn

“If each of you will respond to the invitation to minister as Jesus does, you will be transformed, becoming ever more selfless rather than selfish. You will discover the joy that comes from ministering the Savior’s way.”

-Patrick Kearon

Week 47: Cars and Coffee ... again

 Elder McMinn

Oklahoma is getting really hot and humid. It is really weird to start walking outside and you are already breaking a sweat. This next week coming up is BIKE WEEK so the car is off limits for us. The weather has cooled down a little bit.

This week was a lot of finding. We didn't have much success through the weekdays. It was tough and hot so not many people were around. We ended up getting into a gated neighborhood and tried to talk to people there but too many people thought we were selling things so they weren't interested at all.

The weekend came and since it was the first Saturday of the month we had Cars and Coffee Show again. We had a really good potential investigator at the show. His name is Austin. We met his friend Will too. They were really awesome. Austin and his mom are looking for a new church to attend so we were at the right place at the right time! I never thought I would share the gospel at a car show. We just talked about a Ford GT!

Tire Redemption

We could possibly have a baptism of our own. We have been teaching Rayanna and I don't see her not getting baptized so we are working with her! The only trouble is that she lives 30 minutes away so that is a lot of miles but we have some ward members that are willing to help us out! There hasn't been much else happening in the investigator pool. Irene has been out of town and will be until the 8th of this month so we will see if something can happen after she gets home!

Elder McMinn

“Testimony is to know and feel. Conversion is to do and become.”

- Dallin H. Oakes

Week 46: Guthrie Round 3

Wrong address! 

This past week was really awesome! 

It was transfer week and I am staying in Guthrie (I think I already said that). 

Thursday we went to the district council and my new district is so awesome! It is all elders and they are all the coolest elders in the mission, in my opinion.

For P day we went down to Bricktown in OKC. We went to a place called Brickopolis and it was so fun. We did mini golfing and then drove up to president Mansell's house and had a barbecue there. Then we played Spikeball and ping pong. It was a really fun P day!

This week we had one lesson on Wednesday! We went to visit a potential named Rayanna who lives in Cresc

 Lacrosse at the Park

Pday Mini Golf

ent. She is 15 years old and lives with her grandma who is a member but isn't active. We went up to visit Rayanna and she was so awesome! She expressed that the Mormon church feels like it is right and it is the place for her. We helped her recognize the spirit in the lesson too! It was so awesome.

This week I heard that someone in Moore that I taught, Rady Foster, is going to get baptized!!!! She has been meeting with missionaries for 2 years and her husband gave her the OK to get baptized now!

This is a good week and I am pumped for it!

Have a great week.

Elder McMinn

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

D&C 18:15-16