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

Week 45: Staying in Guthrie for Round 3

 

Saving Turtles!

I am staying in the Guthrie wards another transfer and so is Elder Mazzarelli.

This week has been really really fun. On P-day we went to a park in OKC and played Spikeball. I lost to President Mansell. We had dinner with our stake president, President Bowman. We learned that he has memorized between 1800-1900 scriptures. Also, I am a legend because I saved a turtle from getting crushed on the road so go me!

OU Basketball Coach

Tuesday during our daily planning we felt another earthquake! That was my second earthquake of the whole mission! We went and did service at a place called the Hope Center. It is like a DI but also has a food section in it.

Storms

Wednesday we went to Stillwater for our interviews and we did role plays. Then we went and volunteered at the Special Olympics. It is the largest Special Olympics in the USA. It was the most fun thing ever. We started working on the inflatable toys and then Elder Sosa, my DL, went and helped with the bocce ball and the powerlifting. In the powerlifting, we met a guy who is interested in the church so we have a referral for the Catoosa Elders. It was the coolest thing ever. At the Special Olympics, we were able to get pictures with the OU basketball head coach too!!!!

Special Olympics

The rest of the week we were in Edmond and we did a lot of finding. Sadly no lessons this week but there are a lot of potentials that we can now go see! It is picking up now.

Zone P-day

Saturday I went and helped with an eagle scout project and I was assigned to paint and somehow I got it all over my hands. That night we went to a place called Herd on Hurd where there is a bunch of food trucks, street vendors, and live music. It is like the college/high school hang out and plus we have people that buy us free food. We hang out and talk to the students and just show them that we are normal and throw little hints about what we do and try and get them to catch what we are throwing to them. I think missionary work is the easier when you are having fun. People are fun and cars are fun so that makes it easy to do the work.

Getting dirty and working hard!

I want to do some hiking while I am here but there really is not much that you can do here in Edmond but there are other areas of the mission that we can. 

Hey guess what... At the end of this transfer, I will be a week away from a year. 7 weeks away from my halfway mark. It has gone by so incredibly fast!

Have a great week! I love you so much!

Elder McMinn

"In this work there must be commitment. There must be devotion. We are engaged in a great eternal struggle that concerns the very should of the sons and daughters of God. We are not losing. We are winning. We will continue to win if we will be faithful and true. We can do it. We must do it. We will do it. There is nothing the Lord has asked us that in faith we cannot accomplish."

- Gordon B. Hinckley

Week 44: Mother's Day

We got to facetime Kyle this week. It was the best Mother's Day gift that this mom could have asked for. It was so good seeing his face and hearing his voice. He is loving his mission. Oklahoma is a great place to be but he says that it is getting hot. He saw his first big midwest storm last week with the tornado warnings and all! Yikes. He said he didn't have any desire to go chase it. That made me feel much better about having him there. He has seen lots of storms but this was really the first with tornado danger near him. We sure love him and his desire to serve. He has now been out 10 months! Sometimes it seems like time is going by fast but other times it seems like time is standing still. We miss him but know that he is where he needs to be right now.

Mom

"Go and serve knowing that you do not go alone."

Henry B. Eyring

 

 Oklahoma City Zoo for P-day

This week was a good one. We did a lot of work in the Edmond area but there isn't much to report on. We went around trying a lot of formers and did a lot of finding. 

It's hot in Oklahoma!

Thursday I went on exchanges to Cushing with my district leader, Elder Sosa. We were able to sit down and have a lesson there with a guy named Tim who is a recovering drug addict. After hearing our message he really wants to change up his ways and come clean so he is admitting himself to an inpatient rehab!

Saturday we made a goal that we were not going to be satisfied with our day until we had 3 potential investigators. We found one who is a former named Sandee. She is a Catholic who believes in the Book of Mormon. We are doing a church swap with her later this week too!

Another is Jason who is a correctional officer and he was really interested in what we had to say so we are going back on Wednesday to teach the restoration to him.

The last was a new Book of Mormon referral named Nina who really wants to learn about it and learn about how it compares to the bible.

We have a lot of potential for this week, I am pumped.

Back Roads

Elder McMinn

Week 43: Cars, Jeeps, and Teaching the Gospel

This week was a really great week!

We started it off by going to Stillwater for our Zone P day! We went bowling and then went to the OSU campus to play volleyball and Spike ball! Sister Wright and I went up against President Mansell and Sister Larsen. President Mansell completely destroyed us the first game. We were close the second but still lost.

The middle of the week we were knocking a lot of doors and had a few visits with people. Thursday we had a really good lesson with Irene. She opened up about her concerns and we were able to share what we think will help but also told her that the answers don't come from us just telling her and she needs to find out for herself. 

This weekend was a crazy weekend. We attend an art festival! There were so many people there and a lot of local art vendors. I didn't buy any, thank goodness. We had really good conversations with people there and also with the people selling their product.

Saturday was insane. We were out the door at 7:45 for Cars and Coffee. That is a car show where anyone can bring their car and show it off! There was 7 Lamborghinis, 2 Ferraris, and 1 Mclaren. We also found a few people that were interested in learning more about our beliefs but they don't live in our area so we gave two lessons to two different areas.

After the Car show, we went to a jeep show! That's crazy! Jeep was showing off all their new vehicles and a ton of different aftermarket parts companies were there showing off their stuff! We were able to have a lot of really great conversations with people there and we also found these two girls who offered to take us on the off-road course there in their Jeep! It was so much fun!

Love, 

Elder McMinn

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6