McKay Still in Denial

Sounds good -- book me a flight to Phoenix.  On second thought, I'll just tell the mission office I want to fly directly there instead of to Salt Lake City.  They gave me my flight plans this week.  I just about shredded it and played ignorant that it was never received.  I've managed to hide it from most of the zone so far, so I can slip out quietly without too much fanfare or people being ridiculous and making "Hey elder, how far away is that plane?" jokes.  I've decided that the best way forward is to legally change my name and submit my papers again!  Wahooo!  Peru, here I come!  (Or maybe China...I've loved teaching these Chinese investigators here in Gainesville...). Benjamin, I agree with you.  A 10-14 year mission (Sons of Mosiah or Paul style) sounds pretty epic.

When is Mayu's recital?  Is that this week or can I make it?  I hope Terry had some video of his....or maybe I'll just request a private concert.  =)

Elder McKay

FL Update

Zone Conference this week!  Got to organize and take part in an awesome musical number, "The Lord is My Shepherd," with a few  talented elders and sisters!  Right afterwards I had to give a 20 minute training....sometimes I think I would rather sing in front of a group than speak. When I sing, I know what is going to come out.  =P

Cough still not gone, so I guess since Mom insists that I come home healthy I'll have to add another 4-6 months onto my mission just to be sure that it goes away.  I'm taking the scriptures as a lead on how to receive that extension:

 There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.  -- Luke 18:2-5

Ha! I've pestered President Barry so often about receiving extra time that he's probably becoming wearied of hearing about it!

Saturday we had a great lesson with Keith and he was loving the Book of Mormon and committed solidly for church.  Sunday morning, just to be sure, we decided to call and then text a reminder to him that his ride would be coming by at 8:30.  A few minutes later, we get a text back saying that he doesn't feel like coming after all and would rather just sleep.  Say WHAT?  No, way, Mr. Devil!  You ain't winnin' on this one!  I text back, "Keith, I can promise you that you will get much more 'rest' by keeping the sabbath day holy than you would by sleeping in. Will you  come?"   After 20 minutes of silence, we figured he had gone back to bed, but then he sent us another message, "Ok, I'm ready.  Come and get me."  Wahooo!  His baptism date can still hold solid!

Minor miracles still happening around us.  No one could possibly convince me that this work is not favored...far too many coincidences of meeting people and being there at "just the right time."

Bye for now!

Elder M

Short Update From FL

Gabe and Joe are definitely too young to be doing anything for Valentine's day!  ....I don't even remember looking at a girl until I was 18. Yikes.  Stay safe, brothers!  =D

Not sure on the extension...it's probably safe to plan on the 21st unless otherwise notified.  Still working on it though....

Lung infection = stubborn.  Antibiotics didn't do anything.  Doctor will be checking it out again on Thursday.

New companion....but an old companion. I've been companions with Elder Bennion before waaaaay back in Fort Caroline in summer 2011 when we were both fresh.  Found out in his first ward council here that he's related to the elders quorum president...5th cousins once removed....I think that's what they determined.

Sister Howell came into the mission for her 3 outbound transfers from the Temple Square mission. That was fun - I've never met another Howell before and now there's one serving in my district!  She says family headquarters is in Michigan.  Do we have any relatives out thataway?

 Also met the Knudsen family's former babysitter.  That was an odd moment.  Lol, the church makes the world a very small place.

Loves,

~Me

Car Accicent in FL too!

Exciting week, in the mood of quickness, I'll sum it up and tell you the details in a few weeks:

* Car crash - rainy day, wet roads, not our fault, everyone ok

* Lung infection - mission doctor put me on the world's most powerful antibiotic

* President's Interviews - he can only give me 30 day extension but said he would "work on it"!  =D  ...also, not sure why he always mentions marriage and family in the past 3 interviews now.

* Bunch of new investigators, a few in church.  4 baptisms in the zone that we got to interview this week!  Thankfully, some of these investigators have sufficient English as their second language to understand the interview questions.

* Transfers - staying in Gainesville for my last transfer.  New companion....well, kinda.  Elder Bennion, who I was companions with a year and a half ago, has been asked to be a zone leader and join me here.

Loves!

Elder M.

Work Going Well in FL

This was a rather full week -- lots of ups, lots of downs. One thing that you will never hear is that missionary service was ever dull! I feel like a chicken with my head cut off sometimes just running around from one thing to another; I have certainly learned the value of a daily planner to get it all accomplished.

On Monday, Elder Bishop and I hit up The Swamp (UF football stadium) for our weekly workout with our ward mission leader. We sprinted up the entire length of the stadium and I managed to get up the entire side in 30 seconds -- new PR!  Just about killed my calves though; it is incredibly hard to walk back down the steps after multiple repetitions and your legs are just shaking uncontrollably. =P  One of our ward members is a professional screen printer who makes t-shirts and he invited us to his shop to design a custom shirt for the Gainesville Zone!  That was a rather fun/unique P-day -- learning step by step how to design, prep, and make our own t-shirts.

Tuesday was a new first for me.  One of our recent converts who was baptized in November, received a home teaching route and asked us to come with him since his companion was unavailable.  Being with our own convert as he's out doing missionary work and visiting his families for the first time was soooo rewarding!  Now that's real growth!  Not just a baptism, but then seeing him actively engaged in the same work that we do! One of my other converts who was baptized in November in the 2nd ward also told me that she had received a calling as the Relief Society Activities Coordinator, she has a visiting teaching list, and that her 8 year old daughter that I had also taught had been baptized!  My heart was soaring that day.

Wednesday was another zone leader council in Jacksonville -- we discussed prayer and short, powerful lessons. If every missionary could have the same dedication and Spirit as the group in that room, the mission field would be a totally different experience. I'm very grateful that I get to attend those meetings/trainings with President Barry -- he's a very genuine and spiritually strong individual; definitely leads by love and example.

Thursday, was spent in Williston on exchanges. This was now the second time in as many weeks that I went on an exchange with an elder who goes home this coming transfer.  It was rather odd, almost like an exit interview, "What are some goals that you would like to set to finish strong this next week?"  It was a good exchange though and we received several referrals, found two families, and set a baptismal date at the door with one lady after a 3 minute lesson when the Spirit touched all of us very strongly.

Friday we taught a Scottish couple - loved their accents!  Reminded me of working tech support getting all those calls from the UK. Elder Bishop got tangled on a few things they said and didn't understand some of it, but thankfully I still remembered a few tricks of the language and smoothed it out.  =D

Saturday was rather uneventful. I do understand how Jake came back from his mission totally immune to cigarette smoke though. I think I was inundated with more second hand smoke that day than any other time in my mission.

Sunday was a bust and our morale was pretty low.  A score of investigators had committed to come to church just the day before and we had arranged rides for every single one of them with ward members.  For various reasons, every single one of them fell through that morning when the members went to pick them up.  Zero people in church....first time that's happened in a long time.... That night, a set of elders called to tell us that their investigator was in the hospital and wanted us to go give a blessing.  Our plans had fallen through, so we went right over to the hospital at about 8:15pm. As we read from the scriptures and gave her a blessing, the Spirit swept through the room and she started crying, but had no idea what was happening.  Her member boyfriend said, "You know what you're feeling, right?  That's the Holy Spirit working through you."  Wowzer!  Her heart was definitely softened that night and she is now much more receptive!  We'll hopefully be returning tonight to teach some more and set the other elders up with a baptism date (once she gets out of the hospital, of course).

Love ya!

Elder M. Howell

Delayed Baptisms in FL

Hey ya'll!

Here is a testimony to the reality of Satan:  our double-dipped baptism was thwarted this weekend!  Gar! Blast that miserable demon!

Here's how it happened....

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far far away....  Our awesome buddy, Ken, was a thug in his former life. My letters in the past have expressed some of that -- shot 6 times, rapper, into drugs, lives in the hood, etc. However, when the light of the gospel came into his life, he latched onto it like a drowning man clings to a life preserver. Unfortunately, the consequences are a bit more long lasting than what we anticipated -- the law caught up to him and he's on probation for a significant amount of time. Church policy, states that baptisms cannot happen when a person is on probation without First Presidency approval -- which can only be given after a person comes to church regularly for a minimum of 3 months and is recommended by the mission president.  So now we have another 2 months to go...  Ken took it well though, and agrees that he'll be able to understand much more of the Book of Mormon in that time.

Satan also attacked Robin and kept her feeling ill this last week.  Her baptism is indefinitely postponed.

On the bright side, families are pouring out of the wood work and we had a gal who attended church with Ken ask one of the Relief Society sisters if our church baptized people because she was really feeling the Spirit that day and wants to be baptized!  Woot!

The work goes on.

Love ya!

Elder M.

Font of Forgiveness

Hello Family,

Not much of note to report this week.  All is quiet on the Eastern front. Robin's baptism was postponed till next week - she was in the hospital Sunday with some stomach pains.  She's one of the funniest people I've ever met though - just a pure, Southern black woman.  She's been promising us a mess of her famous baked beans and cornbread as soon as she gets out. Ha!  You should meet this lady - 350 pounds, 5'4" and just the most loving person you ever met.  I've almost taken to calling her "momma!"  =D   And you should hear her sing some gospel!  Woooeee!  Anyway, Ken is also scheduled for next week, so hopefully we'll be doing a double dip in the font of forgiveness, that tank of transfiguration, the pool of purification this next week.

Have all ya'll ever heard of Glady's Knight and the Saint's Unified Voices?  President Barry called her up and asked her to do a concert/fireside here in Jacksonville and she agreed!  They were booked up for the next 2 years straight, but somehow they found time to work us in.  Wow! That's going to be a major missionary opportunity getting people to that in the last week of my mission!  I'm so excited!  Some Southern Soul put into those mormon hymns!

Fun fact: How many of you have seen the cheesy LDS video "The Testaments"?  Well, guess what, the young woman that flirts with the main character the whole time is from Gainesville, FL!  Her family makes sure that everybody knows -- I guess it's their claim to fame!

Other fun fact for Jake:  We took our investigator Ken to watch the CES Devotional with President Uchtdorf a couple weeks ago. Before the broadcast began and immediately after, there were short video segments featuring the church's institute program and I spotted a familiar face both times!  Becky Bylund!  Yeah, it was a little weird for me to be sitting at an international broadcast in Florida and seeing one of our past dance partners reading scriptures.  The Mormon world is soooo small!  =P

Happy Birthday, Mom!  This would put you at about 35, right?  =D  Are you and Dad going to get to hit up the town and have a date night now that he's back from Price?

Jake and Daniel, well done with the races!  I've picked up running, but I'm definitely still at the 5K level.  Be ready to share some rock climbing skills with me. Ben, sounds like you'll be putting a lot of miles on your car with leading all of the Spanish areas in the entire mission; good luck!  Gabe, I got a good laugh out of your concise summary of your blind date experience -- "a 9.5"!  Go get em, cowboy!  Happy Birthday, to Landen this week!  Does he like Star Wars, Jaclyn, or are your kids sold on the comic book heroes?  Perhaps I can teach them the ways of the Force and bring them to the light side....

Till next time!

Elder M.

'Emergency' Baptism in FL

Well, Mom, I'm not sure if our winter here is over or if we're just in the eye of the storm, but we had a heat wave this week. Temperatures have been absolutely perfect in the mid 70s (even got up to 80 once) and college students have been running around in mini shorts and tank tops again. President Barry hasn't released us from suit coat season yet though, so we've been a little bit on the warm side as we're out working.  I hope Jake and Daniel tear it up this weekend at the Painter's Half!  I've actually gotten a lot more regular with running here in Florida, so perhaps I'll join them for the next one....if it's not negative 15 degrees outside, that is.  

This last transfer we got the first of the 18 year old elders and the wave of our 19 year old sisters begins in 3 more weeks. I think we're getting in 15 of them or something in one swoop and then another group 6 weeks later.  Some sisters will have to have two trainees at the same time to handle all of them. So yeah, it doesn't surprise me that all of Alecia's friends are moving out. Tell Lou that she should put her mission papers in -- forget about this boyfriend nonsense, a mission is way better! Grandma says that Madison is thinking about it too, so if the extended family hears this, tell her that I strongly encourage a mission for her as well!  =D

One of our district leaders down in Williston left us a voicemail on Friday afternoon requesting that we call him back ASAP! We called him back to find out that they were having an "emergency baptism" the next day and needed us to come down to interview the man. A few weeks ago, Elder Bishop and I had been called into the hospital to give a blessing to a man whose wife has been an inactive member for about 20 years. Before we gave him a blessing, we discussed some things and he said, "When I get out of this hospital, I think it's about time for me to be baptized." We had returned a couple times over the next week and read the scriptures with him, but he had been released and was still recovering at home in Williston. Fortunately, he had been able to make it to church that last week.  We referred him to the elders down there and they called him on Friday to setup a time when they could come meet with him and he said, "Could I be baptized tomorrow?  I have a lot of family in town that I would like to have be there for it."  WHAT?!  Ha!  Incredible!  So we approved it with the bishop and headed down to interview him.  The next day we returned for his baptism, met all of his non-member extended family, and several of them approached afterward and asked for copies of the Book of Mormon and if they could meet with the Williston elders. 

On the bummer side (for our area, at least) Brent and Lorie got an incredible job offer back in Georgia and moved back immediately to begin working.  Fortunately, they are still in our mission and we'll be getting the missionaries up there to visit them pronto to help them remain solid for their upcoming baptism. I was a bit down to hear that because this was the first time that I had seen an enter family (two parents, and children) coming into the gospel together, but I am happy that the Lord has blessed them with the opportunities to provide for their family and that they recognize it as a blessing from Him.

Ken is solid.  Or, in his own words, he's "concrete." We took him to institute on Tuesday, had a lesson and basketball with the elders quorum on Thursday, church on Sunday, and then the CES Devotional on Sunday night. President Uchtdorf spoke on "Truth" and Ken received a spiritual witness that this is exactly where God wants him to be. We're continuing to help him overcome some word of wisdom difficulties, so his baptism date may be pushed back a little bit, but he wants to quit and is making good progress on all of it, so we are very hopeful and optimistic about his future. Here's the kicker: his favorite color is white and he wants to go purchase a pure white suit for Sundays!  =P

Great week, great place, great people.

Loves!

Elder M.

Bible Miracle in FL

Hi Family!

So....I'm starving right now and probably won't be able to focus on writing a letter, so this might be the shortest ever update from Florida-land.  My companion had me chilling in the mall (at JCP, nonetheless) for 75 minutes while he tried on various new shirts, and we kinda skipped breakfast in the rush to check in with our district leaders with weekly reports and stuff, so my stomach is complaining vociferously!

Mom, it sounds like it was pretty cold there in Utah this week.  Just so you know, I didn't escape it entirely either.  We had an actual frost on our car one morning!  ....and then the sun came out and it disappeared a few minutes later.  =P

Tati had a baby, eh?  Wowzer, things have sure changed....  I think Ben and Bryce both had their first chilln's not too long ago as well.  Who's next?  Jake?  Bahahaha -- Take luck, brother!

I totally neglected to on our Skype call, but I wanted to shout out a big thanks for the Christmas package!  The classic Howell tradition of thin mints, some pistachios, funky "Udderly Smooth" lotion for cows, and an assortment of homemade goodies = perfect!  I really enjoyed it and still have a whole mound of stuff to chew through for the next few months now. Jaclyn's gift was definitely creative with the inflatable tree, ornaments, and "Santa Yoda" hat.  I included a picture of that so you can see what it was like (unfortunately, it was too small for my head).  Oh yeah, and the CD is amazing too!  =)

Brent and Lorie are still on for baptism on the 27th, and we continue to have incredible lessons with them several times a week. They've even brought in Brent's mom and Lorie's friend from Georgia over this last week who have been sucked into the discussions and want to continue when they return to home! Last night after the closing prayer, the Spirit was so strong that everyone was crying except Elder Bishop  and I - I guess we're just too used to it by now, or something. I love this family!  (The deep-South accent that I enjoy so much doesn't hurt either)

Here's the miracle of the week for you:  Elder Bishop and I received a referral from a member a while ago for a co-worker. We had called a couple of times and the family was pretty iffy on the ever meeting with us stating reasons of being really busy, etc. Last night, we were in the area, so we just decided to drop by since we had never actually met them.  Before we even finished knocking on the door, Ron yanks open the door with a Bible in his hand. Hmmm, that usually doesn't happen. We start talking and he brings some chairs out onto the porch and he is just the most open and friendly man I've ever met! We had a great discussion about the first vision and the spirit was there very strongly.  As we were about to leave he said, "I feel like I need to tell you this.  I haven't been to any church in over a month; I haven't even picked up my Bible in over month.  Tonight, for some reason, I just felt a strong urge to read from my Bible. I was holding it in my hands and just said a prayer to God asking what he wanted for me in life and for some guidance. As soon as I finished my prayer, you were knocking on my door."  SAY WHAT?!   The Spirit just clobbered us all!  Family, friends, whoever reads this, I just want you to know that there are no such things as coincidences!  NONE!  God is soooo involved in orchestrating our lives and we see miracles like this happening every week; sometimes daily.  I'm so grateful to be doing this right now - best thing I ever chose to do.  God is good all the time!

Loves!

Elder M.

Photos of the Week: Gainesville is crazy about the Orange/Blue/Green/White color combination. A slick car that we drove next to in a downpour that Gabe and Joe will appreciate. Proof of cold weather in Florida. And the Santa Yoda Christmas decorations.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about our other miracle.  We received a media referral for a man requesting a Bible, so naturally we met him and gave him a Book of Mormon.  A few days later, we returned with the Bible and met his stepson, Ken.  Ken is a young black man in his late 20s, with dreads half way down his back, and looks like a total thug.  He's also been shot 6 times.  But he's the most genuine guy ever!  Ha!  He had a change of heart a few months after getting in some trouble with the law and is now a peaceable citizen, trying to do good, and has taken to writing gospel rap.  Elder Bishop refers to him as his own Fifty Cent (apparently a famous rapper who's been shot a few times).  Anyway, he came to church this Sunday and ate it up!  During sacrament meeting he leaned over and said, "I feel like I could fly!"  The members loved him and he's been invited to all sorts of activities.  We even got to meet his probation officer this morning!  (Another reason why we ran behind and why I'm so hungry.)  He wants to be baptized on the 20th, so we're praying that he'll be able to get by with just an interview with President Barry and not have to wait for approval from Salt Lake City. I'll see about sending a picture we took with him next week!  =) 

 

 

Fl Christmas Miracle

Happy New Year!

 

We have now had p-day on Christmas Eve and on New Year's Day!  The stores were all ridiculously overcrowded while we were purchasing our groceries.  P-day this week was changed to Tuesday since transfer meeting is tomorrow. Elder Bishop and I were both very shocked to hear that we're remaining together for another 6 weeks -- neither one of us expected him to remain after being here 6 months.  I suppose that will only leave me with enough time for one more companion in the future.  I've been hinting to President Barry that I want to serve with Elder Craynor or Elder Lang before my time is up.  Lol, we'll see if he listens to the "still small voice" of Elder Howell whispering in his ear.

 

We saw a few miracles this week.  Actually, just about anything that happened was a miracle.  Gainesville has been a ghost town for the past two weeks as the students vacated for Christmas break and a lot of families traveled elsewhere.  We only had 40 people at church this week -- about the size of the smallest branch in the mission. The work has been pretty tough because of that - all of our investigators were gone!  With faith in the Lord, and by His total grace, we were blessed with 7 new investigators last week.  Then just yesterday, we were mercifully allowed to find three more!  10 investigators inbetween p-days!  Wowzer.  I want to mention one in particular.

 

Brent is a man that we came into contact with a little while ago when his fiance, Lorie, moved in with her father who recently joined the church. Brent and Lorie in the past haven't had much at all to do with God or religion and he's got tatoos all over his body as evidences of a life lived in the worldly sense. In the past couple weeks since they moved to Gainesville, he has been very humbled by unemployment and inability to find work to support his family. When he first spoke with us, it was more of a plea for help to see if we knew of any work opportunities. A few days later, we were visiting our recent convert as our last stop of the day, and Brent happened to be there with Lorie. Before Elder Bishop and I left, he motioned to us and pulled us aside into another room. "Elders, I want you to pray for me." As the words came from his mouth, his total humility was very evident. Due to a combined situation of not being able to provide for his family, feeling useless, and the anniversary of his father's death the next day, Brent was feeling very low. Instead of a prayer, we offered a blessing and he readily accepted. In that blessing, Elder Bishop felt prompted to say that if he had faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord would provide him with a job. He had tears streaming from his eyes as the blessing ended and we left to head home for the night. The next morning, at 8am, Brent was woken up by a phone call from a man who was offering him a job. He immediately recognized this as the hand of the Lord and excitedly called us up to say that he wanted to take the discussions and become a member of the church.

 

This is God's work.  He knows his children.  I am so grateful to be allowed to have a part in it. We truly didn't do anything other than witness His mighty hand accomplishing the salvation of souls.  Praise be!

 

Love ya'll!

 

Elder M.

Christmas Devotional in FL

Hi Family!

I got a good laugh out of Logan's letter from this last week.  I can totally relate to being fluent in "Gangsta"!  We encounter all the same stuff here, so perhaps it's just inner city culture across the states.  I'm sure he's getting more of it than I do now -- Gainesville is a university city, so a lot of the people are more professional/educated. But we do have a few "hood" areas and it's always a treat to work there.  I just try to avoid them on Friday and Saturday nights -- it's not safe for white boys in suits preaching Jesus to be in there when all the sin is going down.

Well, this year's Christmas devotional was a big hit!  Having all 150 missionaries together at one time is pretty rare and it was quite the celebration!  Elder Bishop and I did perform our skit with a little bit of lip syncing to "You Are Loved"....in order to preserve my dignity, I'll pass on any further explanation of that one other than saying it was a big hit.  =D  But, in the end, it all came together with a very Spirit-filled devotional centered on the nativity and atonement. I opted to be in the choir again this year (of course) and we sang "Who Is He in Yonder Stall" and "Peace, Peace, Peace" -- two very beautiful pieces of music if you want to look them up.

In short, I'm experiencing all over again that Christmas really doesn't require anything other than love to be a success.  I love my missionaries, I love my work, I love the investigators we have, I love my family at home -- and I've never been happier about a Christmas in my life.  Jesus really is the center of it all, and the great thing is, He's with us no matter where we travel in this world.  I hope you all get to experience the simplicity, peace, and joy of life that I have been blessed with at this time.

Much love,
Elder M.

Wynelle's Baptism in FL

Hello Family!

Time is super short this week - when we originally got on to email a couple hours ago, all of Google Mail was down so we had to come back.

Wynelle was baptized this last weekend!  This is now the second person in their 70s that I've taught who was baptized.  People are NEVER to old to change/repent and learn the gospel.  It was great though, we had a lot of people involved in fellowshipping her and she asked a member friend to baptize her.  Doesn't get better than that!

Unfortunately, Satan is attacking us viciously yet again and we had scores of investigators drop us this weekend.  We had at least 10 families (less active, recent convert, or investigators) that we were working with who were seriously ill this week as well and it's apparently making its way around the city.  So we're almost all the way back at ground zero with not much of a teaching pool again.  Great thing about this work is that there's rarely a dull moment and it's always a challenge!

We have the mission Christmas conference coming up this week and Elder Bishop and I are throwing together a fun little skit.  I think we're doing a missionary/Christmas version of Josh Groban's "You Are Loved"....or something to that effect.  Lol, it's still a work in progress, but I'll let you know how it turns out.

I wouldn't say I pick up Spanish quickly - I think just enough of the words are similar enough to the English equivalent that I can make the connection in my mind when someone is talking about familiar topics.  Such as the gospel. I do look forward to picking up more of it though!  I've wanted to my whole mission and this just might be the opportunity I've needed.

Congratulations to Sarah on the wedding this weekend!  I know she's probably way to busy to read this, but all the same, I wish her well with the matrimony thing.  Isn't Chelsea engaged for sometime this month too?

Mom, I do not miss snow in the slightest. I don't have to worry about my fingers, nose, and toes freezing and falling off for all but maybe 2-3 weeks in January instead of 3-4 months in Utah.  I was thinking of taking a picture by the pool in our apartment complex with the green grass and palm trees waving in the background, but then it started raining, so I'll wait till a sunny day when it's 70 degrees again before I send you that sampling of how great the winters are down here.   =D

Photos of the week: Wynell's baptism.  Bah Humbug! (early mornings with ugly Christmas sweaters)

Love ya'll
Elder M.

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New Gainesville Area

Merry Christmas!!!!

I love being able to say that to people in contact approaches!  December is a great month for missionary work!   ....other than the sun going down at 4pm, that is.  We had a really funny guy get mad at us for knocking on his door "so late!"  It was only 6:30.  =D

Elder Bishop and I are tearing it up here in the 5th ward and we're already seeing a few miracles popping up.  We have been teaching an older lady, Wynelle, who has chosen to be baptized this next Sunday and we're pretty stoked about that.  The Lord has led us to a few more very prepared people who have been devouring the gospel in the past few days.  Nikki is a single mother who had a Jehovah Witness background but never really felt fulfilled.  She was pretty non-committal the first few times we taught her, but we had some time just before church and we went by to invite her to come.  She tried to back out by saying that she was watching her 5 year old son, but then we invited him to come be in Primary with the other kids and he was all over that so she had to give in.  Once she got there, she was poked by the spirit numerous times through testimony meeting and relief society and was being loved on by at least four of the sisters in the ward. By the end of the meeting block she was all in and says she wants to be baptized sometime this month!  Woot!

We also started teaching a man named Jay who shows a lot of promise and has great desires to change his life and find peace through Jesus Christ. We've spoken a lot of the Atonement and prayer and he is finding strength to overcome his addictions.  Crazy thing is, he was a professional chef not too long back and has cooked for several famous mormons.  He's on a first name/emailing basis with Steve Young!  Hahaha.  How wild is that?  Yeah, but he never made the connection that they belonged to this religion until he started meeting with us and doing some research into mormonism.

Our zone is in an interesting place right now.  We have four districts and three of those district leaders were called to fill the position for the first time, so we're busy with helping them figure things out and leading their areas.  We also have a LOT of people in training, so there is an incredible amount of young blood and enthusiasm in the Gainesville Stake/Zone at this time.  We've stayed super busy and I don't think I've written in my journal in over two weeks, so I may not even have any memories of this period when we get through it.  Hopefully I can sneak in a few pictures every now and again.

I went on exchanges with the spanish missionaries again this last week in Ocala and had an absolute blast.  I've gotten to the point where I can follow most of the basic three lessons as they're being discussed in Spanish.  Still working on being able to say anything, but at least I can comprehend what's being discussed.  I plan on practicing my invitation to read the book of mormon, pray, and be baptized in that language so that it will be ready by next month!

Mom, it sounds like your new job is pretty dry.  Alphabetically organizing any sort of clothing sounds like a mind numbing task. Was this last Friday your first every Black Friday?  I can't remember you ever getting into the post-Thanksgiving sales rush in years past. By the way, Elder Bishop will most likely NOT be the one to finish me off.  I've still got a substantial chunk of time and I have a reputation for churning through companions.  He is number 13, not including my two MTC companions, and I think we'll only be together another 4 weeks.

Tell the cousins that they had all better send me a wedding announcement or else!  Lol, I may not be able to come, but I still like to keep up with such major events in the family.

Ben, I'm not sure if your mission president allows you to get online for anything, but you can download the entire Book of Mormon in just about any language from scriptures.lds.org and then burn your own copies of the audio to CD if you need to do that for your investigators.  Any ideas of what would be helpful for you on your mission that I can send you from Florida?

Jaclyn, yes, I can listen to music.  Our mission is pretty open with variety and genre.  Have you ever heard of a group called The Lower Lights?  They've become a favorite.  The last couple EFY albums have been pretty good too. And of course, the always amazing MoTab is a popular hit with missionaries.

Much Love!

Elder M.

Thanksgiving in FL

After 7.5 months in the Gainesville 2nd Ward, I have received a new assignment! I have now been transferred to.....

(drumroll!!)

GAINESVILLE 5TH WARD!!!!

Haha, yeah, I only moved about 3 miles down the road to an area that I went on exchanges in all the time.  Gainesville is like a black hole that I can't leave - everyone in my zone projects that I will die here.  I suppose it's a good thing I love this place. My new address is:

3461 SW 2nd Ave

Apt #266

Gainesville, FL 32607

Anyway, the University of Florida is now the central feature of my area and we cover the entire east side of the city in the old historic district.  The 2nd ward had a lot of well-off professionals and was pretty upscale for the most part.  My new ward covers the inner city and has a lot of apartments and much more ghetto. I love it!  People will talk with us all the time!  Granted, many of them are looking for handouts or a way to support addictions, but we do get many opportunities to preach the good word! I figure this transfer is God's way of helping me to fulfill my last mission goal: to pay it forward by replicating my own conversion - convert a college student who will also serve a mission!

So this week was a lot of fun!  Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving Day and we started off with the Turkey Bowl!  The Gainesville Elders, vs the 1st and 5th wards!  Oh man, I got beat up.  By the time we finished 2.5 hours later, my team had won, but at a heavy price. Several fingers on my left hand were jammed, a good size bruise on my ribs from where I collided with the bishop going for an interception, and soreness EVERYWHERE!  I didn't even know there were muscles in some parts of the body where I was hurting.  The next day, it was hard to get out of my bed and my companion and I had to physically lift ourselves out of the car like old people because our legs weren't working. My hamstrings are finally back to where I can walk without stiff pain today.  Hahaha, but oh, it was fun.  =D  The rest of our Thanksgiving Day was spent going from appointment to appointment and everyone trying to feed us. First time I ever tried deep fried turkey, pecan pie, or sweet potato pie. MmmmmMmmm! Great Southern food, but it all starts to taste like sawdust when your belly is protesting with each bite. Our final dinner was with a Philippine family where we had rice, shrimp and noodles, and some other identified stuff that was super tasty, but definitely not the traditional Thanksgiving meal that I had come to expect.

Oh, that reminds me, I didn't tell you about my new companion!  I am now serving with Elder Bryce Bishop from American Fork, UT!  We've worked around each other ever since he came out a year ago in September and have even shared 3 of the same companions.  He's a huge sports buff, and has an insane amount of enthusiasm!  It's very contagious though and I don't think we've had a dull moment in the last 5 days.

Well, I want you to know that I am happy and well.  Last year I was transferred 2 days before Christmas and I felt a little down about that, but then Beaufort ended up being one of my favorite areas of all time and it was the best Christmas I had ever experienced.  This year, I was transferred the day before Thanksgiving, and even though it was spent thousands of miles away from family and without a single familiar person around, my heart was very content.  I've realized that it is so easy to love people and to love the circumstance, no matter what it may be. I'm not sure if that's a blessing from being a missionary, or just a blessing of being surrounded by loving people with strong faith in Christ, but I know God has truly helped me to give my whole heart to this work and these people.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." - 1 Timothy 6:6-8

I love you all.  Thanks for the pictures of the birthdays!

Elder M.

Leaving Gainesville

Hi Family,

Not much time today, the place where we use the computers is closing in 10 minutes.  It is confirmed, I am being transferred.  Packing and wrapping up my time here in Gainesville today.

Elder Chadwick's training is now complete and President Barry called just a few minutes ago to release me as District Leader.  I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that I would now be a regular proselyting missionary wherever I end up going. HA!  As soon as he released me and thanked me for my service, he turned right around and told me I would be a zone leader again.  Gar.  Lol, no such thing as rest in the mission field!

We had a lot of excellent missionaries go home this morning (in order to not be traveling on Thanksgiving).  Elder Grant was one of them.  We were both trained by Elder Summers long ago which made us brothers and he was always one of my favorite mission leaders and then companions.  In some ways, I feel like the longer I'm here in the FJM the fewer people I know.  I'm old!!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  I think that makes 4 years in a row that I haven't been able to join the family for this day, but I am grateful for you all.  Tear it up with the frisbee at Grandma's house this year!

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."  - Psalm 100:4-5

Lovies,
Elder M

Jennie's Baptism in FL

Happy birthdays this coming week to the younger women of the Howell/Miller clan!  ....I'm glad you reminded me, Mom, otherwise I would have completely forgotten!

Thanks for sending the letters/info - I'll look forward to getting that.  I am quite positive that I'll be transferred in another week though, so don't send me anything else within the next couple weeks before I get you my new address.

Elder Chadwick and I had an epic week as we finished teaching Jennie the commandments and preparing her for her baptism.  Words can't even describe how wonderful the service was on Saturday night, but it was by far a highlight of my mission thus far. Half the ward showed up to support, the father of her member fellowship family baptized her, and the Spirit was strong! Incredibly, one of our investigators came and he also brought his wife who to this point had been strongly against even listening as we taught her husband. She would leave the room every time we started discussing the gospel. I think this will turn a new page on his progression, because there was no denying the Spirit and the love that was present that night and I know she felt some of it.

This week has had some rather unique experiences as well.  I spent a day up in High Springs on companion exchanges with the elders up in that branch; I never would have guessed it here in the Bible Belt, but apparently there is a very high concentration of Hare Krishna devotees in Alachua County, FL.  There's even a Krishna temple up there.  The weird thing was, they totally believe in Jesus Christ as a "spiritual master" but don't see any problems with meshing his teachings with their religion. I dunno, I can't claim to understand much of their beliefs, but the paintings they showed me of Krishna depicted a feminine looking, blue man with four arms whom they worship as God.  Definitely an interesting day spent attempting to teach several of them the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

I've decided that kids are pretty epic - they can be so spiritually sensitive.  After Jennie's baptismal interview, we read some of 3 Nephi and then asked her 8 year old granddaughter to say the prayer.  She had never prayed before and so I had to show her how and prompt her on everything to say, but even though she was repeating me word for word, the way she said it and the absolute sincerity just flooded the room with the Spirit.  Wow!

"And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved....And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" - Alma 5:13,26

Good luck with the job search.  Love you all!

Elder M.

Gainesville Update

Hi Mom!

Glad to hear that you made it nicely into your new place.  With all of your heating options, you may be able to keep the house at a comfortable 80 degrees year round no matter what the outside temperature!  I was always miserable in the Logan winters, but I attribute much of that to hiking up Old Main hill to campus every single morning at insanely early hours while a frigid wind blasted out of the canyon and down the neck of my coat.  I'm surprised I still have my ears, nose, and fingers after being a student there for 3 winters.

Thanks for the photo of Jaclyn's kids.  I decided that Kaden and Landen look like Zach while Teyah is a mini version of Jaclyn.  How old is she now?   I don't even remember when she was born....

Well, we found out Gabriel lived outside of our area, so we had to turn him over to another set of missionaries, but they are continuing to help him progress towards his baptism.  God blessed us though for that sacrifice of having to give up our investigator by blessing us with two more people who now have dates!  One is a man named Charles who has been married to an active member for the last 20 years. We finished our discussions with him this last Wednesday and he told us he knew he would be baptized someday but refused to set a date.   On Saturday, our ward mission leader's family picked up his wife for the ward temple trip and Charles was left alone to think all day.  When they returned at the end of the night, he told them  that he wanted to be baptized on December 2nd!  Wow!  It's the absolute best when it's just God and the investigator figuring things out - so solid!

We also have an investigator named Jenny that had been progressing in the past, but had avoided us for about 3 weeks in a row.  We were finally able to schedule another appointment and went into the lesson half expecting to drop her. As we discussed the Doctrine of Christ, the ideas of faith and repentance impacted her quite a bit and the Spirit was there very strong. When we came to baptism, she jumped on the idea and told us she wanted to be baptized as soon as her daughter from out of town could have a clear schedule to come to Gainesville. WOOT!  Amazingly, her daughter usually works weekends, but for some random reason already had the next Saturday and Sunday cleared. Coincidence?  I think not!  So now Jenny is rapidly progressing towards baptism this weekend on the 10th. Her young granddaughter that lives with her was also playing in the background during our discussion.  Apparently she was listening in because after we left she told Jenny that she wanted to be baptized too!  Become as a little child....we're hoping to schedule her for the 17th.

Every three months we have personal interviews with President Barry and mine happened to be this last Thursday.  Oh boy, talk about rough - I still have 5 months left but he started asking me if I go home soon.  "NO!"   However, figuring that as long as we were on the topic, I asked him for an extension.  He smiled and said he would love to, but the mission department doesn't allow  that anymore without an extreme circumstance.  Whatever that means.  I suspect that I'll have to use my creativity and generate an extreme circumstance that will allow me  to extend the mission past next March!  =D  For some reason, the interview  then turned to me being older and he began hinting that I should prepare for marriage after the mission.  "President!!  I'm still set apart!  I can't talk about that.  I don't even want to think about it yet!"  Wow, most stressful interview  I've ever been in.  Moral of the story:  please, everyone, DO NOT mention how much time I have remaining or tell me that I'm a menace to society.  I would like to focus on the mission while I'm a missionary.  Thank you very much.

Terry, Jacob, Mom, and some fellow elders here have all been kind enough to alert me to the event of Lucasfilm LTD being sold to Disney.  Star Wars 7 in the works!  What do you know, my senior yearbook entry was prophetic after all - "Star Wars Forever!"   =D   Terry, I'm sure the old glory days will be easily resurrected.  And now that we're independent there's nothing to stop us from camping out for a week at the theater and hitting up the first midnight showing.  What do you think - could you beat me at Star Wars trivia now that I've been out of the loop for a couple years?

Anyway, enough of that distraction.  I love you all!
(Happy belated birthday, to Dad!)

Elder M.

Work Picking Up in Gainesville

Hi Mom!

Glad to hear that you found a new place to live and are not living in a U-Haul truck. That's pretty remarkable how you were able to load  the truck in faith and sign for a new place that evening and move in. God will always provide a way!

Hurricane Sandy passed us by without too much more than a lot of clouds and some cold weather.  I don't remember it getting this cold until December last year and I was 250 miles further north in South Carolina. You're right though, people are telling us that it will be pretty bad when it hits up around the D.C./New York area tomorrow. Lots of flooding, lots of damage.  A good time for people to be humble, remember God, and repent.  Also a good opportunity for lots of love and service and opportunities for hearts to change.

This week has been a lot of fun.  I was on companion exchanges in the 3rd Ward with Elder Lisonbee and they've really been struggling lately with finding new investigators and not having anyone to teach.  We headed out on bikes and just started contacting everyone.  By the end of the day we had four new investigators - a single father looking for a better life; a young woman who has never known peace even though her dad is a Baptist pastor; and a great couple where the wife had grown up in Ogden, had gone to seminary for four years, and already believes most of what we teach!  God is good.  The next day I went on another exchange with the Zone Leaders and had a blast re-uniting with Elder Grant in the 5th ward. He's one of the best missionaries I've ever known - down to his last 3 weeks in the mission and still 100% focused on the work.  We stepped it up a notch and had several back to back lessons that brought the Spirit so strongly and were able to set 3 baptismal dates that day alone. Great day.

Elder Chadwick and I were able to start teaching a young man last night who had gone through bad experiences with missionaries in the past. Apparently they had pressured him a lot and he threw up a lot of barriers.  That was last year.  In the past few months, he read through the entire Book of Mormon and had a change of heart.  He's still not entirely sure, but he approached us with the idea of being baptized in December around Christmas, so we take that as a positive sign.   ;)  Once again, it shows the power that is in the scriptures.  The Book of Mormon changes lives!  (Or more accurately, the Spirit changes lives and the Spirit testifies as we read the Book of Mormon!)

I'm down to my last 3 weeks in Gainesville (I suspect) and Elder Chadwick and I have some bold plans to finish up his training.  We're hoping to have 2 baptisms (possibly 3) before I leave with the progressing investigators that we have.  One of them is named Gabriel.  I contacted him on Facebook about a month ago (he's an online friend of a recent convert) and we started talking online. Two weeks ago he randomly called us and said, "Elders, I need to change my life.  Can we meet?"  YES!  So we started meeting at a Burger King and have taught him a lot about the Atonement and Repentance.  He's been heavy into drugs and various other sins for most of his life, but that night after our first lesson, he dumped out all of his narcotics and flushed them away and has been clean for the last 10 days.  I've been very surprised and overjoyed with his comprehension of total repentance extending to all aspects of his life.  We hadn't even taught him the law of chastity yet, but he told us that since our first meeting, several women have tried to hit on him and he flat out refused telling them that his life is given to Jesus now. Whenever he feels tempted, he turns to the Book of Mormon and finds great strength from it.  He was blown away by the Spirit as we read Joseph Smith History with him and that's when he told us he wants to be baptized.  We have his date set for the 11th of November.  I've really gained a witness as a missionary that no matter what a person has done or been in life, if we truly want to repent, Christ allows us to change and takes the burdens of the past away.  I've seen it time and again.  "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

God is great, missions are amazing, and I love being a part of this!

Elder M.

100 New Missionaries Going to FL

Thanks for the photos, Mom!  It was fun to see Gabe and Joe as unhappy about pictures as I ever was.  Hahaha, I think that's a Howell family trait to evade the camera.  Garret and Courtney were looking fabulous!

This week was somewhat eventful.  I spent half of it in Jacksonville at a Leadership Training Meeting and had an absolute blast!  The Spirit was strong as we discussed the Doctrine of Christ (always do), obedience, and revelation through church attendance.  On Wednesday night while we were up there, I was assigned to work in the St. Johns area.  It was rather interesting returning to my old area, visiting with some of the people I taught a year and a half ago and looking through the area book at all the formers I had with Elder Summers and Mcfarland.  It was a productive evening though!  In 3 hours, we had 4 church tours lined up and committed two people to baptism!

We also had a stake conference this weekend here in Gainesville and were able to get several of our investigators to come. President and Sister Barry had been invited to be there, so they came down and spoke on the need for teaching the youth to live the Doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, etc) in order to prepare them for missionary service. Just before them, we had a recently returned missionary speak and share his experiences of a mission in Peru.  One of our investigators who has been reading for a long time but holding out on any other commitments was overwhelmed by the Spirit during these talks and gained a witness that it's true!  YES!!!!

Well, that's about it for this week. Elder Chadwick and I are still plugging away.  President Barry was told by the church mission department to expect an additional 100 missionaries in the next few months; from 150 that we're at right now to 250-280.  I have no idea where we'll put that many missionaries, but I suppose most wards will be doubling up.  It's an exciting time to be in the work for sure!  Anyway, everyone that's already out here is gearing up to train this monster tidal wave of incoming elders and sisters.  Hopefully we'll be ready for it.

Much Love,

Elder M. Howell

Adrian Baptism in FL

Hi family,

This weekend was very nice. We had the baptismal service for Adrian, our investigator from Puerto Rico, and it turned out very well with lots of support from the ward.

We had transfers this past Wednesday.  Said goodbye to several of my former companions and a lot of good friends - 17 went home! Elder Fuller, Elder Marquez, and myself had a blast singing "Faith in Every Footstep" as a trio at the transfer meeting.  I'm not sure why, but my voice has gotten significantly higher in the last couple years.  As a senior in high school, I sang bass/baritone, now I'm most definitely a tenor and can't even approach those notes I used to hit with ease.

Benj, I loved your story about reaching that mission goal of 100/month!  Very inspiring.  Our mission could probably use something similar - we've plateaued for the last couple years and our goal is currently 60/month.  How many missionaries do you have in the Seattle Mission?

Since I didn't get an email from Mom this week, I'll assume that the family is in process of moving again.  Good luck; God bless!

--
Elder M. Howell