Transfers and Tie Exchanges

Hey y'all.  I can't believe that its been another week. this week has flown.  Not too much has happened..  I'm gunna keep this one short.....  We got transfer calls Saturday night and the news is that both Elder Hillier and I are being transferred. Our car is old, and they are making this a bike area, so President Cottle felt this the best option.  It was hard saying goodbye to all these people I have fallen in love with so much.  I've been out over a year.. and yet I'm not used to this.  I don't think I ever will be really..  

The main experience of this week was Sunday. We had ward conference here in Pearson.  Wow.  Our stake president is one amazing man.  It takes a great man to be able to make a joke about someone being a jigalow dancer and then have everyone crying when talking about an experience that happened during the Sacrament.  The priest was nervous, it was his first time. and with the stake people, it adds to it.  He struggled saying it quite a few times, then the other priest put his hand on his shoulder and said some words, and the priest was able to do it fine.  Our stake president got the boy's permission right after that to talk about it.  The boy has eye problems and is legally blind, but you couldn't tell and so he has to have it memorized.  But he spoke on how probably none of us could do it either if we were in his spot.  Then he continued to talk about the importance of the Sacrament and keeping our covenants.  The spirit was so strong in that meeting, like I said, everyone had wet eyes.  I am so grateful to be able to have been there for Sacrament meeting and as my last here in Pearson.  It helps too when after church there is a huge potluck lunch :)  Wow, it was so good..  

We have spent the last couple days saying goodbye to our members and our investigators.  These 3 months flew by for me.  With transfers come tie exchanges.... well, I think I have quite a few.. hahaha! 

Well, I suppose till next week!  It brings a whole new area and experiences.  I know this gospel is true.  I've read the Book of Mormon, and I've prayed about it.  Just as the Spirit has testified to me, it can to you all to.  

Let's go do some good.

Elder Bodily

A lady with a rifle . . .

This week flew by and we had quite a few great experiences. It started Tuesday. We were planning on doing some service but it didn't happen, so we drove around and made random turns, and we are on a long road and we drive past a new subdivision we'd never seen before. So the next day we decide to go work that area.  What a gold mine.  We only knocked 3 doors and found a part member family, a less-active family, and a really good potential family!  Wow.  We are excited for that area.  The less-active family's daughter is a girl we met before, so we are excited to go up there this week and continue the work. 

On Thursday, we were doing our normal work, but we decided to work an apartment complex, and yet, we only talked with 2 people!  Betsy and LaMarion.  The first black couple I've met here in this area.  It was good to talk with them.  Both searching for answers and had questions.  We simply went over the Restoration.  They were accepting to it.

On Saturday we contacted a referral we received Friday night.  Man.  That was a trip.  Out in the middle of no-where.  John Buchan.  We knock on the door and an older lady answers and is kinda apprehensive, and then we say we're looking for John, and she gets more nervous than before, and we hear a truck coming up the drive and she tells us that we shouldn't be here any longer.... so we start walking towards the car but he stops and we felt that we should stay..... as he is standing there, the lady asked where her rifle was.....  Man, I was nervous, haha.  But we talked with him and taught him the Restoration.  He was very accepting so we committed him to baptism and he accepted!  We are excited!  

This upcoming week we have a lot planned.  Those new areas and new people are going to keep us busy!   Also on Saturday we visited our investigator Ressa.  She had a very hard couple weeks.  She found out that one of her dogs has cancer....  She loves her dogs very much.  She wasn't too open to talk at first, but we just comforted her.  It felt good to be there for someone and just to listen to their problems.  It wasn't anything too gospel related, but we were able to strengthen her.  I have grown a love for her so much, and for her dogs also.  

Well!  We're off on another adventure this week! 

I love y'all!

Elder Bodily

Party after party . . .

Where has time flown?

Sunday morning came, and when I woke up, well, it just felt like another day.  But it is JUNE! This year is almost half over.. wow.. haha. This week has gone by quickly. Not too many big experiences, but it was just overall a good week! We ended the week on a great note. Interviews with President. It is always good to be able to visit with him 1 on 1 and receive guidance from him. 

We had a really neat experience this week.  On Tuesday we went out with a member, Brother Hardee.  He is great. He lives out in a town called Millwood and we have a lot of members out there, but it is just country and we don't know our way around, so he was showing us around.  We went to dinner first at a small highway diner.  Such a good cheeseburger.  While there, we met a couple people who were part of a less-active, part-member family.  After we ate, we headed off with a family - it was the extended family of one of the ladies we talked to at the diner.  Everyone down here is part of a large family..... It's insane.  I can't keep track of em all.  Anywho.  We talked with the older couple and then left.  A couple days later, we were out visiting at another less-actives home and guess what! Part of that family we looked for at the beginning of the week were there!  It was awesome!  Then come Sunday, a couple of them were at church!  It was great.  The Lord truly does guide us to people, even when we are in service clothes in the down pouring rain....  It was great. 

Now skipping back a little bit.  You gotta love scattered emails.  On Friday, it was slow.. weekly planning always is.  After weekly planning we saw a less-active drive by with a trailer and some couches.... so we walked over to see what's up.  He was out sitting on the couches in the back yard on the trailer waiting for his wife to get home.... good thing we went over, cuz he would never have gotten them in without us.... it was a struggle!!  Wow, so we got the new couches in, and then the old ones out... and guess what!  He gave it to us. We got a sectional in our house now!  Our house is almost complete.  It's pretty awesome. Needs a little air freshin and cleanin, but it's still a sectional!!   

(I have a very funny story about Kevin and a "sectional".  Message me and I'll tell you! ~mom)

Saturday was a party!  Literally.  It was just a one big party day.... It started with interviews, and then we got back and went to a pool/birthday party for a family in the ward.  It was a party for a 1 yr old.  It was great haha.  Sucked we can't go swimming though. :(    And then after that we went back and changed to go do some service.  That was fun.  We had to weed-whack around a huge yard, and the thing we were using at first quit on us, then we had to go get another weed-whacker and then we got it finished.  Before the rain came in!  The sucky part - the machine we used at first was pretty much a lawnmower, so it stuck out our window and it wouldn't close.. joy.. haha.  But during the rain storm we quick stopped at a graduation party thing for a less-active family.  That is where we met another part of that huge part member family :)   It was fun there.  The mom of the family loves us!  It was great.  And then we left there and went over to a family that was doing volleyball and burgers.  The rain had stopped for the time being, so we were able to get a game in.  The most precious thing happened during the game. the family has a 2 yr old boy, Colton. He was crying for something, and ran up to me and held onto my leg, so I picked him up and he just wrapped around me and started to pat my back.. it was so cute. Everyone was like. "awww!"  Yeah, he is awesome.  And then the rain came again and forced us inside.. yeah.. our window was still down.. boo..  

Sunday was fun too.  We had a little fun.  During Sunday School, two 18 yr old member girls went over and covered one of our cars with notes and the other with marker.. it was pretty good. not gunna lie. but.. you just don't mess with three 19 yr olds and a 20 yr old....  It was a good time :)  

(I believe the missionaries returned the car-decorating favor . . .)

Well... I love this gospel!  I love being able to work with people that I get along with so well.  That's what the gospel is all about.  We finally got the Ensign conference edition and wow.. it is just so powerful.  Everyone needs to read it and apply the things in it to their lives. 

loves,

elder bodily

Happy Memorial Day!

This past week has flown and I'm not quite sure how.  Not too much happened to us this week.. It was just a normal week for us.. I suppose I'll share just scattered experiences.. 

On Tuesday we were driving down a long dirt road and our daily goal was to try to talk to everyone.  We passed a road, and I thought we might as well try.. so we flipped around and went down the road.. and there was one house at the end haha. So we stopped and knocked! A 20 yr old girl opened and talked to us. Come to find out she is one of our member's cousin!  It was a neat find.  She said she had a church.. They all say that.. ergh.. but it was good to talk to her.   

On Thursday we spent the day down in Homerville.. that was an adventure.  We had a folder with all the names of the people that live in that area. about 44 of them. 1 active member, Brother Moore.  But at the end of the day, we had figured out something on every single one of them.. either their number was wrong and their address is incomplete, or they don't wanna talk to the church, or they are inactive, and don't wanna change really.. joy.. but it was a good time.  It helps us with our work for the future.  We have regulars in Homerville that we visit.  Those are always a good time!  One of those regulars.. DQ!  boo yah.  Always a good time..   

On Saturday we were driving around in the back country trying to contact people.  Well, our road was blocked by a semi in the ditch haha.  So we turned.  It wasn't an accident.. well, it was, but ya know?  We stopped at the first house and we met an older couple working out in their shed.  Well, I say older cuz they looked older than they really were. But they were super nice. They go to the Holiness Baptist church in Douglas, but they were super nice to us.  The wife offered us a drink and crackers.  It was wonderful.  Not willing to change, but they were awesome to talk to.  

One day we were driving around and we found this gem of a hole.   It fills with water and then, as you can see, truck tracks around and through.  So you already know.. I sure wish we had a big truck.. haha. 

One experience I'll share this week..  On Friday, my companion was in the kitchen studying and I was in the study room and I was praying and I said an out-loud prayer.  Now, it's a normal thing for meals and companion study, but for personal prayer, I hardly do it.. but it felt so wonderful. I know prayer is always one of those things that its communication between God and us, and I know prayers are answered, but it felt so wonderful to just have that feeling.. to feel I'm actually talking with someone face to face, so personally.. ah. I love this gospel! 

Until next week.. maybe I will have more email worthy experiences, but sometimes the mission is about growing personally.  It's not just always about the super spiritual experiences, and yet I love it so much. 

Elder Bodily

What a beautiful week.....

Words can't begin to explain how this week went.  I suppose I'll begin with probably one of the most touching things of my mission so far.  Our young investigator that has Autism, Matthew Kirkland, and his brother Ben, were baptized Sunday after church! It was last minute for us, but it was ran through the ward so they had control. We left our phone at the house when we went out for the day. When we got back, we saw we had a missed call, so we called back and it was a lady in the ward asking about "the baptism after church for the kirkland boys."  My jaw hit the floor. We had thought it was this coming Saturday.  But we were so excited. when we got to church, the boys' family was just pulling up. They were so excited. Ben, the 8 yr old came up to us and said, 'hey were getting baptized today!"  ah it was so wonderful.  At the service, I spoke on baptism. I focused partly on taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ. If I were to chose 2 people to represent Christ, these are them. So pure, and so perfect. 

The Kirkland brothers, Matthew and Ben

This past week the ward was selling donuts to help pay for their scout camp. So you already know that I was getting my face stuffed!! Kripsy Kreme donuts never tasted so good. Of course, I only bought 1 box, but like 3 boxes were given to us by the ward. oh boy.. they sure know how to make me happy. the best part is how the other elders are on this health kick. so I ate most of them.. 

Saturday was a great day. We did not have too much stuff that was set planned, but we made the best of it. We knew one of our investigators, Brandon was playing a flag football game so we walked over and talked with him and watched him. It was great. A lot of his friends know who we are. Quite a few black people haha. more than we have come in contact with here in Pearson. But we were talking with him and he told us that Tyreek Hill was going to be there.. Now a little info about him.. He is from Pearson GA. He holds the Georgia record for the 100 yd dash, and a bronze medal in the jr olympics, and now he is going to be playing football for Oklahoma State. He is about my heigth, or shorter, but so thick.  At first it was just me and my comp standing there watching, then the other elders showed up and talked with us. Then he was joking, "man, everytime I look, they double" haha. It was great. He took either a picture or a snapchat or something with us in the back ground, calling us his goons. It was pretty funny haha. 

Later that day we headed off to Willacoochee to visit with our investigator Ressa. I cannot explain how wonderful she is!  She was doing some wood work. she's really good at it and has a shop in her back yard and everything. Like I said, she is just wonderful. She has been through a lot. Had eye cancer so she only has 1 eye, which made her retire from the air force, but doesn't let it get in the way of anything. But before we could really start our "friendship" conversation, she said, "So I've been reading and I've got a couple questions".. Wow. I was happy. Now she isn't one to argue, she is searching for answers. She explained how she felt the Book of Mormon was like the Bible because it was pretty much the same message.. I asked her where she had read to. Mosiah 19. It all made sense. Abinadi is a great man who preaches the 10 commandments!  We helped her understand that those who believe the Bible, should believe the Book of Mormon (Mormon 7). Well actually, I shouldn't say we helped her understand, because she already understood!  She just needed reassurance!  And she recognizes that if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a prophet. She is just a little stubborn right now with coming to church, but we are so happy for her. She also was expressing emotions of life, so we gave her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and introduced it to her. 

We also went fishing with one of our priest's saturday afternoon. He always takes us out to his uncle's house that sits on a huge pond. I caught a fish!  Even though it was only a brim.. nothing like a huge large mouth bass, but I'll catch one of those one day.. 

The Big Fisherman

This week was just a beautiful one. Another rain storm came through that just made it all more beautiful. We also have a friend that comes through the backyard almost everyday.. 

A "little" rain

Daily visitor . . . 

Well, until next week!  I love you all

Elder Bodily

Washing a Car and Repentance

It was so good to talk to the family yesterday! I cant believe that is already the middle of May.. The summer is coming, and i can feel it.. the heat is starting to hit. 

This week was a great one.  We had a baptism on Friday night. That is always a good time for the ward to grow closer together. It was a beautiful service. None of the girl's family are members of the church, so this was an ice-breaker for the whole family!   Like I said this week was a great one. 

We met a lot of new people.  We walked through this one neighborhood and it was great! We met Wallice while he was out working on his car.  He is 64 years old, and his life has been all over the place.  He has quite the history - used to be addicted to every sort of drug, drinking, smoking, everything.  He said that one day, he just prayed to "the big man in the sky" and it all stopped.  No classes or anything.  It truly was a miracle.  He has such great faith and he is excited to learn more about the restoration and the gospel. He is very animated, which is good.  A lot of these southerners talk quiet and slow.  Not Wallice!  It was nice.  

This week I had kind of an enlightening about gospel principles and something I love to do.. Washing the car and repentance.. We washed the car this week and I was thinking about it a lot. They are so much alike.  This is what I wrote in my journal: " Cleaning the car to me is like repentance: Different stages of the process of cleaning, different tools.  You can take a mud-covered car and turn it into something beautiful.  It's hard work sometimes, lots of little details, but in the end, it is something you will be proud of because you worked on it."   

I also listened to a great talk this week, its called "I love my friends" by Hank Smith.  It was great.  I always have thought about this during my mission, I am grateful for all the friends I have had that have taught me things.. good and negative, all were learning experiences.. I just gotta say, I have the best friends anyone could ask for. 

We went fishing this week and we didn't catch any fish, but hey!  I saw my first alligator!! It was a baby one, but hey, I saw one!  It was so exciting! 

We went over to a members house and celebrated mine and one of the other elders birthdays..  Don't let the cakes trick you.. cuz they did me at first.. a balloon! come on.. hahaha. it was a good time though. 

Pretty cakes . . .

but they were just balloons covered with Cool Whip!

But then they got real cakes!

Well, not much else happened this week..  hopefully this week is more eventful! 

I love this gospel so much. I am grateful for the atonement and the ability to use it in my every day life as a missionary. 

Elder Bodily

The Bishop in his ward took them out to eat.
Kevin had a BBQ sandwich.
I hope they had a case of napkins on hand! 

A Week of Work and a Miracle

This week went by like a blur.. I cant believe that it is Monday already.  This week flew because we were having some good experiences! and well, some not so good ones.  

One of the many reasons i love the south is because its home to me. On Tuesday and Wednesday we went and did some service for city hall here in Pearson.  That gives me an excuse to get out of the shirt and tie. Thus the reason for the overalls. Yes, i know i look like mario, but that's alright, i fit in here in Georgia! 

It's a good feeling to have when we go to city hall, they already know us. This town is tiny and everyone knows us. We are best friends with the mayor and now the Chief of Police. I love it :)   One day we were trying to help, but it was raining too much for them, and we saw this man across the street unloading a u-haul by himself, and i could see a fridge, and a washer and dryer.. so we went over and helped him out. We moved quite a bit into his house, and then religion was brought up and then we were at a standstill for about an hour..... it was us 4 elders helping him. He was a pastor at a church in Texas and then just up and left and came here.. strange, but that's his life.  I wouldn't call it a bible bash, we were just all explaining our beliefs and he, his. But a couple days later we went by to see how the move was going, and then we talked for another 2 hours.. this time it was me and one of the other elders.. oh boy.. it was turning to a bible bash.. but, as truth is always truth, he was going in circles. He brought up anti points and everything, but it was to no avail..  this whole experience just helped strengthen my testimony of the gospel and how true it really is! 

This week we also had a couple great lessons. First one was with a cousin of a member here, our ward mission leader who just returned from Mexico in December haha.  He is great!  So weird to think he is pretty much my age.. but his cousin has been going through a lot lately, and finally decided that she wanted to learn more about the church and accept the gospel.  So we went down and met with her!  She is awesome.  Also our age.. it still makes me double take on my life, how i am their age, but yet i am the one sharing the restored gospel.. but anywho, our lesson was outside, at a table of a Dairy Queen. It was a good experience though. A lot of people saw us, and as we continue to do work in that town maybe it'll help them out.  She lives in Homerville, a town bigger than Pearson, but hardly any active members.  

Our other great lesson actually happened at an active member's house in Homerville.  It was with his friends which we have met before.  She finally received her Book of Mormon and is excited to read it!  The member reminds me of the movie Up.  He is an old guy that gets around better than me. 

Also in Homerville, we were going through our list of members and remembered someone telling us about an older sister with health problems.. it was really a miracle we found her. The gps didn't show her address, and as we turned a corner, we saw the street sign.  So we met her.  Sister Smith. S he lives by herself and is like in her 80's.  The first thing she said was that she hadn't seen missionaries in awhile.  I am so grateful we went by and visited with her.  It was wonderful.  I love being able to just visit people, and talk about their lives, especially the older generation.. (politically correct term, i think..)

anywho. the work is work, the area is amazing, and the gospel is true! 

elder bodily