Slow week, but still fun

July 8, 2013

So this week was quite uneventful.  We really couldn't get much done on the 4th of July and it was also transfers this week as well, so we had a slow start to the transfer.  But that's okay!  We were able to do our first JustServe project on Friday.  We went to a place called Habitat for Humanity where they sell thrift items to raise money to build houses for charity.  We worked at the store and volunteered for about 3 hours to help stock shelves, move furniture, and complete orders.   It was a really good experience.  Elder Wallace worked in the office doing some office work and the office lady said they would hire him because he worked so fast.  Also our manager said "these are the kind of volunteers that I like.  They are always bugging you to see what they can do next."  It was really positive and turned out to be the best idea for us all.  A lot of the staff and volunteers were just juvenile delinquents or people working for food stamps so they aren't used to having actual hardworking people.  A lot of them asked us about the church and we even got a referral for another ward while we were there.  I think the church is on the right track with this.

In other news, we got Serena baptized (less active mother and nonmember father.)  She turns 9 on the15th so it got done just in time.  Serena even asked me to speak on baptism so it was really neat.  Every one of her family members were in tears and even her father shed a tear or two.  Her father also seemed really anxious to meet with us this week, so maybe the spirit spoke to him! 

We also got Brandon at church.  I've taken a special interest in him while I've been here and it looks like it might be working.  I asked him how long it’s been since he's come to church and he said I was the first missionary in several years, perhaps a decade that actually succeeded in getting him here.  He said "I've been pretty stubborn" "You just needed another missionary more stubborn than you then," I replied.  "I think the proper term is 'persistent'" he says.  That was funny.

Well that’s all I have this week.  I'm glad everyone had fun on their trips and hope you have a great summer!

Elder Bringhurst

Transfer news

ADMINISTRATOR NOTE: Sorry folks for getting behind on the posts. With girl’s camp and our cruise to Alaska I’ve been gone. Enjoy getting caught up!


July 1, 2013

Well, Elder Wallace and I are staying together another transfer. It’s been a fun transfer and I'm excited to stay another transfer! I love this ward and I'm excited about all that has been going on. Elder Wallace and I gave a talk yesterday in church and it was really great (even though I only had 7 minutes to give my prepared 20 minute talk ha ha. So I ended up just giving the basics and bearing my testimony about the restoration). It really was a great day and a great experience. Brother McCann, our ward mission leader, gave a great talk in the 3rd hour to all the adult members about ward missionary work. It was so cool to see him get up there and magnify his calling even though he was still so new to the church.

We also were able to help a part member family get their 8 year old daughter an interview for baptism and will be baptized next week. It's almost like a "less active" baptism.

Well we bid farewell to President Maynes last Friday as President Murdock takes the front seat for the next 3 years. I haven't met him yet, but apparently he owns a car dealership in Bountiful. He's 58 years old and that's all I really know (oh and I guess he has 10 children)

This week was rough. I had to deal with a wee bit of a fever on Friday and Saturday. I have this pain on the left side of my neck behind my Adams apple and it’s making it hard to swallow.   So I'm going to see a doctor tomorrow for that. It's not very fun.  I couldn’t really sleep last night because of it.

Anywho, that’s all I have on the missionary front. We keep going on and keep pushing through!

Elder Bringhurst

 

 

 

 

Life and Times

June 24, 2013

Well it's been another week gone to who knows where, but I've had a pretty good week. Might I say first how much missionary exchanges are starting to wear on me? I really don't have a lot of energy left for the whole deal, as we went on the 4th exchange of the transfer with a 5th being prepared for in the coming week. That's kind of nuts.

 Okay, this week. This week was good. I got a strong impression not to see the Satanist guy anymore so we didn't see him. But we have had a great week otherwise. One moment was really great. A couple (the wife is a nonmember) finally came around to see us after an incredible 4 week stretch of not seeing us, and the brother told me that I was his favorite missionary that he had in his home and that at first he thought I was a cocky doctor’s son but now really loves me and he said that I changed his life and helped him through some of the hardest times of these last few weeks and calls us all of the time now asking if we need rides. It was really neat; he got really emotional during the whole thing.

Another highlight was church. We had an incredible 6 nonmembers in sacrament meeting and another 5-6 less actives as well. So things really did turn out pretty well. I'm excited for everyone to have been there. It was a blast. We were running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to wrangle everyone to class (like 20 people or so were in gospel principles, from last week’s 5)

Last thing, the mission president broadcast. Wow that was neat. One of the big jokes I have with brother McCann, (who was sustained yesterday as ward mission leader after his September baptism last year!) is that missionaries need I-Pads to electronically store all the info of people we teach (rather than a mess of teaching records and bad addresses known as the "area book") so that we can better function more efficiently as missionaries. He was cracking up at the broadcast when Elder Perry talked about "mobile devices" that the missionaries would get with the change to a more cyberspace approach to missionary work. The other thing that was cool was that apparently the churches will be opened at other times during the week for guided tours by the missionaries ???  Not a lot of specifics there but he said one of the complaints received was that "people would get the courage to come to an LDS building, only to find it locked and empty."  But missionaries using Facebook and other resources to proselyte?? That’s nuts. Too bad by the time it gets implemented I will probably be returning home. But how exciting for future missionaries.

Another cool thing is that Bishop asked Elder Wallace and I to each give a 20 minute talk in sacrament meeting. He said "I want you to speak as if the whole congregation was investigators, and you were trying to convert them." He gave me an assignment to speak on the restoration, and Elder Wallace the plan of Salvation. This will be awesome. He said the object is to set the tone for the 5th Sunday lesson (which is on the Mission president broadcast taught by our convert ward mission leader Brother McCann) taught in the 3rd hour.

So it has been eventful, wonderful things are happening and it will continue to grow!

Elder Bringhurst

 

 

 

Crazy Times

June 17, 2013

So I was on the phone with another missionary because he was having some problems with his companion and he needed to talk to me, and he says "hang on." And this lady comes up to him on the other line saying how wrong they are about telling people they need to change. She said "those missionary friends of yours on bikes (elder Wallace and I) told some of my tenants that they are going to hell!" (We didn't.   I told this lady that in order to get baptized she needed to get off probation and quit smoking. I guess she took that to mean I was telling her she's going to hell  -- ha ha)  This other Elder was being reasonable with her but she was drunk and I could just hear the conversation getting more and more vicious on her part. She started cursing (a perfect indicator that she knows she is losing control of the conversation) and telling him never to bother her tenants. So she storms off (cursing like a sailor) and I told the missionary to stay on the phone and tell me what she was doing. She goes to a shed, picks up a hammer and a little revolver and starts marching back to the house. I'm getting nervous now and I told this elder that if she gets within 10 feet of the house to call the cops. Well, one of the neighbors saw her and convinced her to let go of the gun and the hammer. So crisis averted. So that's my crazy experience of the week.

We also picked up a very strange new investigator who calls himself "toshy" (A name given to him by a sensei of his). Well, we met this guy at City Market, and asked if he wanted a Book of Mormon and he said yes.  So we went over to his house the next day and WOW, this guy is crazy. He's a self declared communist and he's considered Satan as his Savior.  Oh and did I mention that he said that everyone that doesn't benefit society should deserve to die? Yeah we have some work to do with him.

Well that's my week. Neither Roberto nor Bill showed up to church.  How sad. But we will keep moving!

Elder Bringhurst

 

 

 

Bring on the heat!

June 10, 2013

I don't understand it, but I'm pretty sure a month ago it was below freezing... Well today it is supposed to be in the triple digits! ouch. Needless to say, it’s been hot. Kind of embarrassing to go to every appointment with sweat going down my back like a waterfall. I have to drink an incredible amount of water, and my milk cravings have gone up as well, up to 3- 4 gallons a week! So I'm definitely in drinking water and milk mode.

We've had a "separating the wheat from the tares" week as well. We had to drop a few people that weren't progressing and a few people dropped us as well because they didn't want to talk "religion." (interesting that you let Mormon missionaries in with the intention NOT to talk religion) anyway, we have been praying for new investigators. I really thought it was turning hopeless until we get a text from bishop that literally says "Hey I got a new investigator for you, he will be in church on Sunday." This was Bill, a slower guy who lives alone and works at home Depot. He was introduced to the church by a mystery less active member who we don't know and he showed up yesterday and stayed all three hours. We will be seeing him on Saturday and hopefully will get something out of it. I was dumbfounded, I couldn't believe it. I was hoping God would provide but not THAT miraculously and instantaneously. I call these types of investigators "manna from heaven" because they seem to come out of nowhere. I really was grateful for this.

Also, this Hispanic guy named Roberto has been coming to church and staying all three hours each time. He speaks a little English, but this time he surprised everyone. He showed up to church and (just to be clear this guy waxes floors for a living, not a rich guy) he tries to pay his tithing! We had to explain that since he wasn't a member he did not need to pay tithing and he said "well then I want to be a member." Sweet! (only problem is he doesn't live anywhere.. so that will be a little bit of a stretch to get missionaries to him.) But once he gets an apartment we can assign him the appropriate missionaries. That is really awesome! Talk about a solid investigator with real intent. This guy understands about half of what he hears, but he stays all three hours, awake and attentive with a big smile on his face, and he felt the need to pay his tithing. Those types are rare. But we got his number and will follow up as soon as we can!

Well that's all I have for this week. It has been a roller coaster but we did manage another week with 20 lessons, so things are still rolling!

Elder Bringhurst

 

 

Another Week

Well I don't have anything this week of too much consequence in highlight, other than some news we got at zone conference this week. Apparently The CDSM (Colorado Denver South Mission) has been chosen along with only 3 other missions to pilot this new church program called "JustServe." The point of the program is intended to show the world that we don't just talk of the Savior, but strive to follow his example. The basis of the program is to have full time missionaries and ward members work together to do community service every week in conjunction with charity organizations and other faiths. We are required to strive to do between 4 and 10 hours on non proselyting community service each week in an attempt to have a bigger impact in the community and to dissolve misconceptions about members of the church. It will begin to be implemented in a couple of weeks (the idea is just in its infancy so we will have to fix all of the kinks and other minor glitches as we go along). JustServe.org will be the main site for us and members and zone leaders will post a bunch of projects going on in the community there and we can sign up from there. It is a really neat new program and I think it will work out pretty well.

Also the new mission president conference being held at the MTC later this month has always been a closed circuit program for new mission presidents, but this time the first presidency has asked that everyone with a calling associated with missionary work be a part of the proceedings. It’s a historic new development and everyone is actually really excited for it all!

 On the missionary front we had a couple of exchanges this week that went pretty well, and we found 2 new investigators this week! So were doing well on the numbers front.

The weather has also gotten pretty warm, with a high of 90 predicted for today, so I'm carrying a lot of water. I also got into my first boxing match of my life last Monday. I've never really boxed in my life so it was interesting. I boxed Elder Nadauld in about a 2 minute round. None of us really won but it was still pretty fun.

Well that's all I have for this week and I'm really excited for the coming events!

Elder Bringhurst

 

New Companion, New Day

May 28, 2013

So I received my new companion a last week on Tuesday. His name is Elder Wallace, he's from a microscopic town called Paint Rock in Texas. (217 people) He's pretty awesome. We liked each other from the get-go. He is only one transfer behind me so we are both pretty experienced missionaries. So things will be pretty good. Elder Nielson left to serve in Montrose.

This first week was pretty slow because I decided to stop seeing all of the OUP's (old useless people) that occupied a good amount of our time. But being district leader is already a good challenge. Day 2 of the transfer I get a call from another missionary saying that they cannot stand their companion and they want to go on exchanges. So it looks like it will be fun.

As district leader I conduct district meetings, go on exchanges with every missionary in the district and with the zone leaders (which the zone leaders are a part of my district meeting).  We also have a senior couple in our district so, in all, there are 10 people in the district: 4 elder missionary companionships (including myself) and the senior couple.

The first district meeting went really well. We did a fun game getting to know each other and it was pretty cool. I also drew 9 dots in the pattern of a 3x3 box, and had them think of ways that they can draw one continuous line that only changes direction 3 times and will intersect all 9 lines. They have to be straight lines. There is only 1 possible solution, and they kept trying to make it work. (The trick is you have to think "outside of the box".) While they were thinking, I wrote the quote "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." Albert Einstein. So while they are doing this, they look at the quote and start laughing because they can't figure it out. So I showed the correct solution and the lines go "outside the box" to make it work. It was an effective training. I told them missionary work is the same. If you find out something is not working, it will continue to not work. We can't be stuck in a rut and we want to try something new.

Well Elder Wallace and I are doing pretty good. Things are going great and I'm excited to see what happens for the transfer.

Elder Bringhurst