A visit to Archer, Florida

Hey everybody! 

This week was good - we're still getting used to Facebook, having smartphones, and some other new things. It's been quite the adventure! Trust me, after using a flip phone for 15 months, trying to type on a screen has been quite the experience. I feel like a clumsy elephant trying to play piano. But hey, that's how I am with most things, so it's nothing new.

We had an amazing experience out in Archer on Saturday. What's Archer? Thanks for asking! Let me explain it for you in poetry.

This town is like no other,

It obfuscates my mind.

Epitome of "southern",

Is how it is defined.

With stray dogs running wild,

And old cars parked on grass,

The old town's tone is mild,

There's nowhere to get gas.

The people here are sincere,

They say what's on their mind.

The sounds of gunshots we hear,

Though everyone seems kind.

Anyway, so that's Archer. Just imagine a town that was build 50 years ago, and then no maintenance or repair was done on anything (stores, houses, cars, people's teeth, etc.) and that's Archer. I honestly absolutely love it. It's so much more fun to be in then rich neighborhoods where nobody will talk to you. Everybody in Archer is genuine, though maybe also crazy. 

Anyway, so we were walking around talking to people in the streets, trying to share videos about Christ, and a little message with them. We met this one man who was grilling out front of his little house. On the grass parked in front of the house was a Challenger and a Mustang - there's another thing about Archer, some people have really nice cars, and keep them in good shape, and then their house is just falling apart. Priorities...?

Anyway though, back on topic, his name is Rey and he has a thick black beard and a southern drawl - he's wearing a white tank top, like 99.9% of the male population in Archer. He tells us that he's recently lost his father and grandfather, and has been looking for where God is in his life. We shared a video on how, because the gospel and authority of God have been restored to the earth, our families can be together forever. He said that he'd love to come to church. We swapped phone numbers, said goodbye, and drove off. Twenty seconds later, we get a call from a random number. It's Rey's girlfriend, who was also at his house but didn't talk to us. "What do y'all believe?" She asks, seeming a little suspect. 

"We believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God - that he came to the earth to give his life for us, and that if we have faith in him, repent, are baptized, and endure, that we can be clean and return to live with God."

"Ahhhhhhh sounds good. We'll be comin' to y'alls church tomorrow."

So why is this cool? Because they called and confirmed that they'd come to church! Usually it feels like we're calling, texting, and trying to pull people to church so they can feel the Spirit and have better lives, but she called us! So that was fun.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week. Help others. Say hello to somebody you don't know. Reach out to somebody in your class or at work who looks down. Go make a difference.

Love you!

Elder McMullin