Easter Haikus

Hello everybody! 

        This week has been good. Very busy visiting people and lots of appointments. I am really excited for Easter this weekend! What a blessing to be able to focus a little more on Jesus Christ. Here are some short haikus about Easter, because I don’t have time to write much today. 

The Lord Jesus Christ,

He saves us from the darkness,

I love him dearly. 

This is Easter week,

A time to remember Him,

Let us serve our Lord. 

Love you all!

Here are a couple pictures from the week:

Elder Boehme and I! He’s from Canada and one of my favorite missionaries in the mission. He is so hardworking and funny. Also, sorry that his eyes are closed, but this is the only picture we have. 

A member’s kids got a hold of my iPad. This is one of my favorite families here in lake city. So fun, so lively, really funny. 

PS:   Addition from Asher's mom:  In my letter this week,  I asked him about the epic highs and tragic lows that missionaries experience.  He laughed, and responded with a good description of what his Sunday was like. I thought some of you might enjoy a glimpse of regular mission drama.

"Yes... I do feel like that many days. For example, Sunday morning!

   On our way to church at 8, we stopped by and knocked on the door of an investigator family (they fasted and prayed all day Saturday that they could come to church). They came outside and pointed to a trailer next to them, which we then noticed was charred inside and out, and the trees around it were covered in ash as well. Apparently, somebody had been smoking at 4 in the morning, with oxygen tanks in their home, and the trailer had exploded. So nobody got any sleep and they couldn’t come even though they’d promised to come the day before. That’s the 5th week in a row that something crazy like that was happening.

Then, we head over to the church and try to send a text to the ward council about investigators to expect at church. It won’t send. We ask our sisters to send it, and it sends, but is total gibberish. Finally, we send it to a member and he sends it to the ward council group text. Satan doesn’t want out investigators to come to church, apparently.

Get to church, and a family walks in, the Davis’, who were supposed to pick up our investigator Jerry and his member wife Cami. But it’s just the Davis’ walking in. They had stopped by and nobody was home.

 Then, we get a text from a member family, the Hansens, who we have been meeting with and working with to help them invite their friends. Sister Hansen tells us that Zoe, her 7 year old daughter, is bringing one of her friends to church, and tells us about the amazing natural missionary conversations that Zoe has had with her friend. So that lifts our spirits at least a little.

No investigators show up to sacrament meeting - we walk to the foyer and see Steven, a member referral from Raymond, also in our ward. That also lifts our spirits, and he stays all 3 hours and we met with him yesterday afternoon. He loves the Book of Mormon and especially when we shared 1 Nephi 13 - the prophesy of the colonization of America. 

So yes, I understand what you mean with the ups and downs :)"

Exhilarating Week

Hello Everybody!

      This week was exhilarating! Lots happened last week, but the big highlights have been from last Saturday through yesterday. Lynn G. Robbins, one of the church leaders, came here from Utah to speak here in Lake City Saturday night and Sunday Morning. He also spoke at a mission leadership conference Monday, then again on Tuesday.

Elder Jenkins and I at the conference.

Dozens of pizzas to feed everyone.

Good to see old companions there, like Elder Stuart.

Missionaries and Leader attending the Mission Leadership Conference

      Saturday night I was asked to play prelude music for the church session - so I was standing up at the front playing hymns with a pianist accompanying me. Quite a few people came that night - probably between two or three hundred. The church leadership had a meeting until five before, so most of the time I was playing, nobody was up on the stand. Then I see a few people walk in. First, the Stake Presidency, who are responsible for eight or nine congregations around Lake City. Then, our mission president and his wife walk in. Right behind them is the Temple President from Orlando and his wife, who are in charge of coordinating everything with the temple there. Right after them come Lynn G. Robbins and his wife. They make their way up to the front and sit on the chairs right behind me - you know, all of them between ten and fifteen feet away. At this point, I’m really grateful for my wonderful teachers and professors for teaching me how to play and not get nervous, because otherwise my bow would have been shaking like a deer in headlights. Anyway, it was fun to do and made me grateful for being able to play viola.

Playing prelude with Sister Cabral

      Lynn G. Robbins spoke then, and then in each consecutive meeting, about different things, but each time the Spirit was strong and his words were really touching. He spoke on the difference between “be” and “do”. It’s not enough to just do good things or have Christlike acts, we need to be good and have a Christlike nature.

Elder Robbins giving instruction.

       He taught a lot about parenting - that as soon as we try to control a child’s agency, we plant seeds of rebellion in their heart. He said that we should be parents like Heavenly Father is a parent - teaching us true doctrine, how to live, and then letting us choose to act based on our knowledge and guided by his Spirit. Fascinating - so many good things!! I love learning, that’s the big thing that I came away with from this week - power of learning, especially about the gospel and how it connects into every little part of our lives.

There is a family in our ward, the Hansens, who had us over for dinner and to share a message. Sister Hansen loves us, for some reason, and the way that we teach their kids. She said “Here, pose for a picture and I’ll post it on the church’s Facebook page so everybody can see that y’all can even teach crazy, wild kids!” I can attest that their kids are both crazy and wild, but there’s still always a Spirit of love in their home.

I had a tradeoff with Elder Kesler this week - he is from Idaho and is a 100% born and raised farm boy. He grew up on a cattle farm and he knows how to work hard. 

Elder Jenkins and I, then the sisters in our ward - Sister Prue (left) and Sister Spangler (right). Sister Prue is from Idaho and is a great artist, and loves working hard and being out all day every day. Sister Spangler is from Missouri (three cheers for the one other missionary I know who’s not from Utah, Idaho, or California!) and she loves family history. 

I love you all, and hope that you have a great week. Spring is here in Florida, but it’s actually colder than all winter has been... 60 degrees and windy. Freezing!    -Elder McMullin