September 12, 2011

 Helloooooooooooooooooooo familia!

Hey guess what? I'm no longer the newest elder in our district! It's no big deal because I'm still only 6 1/2 weeks old, but it just feels nice to not look so green to people haha. Elder Johnson (our district leader) is training an Elder Garner from Cedar City, Utah. It was super fun to meet him and reminisce about the MTC and meeting Pres. Merkley and stuff. It seems like I was just barely in his place. He'll be a great missionary.

Don't worry one bit, Mom. I'm doing great! I'm happy, I'm okay, and the gospel's still true :) If it gives you any comfort, you can ask me that every time you email me. Or maybe I could just update you on my physical, emotional, and spiritual status at the beginning of every single letter. Whatevers. I'm doing just dandy! Not to say that life in the OTM has it's bumps and bruises, but I'm a warrior. I'm a flippin' warrior baby. Even though BYU lost.... and I lost my nametag..... :( But that's another story.

Nichole is all set to be baptized this coming Saturday! I couldn't be more happy for her. We visited her a couple times this week, and she had a successful baptismal interview on Saturday. Whenever we teach Nichole, it is like taking a breath of fresh air. Most of our other investigators aren't progressing too much, and so you can only imagine how happy we are when we show up at her door. Seeing Nichole change her life has been just awesome to experience. She is so humble it's ridiculous! Tomorrow we're going to plan her baptism program with her, and then we're going to teach her about the Temple on Thursday. It will be the perfect lesson to teach right before she's baptized, because the Temple is what it's all about.

Man, if only everyone was like Nichole. We are teaching this wonderful family who are pretty much everything but members of our church. They don't drink, smoke, gamble, and they have friends in the church. They are one of those cute families that missionaries dream to teach. The only problem, though, is that they are very devout Catholics. I just know that they have felt the spirit at the many baptisms they've attended and the many church meetings they've gone to. They are just too connected to their church to give up the traditions, the friends, and the Trinity. Carl's (the dad) parents basically forbid him from joining our church because their family has been Catholic forever. It's so frustrating! They've been investigators for years, but I'm thinking that it just might not be their time to receive the gospel yet. We're going to have to drop them this next visit. It's going to be sad, but missionaries will still check up on them every now and then. I'm sure I'll see them in a month or so.

People truly have to change their lives when they join the church. That's why it's so vital for us to keep track of investigators, even if they aren't currently being taught. Years from now an investigator could be picked up again who wasn't ready to join at the time. We also do a LOT of work with the less-actives in the area, because there are so many of them. But it's important to make them feel loved and welcome. That's why we're still visiting with Ashley regularly to make the transition smoother. She lives 7 miles away out in the country, so sometimes it takes a lot of motivation to bike 15 miles round trip just to see one person. She still has a lot to learn, and her testimony needs to be strengthened by members. Back in Utah, nobody has any place to complain about home teaching. Dad, imagine if you were assigned 11 families. Holy cannoli!! Active members have soooo much to do out here it's crazy. But that's what makes them such great people. Oh how I love our ward members!

Our appointment with Dave - the Born Again Christian I told you about - didn't go well, sadly. We were all excited to totally blindside him with a spiritual lesson on temples and family history work, but in the end we had a 2 hour long argument. We left with fake smiles on our faces, but I felt like pulling out my hair. You see, we tried not to bash because we knew we'd get nowhere. The man is set in stone and is always claiming that he's "planting seeds in our hearts." But right when we got there, Dave was ready with his anti-Mormon junk and a video for us to watch on the false teachings of Mormonism. I would tell you the title of it and all about it, but I just want to forget about it. The spirit was so very absent, that I felt like I was watching a rated-R movie. It made me angry. It made me sick. He thought it was a great film uncovering the secrets of Mormonism, but an animated movie that makes fun of temple covenants was nothing short of offensive to me. But enough with that. Just know that we probably won't see him again.

Time for some good news! Elder Navratil and I went to go get a haircut the other day. All the time we pass this building that says "$7.00 haircut and shampoo!" so we thought we'd check it out. Not a smart idea. We walk in and realize that we're actually in a school for people training to be hair-stylists, but it was too late to turn back. To make a long story short, I pretty much got scalped. Talk about embarrassing! It's just starting to grow back to normal, so I don't think I'll send pictures of me today, alrighty? :) Yeah yeah laugh all you want, but I totally taught the Restoration and placed a BOM with the lady cutting my hair. We're visiting with her today, and it's looking very promising. Her name is Betty and she was very interested in reading the Book of Mormon because she'd never heard of it before. She's like the only person I've met out here who hasn't heard of it! She just loves the idea of finding out it's true for herself, and so I'm stoked to see if she's read some already. I've decided that a hair salon is a great place to pick up investigators because they have to talk to you. I think I'll get a haircut every week :)

It's so good to hear from you! I wish I could've been there for the school blessings! It sounds like it was a great experience. Oh, I wish I could give you ALL a big hug. Each week it seems like I'm missing out on more and more, so I get a little sad. I don't get too sad, but I feel a little tug in my heart whenever you talk about me not being there. But I truly can feel your love from here, so just know your prayers are working :) I feel strengthened every day, and I know that it's partly because of you.

Each week I also get more and more excited for April to leave. I know it will be sad and such, but I just can't wait for her to have the mission experience. The other day I talked to a lady who was from the Kansas City/Independence area. She met the missionaries there, and was eventually baptized. She told me that one of the biggest factors in her conversion was just the amazing history of the church. She loved the visitors center there and she loved learning about the history of the Mormons in Missouri. Her advice for April (when I told her about my sister going there) was just to be engulfed in the history. The history of our church has such a power that you (April) will come to love, and it will strengthen your testimony. April, I'm so excited for you to bear your powerful witness, and in bearing that testimony you will be converted and sanctified through the Holy Ghost. Keep a good journal, and take a lot of pictures. I already have so many pictures that I love. I don't have much more advice for you, as I'm still new at this myself, but remember who you are and who you represent. I've been taught that it's okay for investigators to think you're perfect because you wear Christ's name over your heart. You are literally His representative. Always be obedient so you can carry his name with pride and a joyful obligation.

I love this gospel. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I love you.

Love,

Elder Atkin

P.S. I thought I'd send some pictures of nature today. It's going to be Fall soon, and so I've been enjoying the cooler weather lately. The Earth is so beautiful! The first picture I took one morning last week when I woke up. I looked outside and saw how epic it was, so I had to take a picture of the flaming sky. The 2nd is of a rainbow after an afternoon drizzle. And the third is of a flippin' huge banana spider I saw while mowing the Sutton's lawn on Friday. Scary!