September 26, 2011

Word to the family!! Haha jk :)

So basically Labor Day is quite the opposite of fun and relaxing for missionaries. Sure we were fed well at multiple BBQ's yesterday, BUT HEY. No email?! No shopping for food that I desperately need?! No getting letters in the mail?! Outrageous!! These are quite simply the staples of missionary life! So yeah, the library was closed yesterday and I was totally dying. Hopefully you're not too sad that Monday came and went without an email.

But either way it's been a pretty good week. It sounds like things are still going well at home. Oh man, I'm missing out on BYU football!! The Razorbacks beat Missouri State on Saturday like 50-7 or something. So people are pretty happy around here. I know I've said it before, but Springdaleans and Fayettevilleans live and die for Razorback football. Elder Navratil and I always joke around about how we're totally going to get tickets to the Auburn game in October. Except I think Elder Navratil is kinda serious about really going... Oh boy.

Before I forget- I was wondering if there was a way you could send me a chart/graph/paper/whatever of my line of priesthood authority. It seems like all the missionaries out here have theirs, and so I kinda want mine because I thought it would be cool to know.

Anyways. Things are going well. Transfer calls were on Saturday, but neither of us are going anywhere. That means that Elder Navratil is going to continue to train me for the next six weeks until the end of his mission. We've both decided that I'll probably be the one training in the end because each day he becomes less motivated more and more. It's pretty hilarious :) I have to wake him up and stuff haha. Since I'll be with him until he leaves, it also means that I'll most likely stay in Springdale, Arkansas for another 3 months at least so as to not "shotgun" the area (bring in two missionaries new to the area).

On Wednesday we had sort of a mini zone conference in our chapel. The zone leaders spent 8 hours teaching us about the fundamentals of Preach My Gospel. Golly, it was like the MTC all over again! Did I really spend like 10 hours a day in the classroom?? Holy cats... But it was really good to review things and receive good counsel from the zone leaders. They're pretty cool. Sad story though - one of the ZLs (Elder Taylor) went home a week early to be with a missionary who's leaving the mission. The missionary was having a lot of issues and he decided to leave because he was getting really depressed. That missionary was Elder Navratil's last companion. It's always sad when a missionary leaves for home early, but hopefully it was the best decision for him.

This week we taught Nichole about recognizing the Spirit, Tithing, and Fast offerings. She is still doing amazing, and she is still accepting everything we say. Wowzers. Every time we go over we tell her how much fun it is to teach her. She is still as humble as ever. Elder Navratil and I are pretty happy that neither of us got transfered so we can be here for the baptism on the 17th. I'm so excited! Nichole will be the first person that I actually started the teaching to be baptized on my mission. Pretty much legit! There really isn't too much else to say about Nichole because she's doing great.

We taught Caroline on Sunday again. Elder Navratil and I have been praying and studying to know how we can help her progress and not question things so much. Thanks for sending that talk, Mom. It truly did help out, and we used some of it's points in our lesson, just so you know. Mom, you were totally inspired!! haha :) Our lesson went really well, and she understands a lot more. We watched the Restoration DVD (we've been trying to teach her the Restoration and apostasy and such forever now) and it really helped her understand that Joseph Smith wasn't some crazy person with a crazy idea. I know that she felt the spirit, and we were able to build from that and talk about how Heavenly Father answers prayers. The lesson wasn't perfect to say the least, but she is progressing. Elder Navratil wants me to commit her to baptism this upcoming Sunday when she comes to church. Cross your fingers!

Haha funny story: Elder Navratil is totally in love with this girl on a mission in Las Vegas. He's been preparing a birthday gift for her for like a month now, and we took a special trip to the post office on Wednesday (during lunchtime at Fundamentals) just so he could see it off in a special box. He's totally head over heels tee hee :) Anyway. When we were leaving, an old lady with a walker came up to us and asked in a shaky voice, "are you missionaries?" We answered the affirmative and she told us to wait so she could find some change to give us as to thank us for our service. Instead of a little bit of change, she gave us a 20 dollar bill. Totally awesome! We then proceeded to do what any missionary would and we asked her for her info, etc. so we could maybe teach her. Right away she started heading for the door and saying funny and random excuses loudly so we couldn't respond back. She sure moved fast for an old lady with a walker! She totally motored out to her car faster than the speed of light. That right there sums up how a lot of people are. They are really nice and love to talk Razorbacks, the weather, etc. But when you start talking prophets and the Book of Mormon, they end the conversation quicker than you can say "I'm fixin' to go to the Walmarts." Yeah. Seriously.

Well, today we have a couple appointments. We meet with Nichole at 4:00, but before that we have an appointment with a man we met the other day. He's a Born Again Christian named David (haha go figure), and we first contacted him as we stopped to help him hook up a trailer. He is nicer than the David I met in Walmart, and we had an awesome discussion, but he flat out told us we're going to Hell. But don't worry, he said it nicely, so it shouldn't be too bad right? :) I'm afraid that he wanted to meet with us again so we could have a flat-out bash, but we're at least happy that we could see him again. We've been praying to find out something we could teach him that doesn't lead to an argument. I was thinking about teaching him about Temples and Family History. What do you think? Oh well, wish us luck! We're going to need it. It could get pretty wild today...

Well, It's been fun emailing you! You can expect an email next Monday, alright? And Mom: I absolutely love listening to my music! I actually kind of regret not putting on as much as I possibly could... Oh well. MOTAB is good enough for now. Thanks again for the post card and for the letters y'all sent. I'm planning on writing some snail mail back to you in the future. It's hard for me to answer everyone right away - as we both already understand - but I'll try writing hand-written letters every few weeks, just so you know. Feel free to send me anything anytime, including any cool church videos that we might not have. We sure love church movies, for that is ALL we have haha :)

I also have a bunch of thank you letters and envelopes that some missionary left behind. It would be nice if I could have a ward directory or something with names and addresses so I could thank a few people back at home for being awesome. Don't worry about it too much, but If I had some time I think it would be a lot of fun.

Thanks again for the talk, Mom. You should totally send me cool talks all the time because they really are beneficial. I absolutely CANNOT WAIT for General Conference!! It'll be fun to talk all about it afterwards.

I'm so stoked for April to go on a mission! She's going to thrive in her mission, I just know it. Not going to lie, I totally laughed out loud when I read Rachel's email about April's face wobbling from getting her wisdom teeth out. Hahahahaha that is TOO FUNNY!! April - I'm not making fun of you. Hee hee hee

I would do anything if I could show you all a peek of what I'm doing. And I would do anything just to see a peek of what you are doing, including the school blessings. Oh how I miss those, Dad :) Thanks for being such a great family! Distance truly makes the heart grow fonder.

And that's what reminds me of our time on this earth. Hopefully this distance from our Heavenly Home makes us grow fonder of it. The emails that we both so cherish are like the prayers that we should be cherishing every day. How sweet will be the day when I see y'all again, and how sweet it will be when we join each other on the other side. I know that God is real and he loves each one of us in such a way that I can't fully grasp. But each day as I serve his children, I catch a glimpse of that love, and it makes me a better person. I love you!

Love, Elder Atkin

P.S. I guess I can show you a peek of what I'm doing... Here's some pictures of an Elder Atkin in his natural habitat. He is seen in the act of placing a pass-along card. Enjoy!