April 23, 2012

Dear Family,

 

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey there, Fam! Here's a big shout out frum yer sun in Oooooooooooooklahoma!! I really think that the Okie in me is starting to surface. I recently bought a bag of sunflower seeds to munch on while I'm driving and I find myself saying y'all all the time. You may laugh at this, but I seriously change my language when I start talking to people who are lifetime Okies. It's natural. It feels good. They accept me :) I'll tell you what, there are so many things wearing off on to me. We meet with many people who are quite long-winded, if ya know what I mean. It used to drive me bonkers when I'd go into a lesson and get out 2 hours later after hearing someones life story for the 10th time. That isn't the case anymore. I'm not saying that I'm okay with staying in homes for 2 hours all the time, but sometimes ya just gotta let it flow. Everyone out here is long-winded. I mean EVERYONE. I myself am becoming long-winded. I could talk for hours! I'm trying to shorten my lessons instead of lengthen them. Just wait until I come home :)

 

A good example of my long-windedness comes from yesterday in sacrament meeting. Elder Ivie and I were asked to give talks a few days ago. I was assigned to talk on the 3rd Article of Faith and the significance of the Atonement, and Elder Ivie was assigned to talk on Jacob 4:14 (looking beyond the mark) and his thoughts on the Atonement. You can only imagine how prepared we were because of our busy missionary schedules. We started Saturday night! Luckily we were able to gather a few thoughts together (though Elder Ivie was about ready to kill himself with anxiety. Poor guy). I used some of Elder Holland's remarks in the March 2008 Liahona to help me explain the Atonement.

 

There were five speakers on Sunday with an intermediate hymn. 2 were youth speakers, then us, then the hymn, then the main speaker - Bro. Wing. We were asked to talk 5-10 minutes. The time came for Elder Ivie to give his talk. Despite his fears, tears, and dripping sweat, the champ delivered a great talk on not "looking beyond the mark" and becoming a follower of Christ. It was real short and to the point. As he ended, I wiped my sweaty palms and tried to calm my nerves as I walked to the pulpit. Luckily I didn't faint on my way up. But as I started to speak, my silent prayers were answered and I surprisingly felt very calm. Suddenly I felt such confidence and I began to speak with clarity and with conviction. Boy, it felt good! But on the other hand, I still wasn't quite prepared and I dived deeper and deeper into Elder Holland's thoughts and other points of deep doctrine, such as the law of restoration and such... I didn't realize that I was just blabbing on and on! As I began wrapping up my talk and began sharing my testimony, I looked up at the clock. Instant embarassment and panic entered my soul as I realized that I had talked for 20 minutes. AAHHH!! I quickly finished and sat down in a flustered, red-faced mess. It only got worse as Bro. Hagedorn got up and announced that there would be no intermediate hymn due to time constraints. I was not a happy camper. While I felt like the Lord helped me out, I still feel like I was boring and - you guessed it - very long-winded. I knew it was bad when people walked up to Elder Ivie and congratulated him on his talk profusely and then slowly turned to me, patted me on the shoulder, and quietly said that I gave a good talk. Sheesh.

 

But life goes on. And boy, does it ever! Two Sundays in a row now we've received calls from various people explaining that they want us to teach their friend, family member, etc. Tomorrow we have an appointment with Mikey Bliss and his wife, who is a non-member. Last week we taught a girl who was baptized when she was little, but doesn't know anything about the church and wants to know more. Sis. Mosdell might have a non-member in her home when we teach her a lesson this Thursday. Sis. Hanna's neighbor wants us to visit her as soon as possible. Ranch Creek is teaching a woman who will soon be referred to us because she lives in our area. Sis. Hakanson has a couple of teenagers who will be taking the discussions from us soon. Holy cow, where did this come from!!! I've been hoping and praying that this would happen for the longest time, and it finally is. I'm seriously going to be so sad if I receive a transfer call in 3 weeks saying that I'm moving to Missouri. And by the way things usually go, I'll probably get transferred this next time. Big ol' sad face :(

 

I guess that's the pain of missionary work. But I've been getting better at recognizing the tender mercies here and there. This week we had an amazing experience with an older couple who recently moved in. They haven't been coming to church because they're literally dying. They wanted us to come over so bad so that we could give them both a blessing. Their name is the Turners. I was devastated as they explained their various diagnosises, but they cheered me up with their mountainous faith. Bro. Turner has been told that he'll die in a few months. Cancer is taking over his body. Sis. Turner has so many problems that I can't even name one. She'll probably give up the ghost in her sleep any day. But they know where they're going. They are still deeply in love with each other. They believe in Jesus Christ.

 

Well, I gotta go. Thanks for the email and for your prayers and support! Have a great week!

 

Love, Elder Atkin

 

P.S. Here's an awesome joke that I heard yesterday. I copied it from google.

 

Jesus and Satan have a discussion as to who is the better programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they come to an agreement to hold a contest, with God as the judge.

They sit themselves at their computers and begin. They type furiously, lines of code streaming up the screen, for several hours straight. Seconds before the end of the competition, a bolt of lightning strikes, taking out the electricity. Moments later, the power is restored, and God announces that the contest is over.

He asks Satan to show what he has come up with. Satan is visibly upset, and cries, "I have nothing. I lost it all when the power went out."

"Very well, then," says God, "let us see if Jesus fared any better."

Jesus enters a command, and the screen comes to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir pour forth from the speakers. Satan is astonished.

He stutters, "B-b-but how? I lost everything, yet Jesus' program is intact. How did he do it?"

God smiled all-knowingly, "Jesus saves."