May 28, 2012- Busy Busy

Dear Family,

 

Once again, I don't have a lot of time to email you. Sorry! It's like I said - we don't have library cards and there's four of us wanting to use some members' computers.

 

So what's up? How's life in North Carolina? And how's the job searching going, Rachel? I hope everything is well with the fam. I doing great here in Joplin. It's busy busy busy. To be quite honest, we've only made it to bed on time twice during my stay so far. There is so much going on! Not all of it is good, though. There's a lot of drama for us to deal with as zone leaders. We've already had to do an emergency exchange in the middle of the night because of some missionaries that hated each other. I was worried they were going to kill each other. We had a long talk and tried to work things out peacefully, but I just wanted to tell them to grow up. I haven't loved all of my companions equally so far on my mission, but at least I'm mature enough to just let things slide and try to get along with them. It's easier said than done, but I really don't think it's that hard. Just grow up!

 

Currently we have two investigators with baptismal dates in the Joplin 1st ward. Tom probably isn't going to make his date, but Amber is doing well. Her date is for the 16th of June. Her and her family (who is semi-active) came to church yesterday, so things are going well in that respect. Speaking of church - we've got 5 hours of church to go to these days. Don't get me wrong, I love church. But I was sure getting sleepy yesterday around 3:00. Elders quorum in the Webb City ward was soooooooooooo boooooooooooring. I tried to make comments so I wouldn't fall asleep. There are some really cool members out here though. Haha I tell people I'm from Utah and they tell me that they live in the REAL Zion. But in all seriousness, I truly believe that the Lord is gathering people in Missouri. With the temple dedication, the new stake center being built, and the recent tornado, a lot of people have interest in the church. We have tons and tons of referrals to sort through when we get the time in the future. So much is happening here! The only frustration though, is all the less-actives/non-members that say they'll come to church when the stake center is done in September. Excuses, excuses...

 

This past Tuesday was the Unity Walk (or something like that) in Joplin on the anniversary of the tornado. Most of the elders in our zone came in to Joplin so we could represent the church as "the walk" came past the stake center. We all wore suits even though it was like 90 degrees and really humid. I was dying! But it was still really cool though as us and hundreds of members clad in "Mormon Helping Hands" shirts welcomed the people participating in "the walk" with cheers and applause in front of the stake center. Thousands of people crammed in to watch a big ol' crane put the steeple on top of the stake center. When the steeple was set, everyone cheered and then moved on down the street. A lot of people asked us if they could take pictures of us in our suits. We were quite the sight :) It was a great missionary opportunity. We ended up walking the rest of the way to the hospital where there was a special program remembering those who died. It was so cool! It's my hope that the first Sunday the stake center is open that it will be packed to the brim and that I'll be there. That's the plan.

 

So. Life is good. I'm happy. I'm busy. The church is true! I love feeling the same spirit in whatever sacrament meeting I attend. I already love the members of both wards and I can't wait to teach all of their friends ;) Elder Quinn and I are already having a good time together. He thinks he'll leave this next transfer so I'm going to try and help him leave on a high note. I still don't know a lot about our investigators, the area, and such, but that will come with time.

 

Have a great week!

 

Love, Elder Atkin

 

P.S. You should see downtown Joplin. It's so awesome! It's got that old town feel. There's a few big churches around here, but mostly there's just hundreds of small churches. Many of them non-denominational. Very religious community.

 

 

May 21, 2012 - Joplin

Dear Family,

 

I'm in Joplin! And I love it! So much has changed since last Monday. It seems like an eternity since I was in Owasso. It's been a little stressful with all of the changes, but I like change. I love Owasso so much, but I just needed something new. Elder Quinn is a super cool guy from South Jordan, Utah, and he's been in Joplin a long time now. We're already pals, and I'll be sure to get you pictures as soon as I can. I still don't have a card reader, but I'll be able to plug the camera into the computer here. Before I forget, here's my new address:

 

4050 Azalea Ln. Apt. F

Joplin, MO 64801

 

We live in a pretty nice duplex in Duquesne - a town just outside of Joplin. It's right next to the path of destruction from the tornado last year. The destruction is still pretty obvious around here. Most everything is cleaned up, but there's quite a clear-cut path. Trees are mostly gone and houses are starting to be built, but right outside of the path are tons of trees and many houses. Everyone tells me that in the path of the tornado everything was destroyed, but right outside barely anything was touched. Crazy! I've already heard a few stories, but I'm sure i'll hear a few more. Did you know that the hospital (St. John's) was literally picked up and turned a few degrees? It's a huge, multi-story concrete building! I don't know if that's true, but I've already heard it a couple of times. The Stake Center is still in the process of being built, but it should be done by September. Hopefully I'll be here for the opening. Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the tornado and they're putting the steeple on top as part of a city-wide event. It'll be an awesome missionary opportunity. I'm stoked! There is SO much going on here. I've been busy ever since the minute I got here.

 

I told you that I covered 3 wards last Sunday, but now we only cover two: Joplin 1st and Webb City. We originally covered 2nd ward, but they just put in Elder Pope and Elder Lund here. The 2nd ward has been praying for missionaries for about a year now, and they finally got them. Haha I'm pretty sure Elder Pope and Elder Lund are heroes right now :) We went to their ward with them yesterday for a confirmation, and everyone was so happy to see them. Do you know what's crazy? While the stake center is being built, the 2nd ward meets in the local Community of Christ building and the 1st ward meets in the Carthage building. It was really interesting to have sacrament meeting in an RLDS chapel, but the spirit was still there. I guess the 2nd ward is already used to it.

 

Being zone leader isn't all that it's hyped up to be, but it's still good. Our phone is ringing constantly, and we've already dealt with a lot of drama in my stay here. The church is still true though, and there's a lot more great people. Yesterday I met a family who were originally from Cache Valley. It was fun to talk about Logan and Gossners and such. I heard that Gossners was bought by Schreiber. Is that true? It was strange to pass by a Schreiber the other day. I can't believe I worked in that place...

 

I wish I had more time to tell y'all everything, but I don't. We don't have library cards because we don't technically live in Joplin, so we use a member's computer. Hopefully we'll get more time next Monday. I just hope you know that I love it here in Joplin, I love being busy, I love hearing tornado stories, I love Elder Quinn, and I love the gospel. I'm doing quite fine.

 

Happy birthday to Dad! And happy anniversary on Sunday! Thanks for being awesome. Pray that I'll be able to bear the load of being a zone leader. I'm so lost and uninformed these days. But it's all good :)

 

Talk to ya later!

 

Love, Elder Atkin

May 14, 2012 - The day after mothers day....

Dear Family,

 

So what's new?? Haha just kidding :) Yesterday was the best day ever! What a blessing to be able to talk to my family. I hope that I didn't sound too weird and that I was able to say everything I was supposed to say. It just felt so good to hear your voices. Talking to April was a blast as well. She's doing awesome and I swear our phone call was 2 minutes long. Our conversation was very random, but it's because we had so much to say. April is so excited for me to serve in the wards of a lot of people she met in Kansas City. We're in the same temple district! For some reason that seems significant...

 

It's been kinda weird since I got my transfer call to be zone leader in Joplin. I thought that I would be super depressed, but I haven't been. Sure I'm a little bit sad, but I've realized that I'm just one of many elders that will ever come through Owasso. Many members here have their favorite missionaries from the past, but they're used to us coming and going. I've also come to realize that the missionary effort here is Elm Creek's missionary effort. The missionaries are here to teach and bring souls closer to Christ, but it's very much the ward's effort. We're just here to help. Lately, I've been asking families how we can help them in their missionary work. It's good to commit families to do hard things, but sometimes people just need us to be there to help them. All good members of the church should have their own mission plan and their own commitments to do hard things. Do the Atkin's have a mission plan? Do we think of our own hard things to do, or do we wait for the missionaries to give it to us? I don't say that to be mean, but I like the idea of us ALL being missionaries.

 

This week Elder Ivie and I plan to see as many people as possible. I might've mentioned to y'all the "blazin' challenge" that we made up. We want to sweep through Owasso and see as many people as we can in a short period of time. I've done things similar in the past, but we want to see everybody - members, less-actives, investigators, you name it. That way I can see everyone I want to see before I leave, and we can get in homes that we normally don't go in to. We're confident that it will be a few days with many miracles. Time to blaze Owasso! I want to leave this place on a high note.

 

Though Sis. Hanna doesn't want to see us anymore, she came to church yesterday. I actually was so happy to see her. We talked a little bit and then I informed her that I would be transferred. I could see the sadness in her eyes. She wants to be rebaptized so bad, and she wanted me to do it. I really hope that me leaving doesn't discourage her even more so she gives up. She's been doing so good! At times it seems impossible for her to come back into fellowship. She's faltered before. She's tried coming back like 5 times, but every time she'd fall short and go back to smoking. The paperwork must take a long time to process through Salt Lake City because Bishop Carroll has said that it will take months. I'm so sad! I hope that I can come back someday and see her as an endowed member of the church. She says that she'll never go back to the temple, but I know that the Spirit would work on her after her baptism. She'd totally go. I wish I knew more about these kind of things...

 

I haven't told David Britt that I'm leaving yet. I know he'll be sad! He's still struggling to come to church these days, but we've gained his trust. Not that Elder Ivie's a bad missionary, it's just that D Britt is my man. I know I'll come back someday and go fishin' and noodlin' and spoonbill snaggin'. Dad, you'd love him :) He wants to come to Utah again someday and go fishing in the mountain lakes and streams. He's the ULTIMATE fisherman. A lot of people in Oklahoma are that way. I was surprised at that. There are so many different kinds of fish out here, and they can get HUGE. Big ol' catfish. And I love fried catfish these days. Dad, do you go fishing much? I hope you know that we're going to go all the time when I get back home. Our mission president won't allow us!

 

I'm also sad to leave Tom and Belinda. As of late, they've made it a little more obvious that they're not interested. They're looking for a church, but not ours :( In the next couple of days we're going to go over and get a picture with them. I'm going to share my testimony and ask them to come to church one more time. I'm sure they'll listen because they'll miss me haha :) Jim still says he'll get to church one of these days, but he's getting closer. He told us this last week that he's been praying about it big time and that he's going to make a decision soon. I don't want to miss out on that! Darn...

 

Lately I've been studying the life of Christ more in depth. I try to imagine myself being in those situations where he healed the sick and performed miracles. To have been there when he cleansed the temple?!?! Epic!! I wouldn't want to get in his way. I'm excited to read more in the future. The scriptures are becoming more and more fun to read these days. Like Harry Potter. Only better!

 

Have a great week family! I love you so much and I can't wait to tell you about Joplin. Wish me luck!

 

Love, Elder Atkin

April 30, 2012- Another Week

Dear Family,

 

Another week has gone, by golly. Can you believe how long I've been away from home? I barely even remember y'all anymore! What's it like to hang out with the fam? I know I've said this before, but it is a thought that I often have when I think about home. I seriously can't wait to talk to you on Mother's Day. And yes, I do get to talk to April as well. Elder Ivie suggested that I try to make some kind of 3-way call, but I want to talk to each one of you. Might as well get two calls, right? And I like your idea of writing things down for me to say to you. I don't want to forget anything. The only worry I have is that I won't have anything to say though! My life is much more boring than you think. Maybe it's because I'm used to the way things go out here nowadays. Sometimes I feel like I'm not really progressing as a person and as a missionary. I often ask Elder Ivie and myself, "how can I be a better missionary/person tomorrow?" I don't know if it's helping, but at least I'm thinking about it. I want to be better!

 

Yesterday was Stake Conference here in the Tulsa Oklahoma East Stake of Zion (aka TOES haha). It was awesome! Elder Perry Webb (an area 70) was the main speaker. Conference started at 10:00, but Elder Webb held a special fireside at 9:00 for all non-members/recent converts/returning members. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend, but Sis. Hanna was able to. She said that it was really good and that it gave her even more of a desire to come back into the church. Darn, I missed out on that one...

 

So Elder Ivie and I showed up to the Stake Center at 9:45 to find some seats. It was being broadcasted into the other church buildings in the stake (including the Owasso building), but we were there because I had to give a baptismal interview for one of Pryor's investigators named Nicholas (he's totally ready, by the way). The meeting began with Pres. Johnson giving his thoughts on missionary work and such. It was a really good talk, and I could relate to many of his experiences as a missionary. His main focus was that the TOES needs to be a missionary-sending stake. More young men need to make that a priority. I can think of a handful of Elm Creek young men that were in attendance that needed to hear his words. Hooray for missionary work! After Pres. Johnson, the temple presidency gave talks on consistently doing temple work. I have to admit that their talks were very boring to me and I soon became distracted. But when Elder Webb got up, all eyes were on him. He randomly picked 4 people out of the congregation to get up and share their testimonies on various subjects. That's a good way to get attention :) Afterwards, he also shared some mission experiences that really touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. At the very end he shared his testimony. It was so powerful that I got the chills. With a lot of emotion, he told everyone that it would be his last opportunity to bear his witness before he was released as a 70. He was going to be released on Tuesday. He then simply stated that he knew Jesus Christ was our Savior and Redeemer and that this was God's kingdom on the Earth. The spirit witnessed to me that his words were true.

 

I guess the point of me sharing this is that my testimony is being strengthened day by day, even if I don't notice. The witness of the Spirit is something more powerful than just a memory. Heck, I may forget most of the experiences that I have had on my mission not long after I go home. While this is a sad thought, I can at least find comfort in the fact that I know that Christ's gospel is true. All of the stories and experiences that I share with you have no real comparison to the feelings that I have. The imprint of the Holy Ghost upon my spirit is something that will last beyond the many stories of success and failure on my mission. The feelings and impressions that I experience in church, while I study and teach, etc. trump it all. Don't get me wrong though - I still want to remember Oklahoma and Arkansas so much :)

 

Well, that's my speech for the day. So how's my area doing? It's doing great! So great, in fact, that I'm so sad. I'm just so so so sure that I'm going to get transferred in a couple weeks. That's my luck these days, you have to understand. I guess the Lord is trying to teach me some major lessons by disappointing me. We got two new investigators this week. They pretty much fell into our laps. One is named Lacey and she's married to a member. We taught her last Monday night in the Hallmarks, and we'll teach her again tonight. The other is named Sharon. Sharon is so prepared! She is super super nice and she knows the bible through and through. There are those who claim to know the Bible, and there are those who really know it. She knows it :) She has never belonged to a particular faith in all her life, but she just wants to serve God. We taught her about the true nature of God this last week and she was EXTREMELY interested. Cross your fingers!

 

Other than that, it's the same ol', same ol'. Elder Ivie is still my pal, I love the work, I love the Elm Creek ward, and I love being an Okie. What a great time to be a missionary!

 

Have a great week. Talk to you soon (literally talk)!

 

Love, Elder Atkin

 

P.S. That's so cool that Alex Boye gave Prince Charles a Book of Mormon!! What a missionary!