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!
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