M'dear ones...

Dear Family,

 

In the midst of all this "going home" hoopla, there's at least one thing that I can grasp on to: there's good to come in the future. Some days I'm depressed. Some days I couldn't be more excited. Other days I could care less about anything. But I know for sure that there are more positive experiences coming my way. This mission isn't over! This isn't the end! Maybe I'm saying all of this because today is one of those depressed days and I'm in denial, but I really think that this is all just a so-called "kick-start" to my life. I'm imperfect. I still let myself get angry at stupid things. I still have big-time questions that I'm seeking answers to. Don't expect Mr. RM to come off the plane in flying colors as a future general authority. But I've got my head on straight (for the most part). I know what's important and I care about it. Here's what I care about:

 

God knows me and loves me. Despite my weaknesses, I've had very personal experiences where this very fact has been etched into my heart forever. He doesn't always answer my prayers the way I want Him to, but I know He's guided me as long as I've asked for it. I testify that you and I belong to the true and living church led by the true and living Christ. His atonement is real and it completely covers everything that could possibly go wrong. Time and time again I have felt his grace - which I don't deserve. I also know that the Restoration of the Gospel happened and that everything that has come from it - the Book of Mormon, the priesthood, etc. - are true. We're not lost, my friends! Heavenly Father has given us enough to be okay.

 

How grateful I am for the ordinances and covenants that not only help us in this life, but prepare us for Eternal life - of which I am BEYOND excited for. There are even greater family reunions to be had than the one that will take place in a few days. But don't worry I'm excited for that one too :) Just know that you (yeah, you) have been a special helper of the Lord in shaping this young elder's life. I look up to you more than you know. When I'm with my family, I am in the midst of giants. I'll try to not let it overwhelm me too much... You're just a little intimidating, okay?!?!

 

Well, I hope I've made my point clear. I get a little intense with this sort of stuff. Ain't it great? You know... this life? I have no idea what the future holds for me, but I'm just pumped for life. Yay for living on this earth!!

 

Keep it real, Atkins diet (way too many people call me that)

 

Love, Elder Atkin

 

Sup, dudes

Dear Family,

 

This whole emailing thing is really wearing me out. Buuuuuuuut I'll still write ya somethin' :)

 

Just got your email Mom. Wasn't that meeting so amazing!?! You're right, I did cry. I'm so predictable nowadays, now aren't I? Dang it. Right from the opening song I was feeling the Spirit a TON. It was almost like He was saying, "Yeah, this is a big deal. Just in case you were wondering." And it is a big deal! Most of the things our church leaders instructed us on yesterday are things that we already know, but we must not miss the emphasis on member-missionary work. If anyone left that meeting feeling disappointed it's their own fault. "The hastening" isn't going to happen with just 70,000 missionaries, it's going to happen with 15 million members.

 

The broadcast was already special to me for many different reasons, but it was even better because Claire was there. She came to church at 2:30 and stayed for the long haul. Everything was so perfect! The members fellowshipped her so well, Gospel Principles had an excellent lesson on the Sacrament... And I know how much Claire loves to hear conversion stories so I was happy to see all of the cool videos in the broadcast on that very thing. Claire might've left a little overwhelmed, but I know she enjoyed the day. Really it's been a great 2 days for her. On Saturday we taught her the Word of Wisdom for the first time. I was really anxious how it was going to turn out, but in the end it was one of the best lessons we've had with her. She really understood the principle of obedience to commandments and was willing to try living it for a week (she drinks tea). I promised her that her prayers would be answered soon if she lived it. It was so awesome!

 

I don't know what to say except that our week was pretty good and I'm holding on for dear life here in Arkansas. Everything is crashing in around me, but all I can do is keep moving forward - keep doing what I've always done. I now know that things will work out for me if I just work hard to the very end and do what I'm supposed to. The Lord keeps blessing us with new investigators and with new opportunities. I can still get a lot done in 2 weeks, ya know?

 

Wish me luck and pray for me.

 

Love, Elder Atkin

 

Hi

Dear Family,

 

Happy Fathers Day, Dad! I wish I could've been there yesterday to give you a hug and "a great big kiss" (primary song). :) But don't worry, I'll see you soon. I'm planning on throwing a big ol' party for everyone that's close to me for all the birthdays, holidays, and events that I missed. I'm so bad at sending letters and cards and such. I want to be a better birthday-recognizer when I get home so that people know that I actually care. I'm done being selfish!

 

Mom, I like what you said in your email about a "fulness of opposition." It's so true. We live in a time with such extremes in wickedness as well as righteousness. Just like you, I'm so grateful for the price we have to pay to receive such wonderful light, truth, and knowledge. I feel like I'm at the height of missionary work - the top of the world! That could only exist with such extreme filth around us. Like I always say: the rainy days sure make us appreciate the sunny ones. If I was baptizing every day I would treasure those moments a lot less than I do now. How thankful I am for the tough days that make the successful days so much sweeter. Remember the song from "My Turn on Earth" about opposition? Hahaha if we still have that I really want to listen to it when I get home.

 

I don't know if I already told you (too lazy to look in the Sent Mail), but Cassandra went to Mexico on Wednesday and will be there until the end of July. We had a couple of awesome lessons before she left and I feel satisfied with the way we sent her off. We watched "Safety for the Soul" by Jeffrey R. Holland. Always a fan favorite :) Both her and Claire loved the line where he said, "no wicked man could write such a book as this, and no good man would write it, unless it were true..." They now have a stronger desire to read and pray about the Book of Mormon because they understand its importance. Cassandra agreed to bring her Book of Mormon with her. It kind of stinks that she's leaving, but we feel that it will be a good time for her to think about things and make a decision.

 

Claire will also be leaving for a trip, but not until a couple days after I go home. She met with us on Saturday at the church and we were able to give her a tour and teach a lesson. She continues to tell us that while she doesn't want to jump on board yet, she feels good about what we're teaching her. Elder H and I feel like we could set a date with her this week for a few weeks after she gets back in August. After our lesson there just so happened to be a baptism in the relief society room (we planned it to work out that way) so we invited her to come. She sat down with us and we watched one of the best baptisms I've ever seen. It was for an 18-year-old girl named Amber. The Spirit was so strong! Everything went perfectly and I know that Claire felt it. She told us she really enjoyed it. The only thing negative out of all of this is that she didn't come to church yesterday because it was fathers day. But she did promise that she would come next week for all 3 hours. Little does she know that since our church starts at 2:30 she's going to be there for the big world-wide missionary meeting at 5:00 that everyone's been talking about. It's going to be so awesome!!

 

I'll admit something to y'all. For the longest time, I really wanted to end my mission with a baptism. Selfish, right? Yeah, I really really really wanted it, but it's not going to happen. So many other good things can happen in 3 weeks so I'll be okay. I've realized that I can be happy knowing that I tried my best and that some of the people I'm teaching now will probably get baptized a few months from now. It doesn't need to happen right this minute. All the people I've ever worked with don't need to "Come unto Christ" in the short 2 year time period of Elder Atkin's mission. Elder Heindel (still in Willard) also informed me that James and Lynette are progressing and that a few other people we taught are getting close to baptism. Exciting!

 

I'm doing great. There's quite a few negative things that I could share with you, but that isn't necessary. Too many good things are happening and an opposition in all things makes those good things even better. What a great perspective!

 

I love you. "60 minutes, fellas."

 

Love, Elder Atkin

June 11, 2013

Dear Family,

 

Hey sorry I didn't get an email to y'all yesterday. We had zone training meeting and interviews with President Shumway yesterday so we just switched preparation day to Tuesday. Hope this email finds you safe and happy wherever you are in this world.

 

I'm really starting to get tired of all the lasts - last zone conference, last transfer, last companion, last zone meeting, last interviews... Everything is ending!!! The good news is that every last thing I've experiences has been awesome. My interview with President Shumway yesterday was so fulfilling. We mostly talked about Elder Hironymous (in a positive way). I look back and realize that each interview over the course of 2 years has changed slowly from being all about myself to all about others. I'm not saying that to brag, but it just feels good to see how I've changed. I don't worry so much about myself nowadays. My only real care and concern right now is my companion. His happiness and well-being is on my mind 24/7. I want more than anything for him to get a good kick-start to his mission. When he's sad, I'm sad. When he's happy, I'm happy. He's all that matters.

 

Nothing too crazy and interesting happened this week besides some really cool lessons we've had. Claire and Cassandra are our #1 priority right now and we've met with them 4 times in the last week. It's been an absolute blast to teach them! They are young, intelligent, and yet open-minded. They are sincerely searching for truth and they recognize that our ultimate purpose is to help them find their faith in Christ. There's the normal people that we try to keep our lessons under an hour for, and then there's people like Claire and Cassandra that we teach for 2 hours every time - not because we plan on it, but because they want to KNOW. They ask, we tell. Every now and then I'll meet someone that just soaks it up like a sponge and I feel like I shouldn't hold anything back if they really want to know. So that's how it's been going. They completely understand and they even want it to be true. We've helped them recognize the Spirit. The only thing that seems to be holding them back is just how intimidating it all is. Yesterday we got to a point in the lesson where they basically said very seriously, "You know, this is a big deal." Yes, it is a big deal. The whole culture and lifestyle is very overwhelming to them. They both realize that this isn't a "church hopping" type of a change. This is for life. This is a complete 180 change of ... everything.

 

So we've tried to help them feel comfortable. Our exchanges have been great helpers every time. John came with us yesterday and shared his conversion story. He joined the church in 2009. It was so perfect! I know they felt it. Today we're going to be watching the Restoration DVD to recap things so far. Cassandra is going to Mexico for the next month or so (I guess that's another hold-up), so we're trying to send her off with a bang. Elder H and I think it's long enough for us to try and get some missionaries to her down there. She's expressed that it will be a good time for her to really think about it and make a decision. We'll still be able to meet with Claire until July when she leaves for England for a month or so. Here we have 2 investigators that are super golden, yet going on summer trips to far-away places. Tough! But I'm satisfied with the way the lessons have gone so far. We only started teaching them a week-and-a-half ago! We've taught them so much that it will be on their minds for a long time. My hope is that they come back from their trips and get baptized in August or September. They've already accepted the baptismal invitation if they come to know that this is all true. Gosh, I can't talk enough about these 2 wonderful people. They are so prepared! Wish us luck in this one.

 

I'm still trucking along. Everything is getting harder and harder, yet I'm okay. I surprise myself at times with how okay I am, considering. I feel so much pressure from so many different directions, but I guess the Lord is really strengthening me. I'm so tired, and yet I've never felt so alive. Nothing else matters right now. Mom, I think that's the best idea I could give you for your talk on discipleship. There are so many good scriptures that can go along with this subject, but knowing you I think you can find them easily :) For me, discipleship is all about priorities. If you have the priorities of a disciple of Christ, you can trust that God will take care of you no matter what. Discipleship is also about sacrifice. I recently read "Sacrifice" by Elder Oaks, and it reminded me of this importance of sacrificing something good for something better - an act that the Savior was a champion at (yes, I just called Him a champion. I think it's very fitting). Sacrifice is an eternal principle and even more importantly an eternal law. God requires sacrifice. Christ's sacrifice makes our sacrifice acceptable and pleasing unto Heavenly Father. And really all he asks for is a broken heart and contrite spirit. I can promise each one of you reading this that God loves and appreciates every ounce of sacrifice we perform and that blessings flow abundantly from consecrating our all to the Lord.

 

Have fun in Texas, parents! Have fun in Utah and North Carolina, sisters! And here's a shout out to anyone else that might read my emails each week. Have a good one.

 

Love, Elder Atkin

 

Them nadoes

Dear Family,

 

With the recent crazy weather in this part of the country we've had the opportunity to talk to some of the locals about the tornados and such. It's a good ice-breaker, really. But either way we want to know the forcast because we don't have TV. It's nice to know if we need to hunker down, right? When we hear the tornado sirens go off outside Elder H and I get in the closet under the stairs with our bike helmets on. I know this might really scare you Mom, but that's as safe as it gets. And don't worry - Bentonville never gets tornados. They just kind of skip around the Rogers area. The same storm that hit Moore, OK with a tornado came through a few hours later but only brought heavy rain and fierce winds. The coolest part was that the sky turned green! It was definitely the right conditions for a tornado, but nothing touched down near us. It's always a hoot to hear a native Arkansawyer talk about "them nadoes" or "them naders."

 

Speaking of bike helmets, Elder Hironymous got in his first major bike wreck this week. Notice how I said major. He's been in plently of little accidents. He's not the best at biking so I'm always worried about my son getting in wrecks. Good thing B'ville is a very biker-friendly town. Anyway, we had just barely exchanged with the district leader after zone conference and I was with Elder Hammit in the car. We got about 5 minutes down the road when Elder Prestwich called and asked us to come back to where they were because Elder H just crashed. As we pulled up I had to hold in my laughter as I took a look at my companion. He was all scratched up, his nametag was destroyed, shirt and tie were ripped, and the front of his helmet was flattened. Apparently he just lost control and nose-dived into the pavement. I only laugh now because he was okay, but i just want you to imagine my son face-planting the pavement and skidding to a halt. Hahaha I laugh just thinking about it! Long story short, we found out he fractured a little bone in his wrist and will need to wear a cast. He sure took it like a champ. That's my boy :)

 

Besides a gnarly bike wreck and some crazy weather, this week has been pretty good! Zone conference was an inevitable tear-jerker since it was my last one. I had to give a departing testimony in front of 100 missionaries. I was doing alright until I bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon. I got all chocked up and the tears flowed freely as I shared my feelings about the work of the Lord. It was such a bittersweet moment. How can I ever leave this place? I can't imagine myself not going to another zone conference. The whole entire meeting was beyond wonderful for me. During lunch I met up with Elder Golder (he's still in Joplin) and he proceeded to explain that the Sands had gotten baptized a couple weeks before. Do you remember me talking about them? Look through my past emails. I found them! I started the lessons with them and committed them to be baptized. After the ward boundaries changed they kind of dropped off the radar. But good ol' Elder Golder stuck with them and boom - here they are. I guess Bro. Sands is already passing the sacrament and stuff! What a miracle. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it. Elder Golder said that they still talk about Elder Atkin, their first missionary :) And guess what else?? Elder Wheeler (replaced me in Joplin) said that Ruben is getting baptized this coming week! Remember him? I started teaching him and Erin with Elder Nordine. The blessings and miracles don't stop flowing.

 

Our numbers have suffered a little this week, but it's okay considering Elder H's wrist (he's on heavy meds) and we've done our best. The Lord still blessed us with 3 new investigators, 2 of which came to our recent convert fireside last night. This fireside is something we've been preparing for for a long time. We made flyers this last week and everything. We had quite a few non-members come so I was so happy. I was praying that the Lord would provide and he sure did. The 2 investigators we had that came are named Cassandra and Claire. They were a member referral we received. Our first lesson was so amazing!! They're both really open-mined and they want to know everything about Mormonism. They've noticed how strong Mormon families are and they're finally grown up enough to realize that it's something they want for themselves. They loved the fireside and even met a few friends from high school there. I was so proud of our YSA branch for how well they fellowshipped people. We didn't even need to do anything! That's the way it should be - it's their missionary effort and we're just the helpers.

 

I feel like the ball is finally starting to roll in this area. Heavenly Father is pouring out the blessings upon us and I just need to recognize them. Don't get me wrong, it's still really tough. We barely taught much at all this last week. But the lessons we did have were awesome. It's almost like the Lord is giving us just enough to keep going. He wants to bless us, but he also wants to keep us humble and constantly trusting in him. There's no way anything would be happening if it weren't for Him. I love Him so much!

 

Goodness, there's so many more stories I want to share with you, but I'm out of time. I know I always say that, but I really do wish I could share everything with you. This mission thing is such a blast. What a ride! The Lord is always giving me exactly what is best for me. Don't let me ever forget that.

 

Y'all just keep bein' y'all, ya hear?!

 

Love, Elder Atkin

Short Email

Dear Family,

I know y'all probably hate it when I do this, but I don't really feel like writing a long email today. Don't worry I love you! But I'm lazy :) I'm happy, I'm working hard as ever, and the Gospel is true so everything else doesn't matter. Elder H and I have been having our little skirmishes lately, but that's all part of training. Some crazy storms came through, but no tornadoes.

I hope all is well at home. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! I couldn't ask for better parents.

Have a great week and be safe. I'll continue to work hard and finish this last transfer strong.

Love, Elder Atkin

Quick week

Dear Family,

 

Happy Birthday, Dad!! One year older and wiser too, huh? Love ya, man :)

 

This week was full of little miracles. We talked to some of the neatest people I've ever met in my life. The thing that really made a difference was me making the effort to go out of my way to talk to people that I normally wouldn't have talked to. Y'all know how much of a door-knocking guy I am. It's what I do. It's surprised me to realize how many of God's children I pass each day without so much as a "hi" or a wave. I try to be friendly and I say hello and wave when I'm thinking about it, but I miss out on so many opportunities. It usually comes from me saying, "Oh, they're busy," or, "they probably would reject me." I then drive, bike, or walk right by them. I'm such a whimp. I still have so much to learn.

 

Yesterday we were biking the streets of downtown Bentonville after an appointment fell through. The town was a little more quiet than usual and we had stopped at a little park to take a break. While I was trying to figure out where to go next - probably to tract - I looked across the street and saw a man sitting in front of the library. He had his laptop out and had his headphones on. Once again the thought came, "He must be very involved in whatever he's doing on the computer. Don't mind him." But as the thought came I got a little mad at myself. Satan would love for me to just skip over this guy. I decided it was time to change. Without telling Elder H what I was doing I headed across the street and up to this man. What started out as a simple interaction about directions to Memorial Park (which I didn't need, by the way. Just an ice-breaker) led to a 2 hour in-depth conversation with one of the coolest people. His name is Javier and he's originally from Mexico. He's lived in a few different states, but is now here in Arkansas because most people from his hometown in Mexico seem to congregate here of all places. He has a job at Memorial Park, probably as some type of groundskeeper. Javier's English is excellent and he is in love with learning - learning about anything and everything. He's quite brilliant. He spends hours everyday just listening to motivational speakers and self-help lectures. He's all about psycology and philosophy. He knows his history and he studies the lives of the greatest people to have ever walked the earth. Overall he's just a very intellectual person who seems to "get it." He loves people and doesn't judge people wrongly. I learned so much in our seemingly short interchange and we plan on talking again soon. He let us know he wasn't really interested in our message, but respected us. We'll work on him :)

 

I guess the reason why I mentioned this guy is 1) because we were blessed for going out of the way to talk to people and 2) because he was the perfect example of many things I've learned on my mission that don't necessarily have to do with faith, but most definitely are connected. Things like emotional intelligence, the power of decisions, understanding that each of God's children have something to offer, broadening our "belief window" in the right ways, removing barriers that would prevent simple and positive interaction, and so forth. 2 years ago I thought that I would only learn things strictly having to do with the scriptures. Now I realize that each day I learn a lot about myself, other people, society, and how the human mind works. And yet it does all connect back to faith. God's purposes and plans are all based on people.

 

So anyway. Back to missionary work :) We picked up this really neat new investigator named Joe yesterday. He's a religion major at a local school and really wanted to meet with us. The zone leaders found him while walking in downtown Rogers the other day. The 4 of us met with him last night and taught most of the first lesson. The lesson flowed very well because Joe already has such a great understanding of the scriptures and has an open mind. By the end he was asking if we could give him the priesthood right there. We told him he had to wait and that we could prepare him if he wanted us to. Cool, huh! I was initially a little apprehensive of this guy because of his field of study, but I think that he's really interested. Should be legit.

 

Yesterday had to have been one of the best days of my mission. It was comparable to April 7th last year when April gave the young women from my ward in Owasso the tour of the VC. You see, this weekend there was a big YSA conference down in Springdale. It was all capped off with a combined sacrament meeting helf yesterday morning in which YSAs from many of the surrounding states packed into the chapel. Naturally Elder H and I attended because Springdale is like 20 minutes away and it would be our sacrament meeting for the week. I wouldn't have expected what happened as I walked into the building.

 

Walking into the chapel, I looked up on the stand. To my surprise there sat the Joplin YSA branch - including many people that I knew and loved from my time spent there. A few of them ran down to greet me. The two guys who were responsible for my broken pinkie came up and asked how it was doing. I laughed. Amanda and Emily took pictures with me and sent them to their families. What meant the most was hearing that they all missed me and that I was their favorite. I almost cried big ol' tears! I kept shaking their hands and thanking them. I was speachless. Afterward I saw other YSAs I knew from Willard and even Owasso. It was like one big reunion.

 

But the ultimate "cherry on top" came after the sacrament meeting was over and I had said all my goodbyes to people from my last 3 areas. Inside the chapel the Springdale wards were filing in for a combined sacrament meeting. I began to see families and individuals that I knew and loved from almost 2 years previous in my first area - Springdale 1st ward. The Hornbergers, the Penningtons, the Smiths, the Lindseys (sitting on the back row like they normally do), and ...... my heart skipped a beat ...... Nichole Munts. I nearly ran across the room to greet the 2nd person I taught and baptized on my mission. So many emotions flooded over. She said hi like I had never left! We quickly exchanged info and I promised to write a letter. Words can't express how happy I was to see this wonderful woman inside the church building where it all started.

 

You know, sometimes I get discouraged. Discouraged because I hear that some of my recent converts are less-active/inactive. It's like a punch to the face knowing that you taught them and then the ward didn't take care of them or they simply chose to stop going. It's so hard to join the church. But just seeing Nichole yesterday made all the difference. I'll never forget the adversity she went through to join the church. To think that she's still got a testimony in there is beyond encouraging. I could ramble about this forever. Let's just say the Lord is good.

 

So yesterday was special. I'll never forget the unplanned and unexpected reunion of sorts that happened on May 19th. Heavenly Father dropped a huge tender mercy right in my lap. And I sure love him for it! This work is true. I'm still doing great. Next week should be killer (as in awesome). See you soon.

 

Love, Elder Atkin

 

P.S. Here's a picture of me chillin' in downtown Rogers. I love the old murals and paintings that are done in old towns like this and these brick walls make a great picture.

P.P.S. By the way, transfer calls were on Saturday and I'm not moving. I'll finish training my son and get 'er dun.

Wonderful Mother's Day

Dear Family,

 

Calling home was exactly what I needed yesterday. For a while there I didn't really think of it much, but when Saturday rolled around I was suddenly very excited at the thought of talking to my family. I couldn't wait! I was so happy as I talked to y'all. I could feel your love and support. It's just like I said: even if there isn't a living soul in Arkansas that gives a care about me, I at least know I have a family that's rooting for me. And the rooting sure helps as the time is dwindling down. Time to finish strong! I feel an urgency to get it done like never before. And by the way, Elder H loved your happy birthday rendition on the kazoos. He was like, "I was wondering what that weird noise was." Ain't it great to be an Atkin?? Yeehaw!!

 

So I don't have much to say since I already pretty well updated you on everything yesterday. Life is good and the work is going well. Church was excellent and we even had an investigator show up! He's been mostly attending the Bentonville 3rd branch, but a sister from our ward invited him to check out the YSA since he falls under that category. His name is Colton and he seems like a cool guy. It was only fitting that we taught about the Restoration in Gospel Principles too. We hope to meet with him again this week.

 

Right now I'm sitting in the Bentonville public library on the computer. Since I don't really have a lot to say I've been spending a lot of time on lds.org and mormon.org just browsing and watching mormon messages and such. Eventually I decided to listen to music from General Conference and that's what I've been doing for the most part for the last half hour. I really enjoy the 3 songs from this last conference by the combined BYU choir. Golly, I would do ANYTHING to be in a choir with this kind of calibur. I long for it. My absolute favorite is "Did You Think to Pray?" Quite literally I've been sitting here in the library having a spiritual experience. I keep looking around me, almost wondering if anyone else can feel the powerful Spirit that I'm feeling. I close my eyes and I feel such peace and happiness. It's one of those moments where you don't want it to ever end. I feel kind of embarrassed because I keep on almost crying. In the library! Music has such a powerful effect on me that I can't quite describe. I wish I could share this same feeling with everybody. If you want to feel close to Heavenly Father and take a quick break from the stresses of life, I'd suggest putting on some headphones, closing your eyes, and listening to these songs. You'll tear up too.

 

Well, I don't know what else to say other than I have a testimony of the power of music. I love my church and I love the people in the church that share the same sentiments as I do. I testify of God's infinite wisdom and love. He gives me everything that I need. And just as powerful as my feelings for music is my feelings about the Prophet - Thomas S. Monson. The Spirit has borne witness to my spirit that he is the man called of God to hold all the keys and to guide and direct us. I love him. How I wish I could talk to him. The same can be said of my Savior. I love Him and I long to know Him better.

 

Thanks for being there for me. Wish me luck as I work through another week. Stay strong, Atkin clan!

 

Love, Elder Atkin

Great week!

Dear Family,

 

Today is my 22 month mark. It's only fitting that it's cloudy outside and threatening to rain. :( If any elder or sister ever tells you that they don't know how long they've been out on their mission they're lying. They're probably just trying to look all righteous and stuff. But whether they're really excited to go home or not, deep down inside they know their missionary age. I try not to pay attention to it, but the 6th of every month hits me harder and harder. It's absolutely suffocating! I think I need to refresh myself with "Always in the Middle" by Deiter F. Uchtdorf. Y'all sent me that like a year ago, but I need to read it again.

 

This week was overall a good one. We picked up 2 new investigators and our lesson total keeps increasing. It's tough work to build up a teaching pool, but I've come to the realization that it's one of my favorite things to do. I started fresh in Willard and now I'm doing it here. Hitting the pavement, knocking doors, and doing the "nitty gritty" is such a joy to me. I feel the most like a missionary when I'm doing it the old fashioned way. Elder H sighs every time I tell him that we should go tracting, but he'll thank me someday. I didn't quite get that luxury at the beginning of my mission.

 

Yesterday we had some plans fall through last minute before church so once again I asked Elder H if we could go tracting. As always he rolled his eyes, let out a long breath of air, and reluctantly agreed. I love my son :) We jumped in the car after saying a prayer and went to find some good apartments. After driving around for a bit, I saw a set of apartments that I felt good about. We got out and began knocking. After a few doors we came across a 19-year-old guy named Austin. When he said his name, Elder H beamed from ear to ear and proudly said that was the name of his hometown. He's such a Texas boy. As we got talking with Austin, he let us know that he didn't know what to believe because of all of the different churches and beliefs out in the world. In fact, he's so confused that he's starting to believe in reincarnation because his friend believes it and he thought it sounded cool. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and some of the basic beliefs of the church and he responded positively. He wasn't jumpin' for joy or anything, but he did agree for a return appointment on Tuesday. He seems pretty solid. And the great thing about being in a YSA is that I invited him to come play hoops at the church with everybody. He smiled and said that he'd love to come "school" us. Cool guy.

 

Another miracle that happened this week came on Wednesday night while I was on exchanges with Elder Prestwich. I was calling Josh - our dinner appointment for the next day. Right as he answered the phone he basically said this, "Elders, are you kidding me? I was just thinking of you when you called. I have a friend here on the other line that is going through trials and wants to find God. You couldn't have called at a more exact and critical moment. Here, listen to our conversation and don't say a word..." I about peed my pants in excitement! We listened carefully as Josh's friend explained that she was down in the dumps and knew that he of all people could help. She noticed that he came back from his mission a different man and wanted that for herself. Josh handled it like a champ and testified that the Gospel could save her life and that he knew two missionaries that could help her find meaning in life and feel close to God. Boom - we taught her the next day at the church :) It was a wonderful lesson and she wants to learn more. Miracles!

 

I realize that I'm about out of time and that I haven't even updated you on Steven yet, but that's okay. I'll tell you more about it on Sunday, but just know that a lot can happen in one week. And that includes seeing Steven a couple of times and realizing that Steven might not quite be ready for the gospel yet. I'm sure you're thinking, "But Elder Atkin, what happened???" Don't worry, we're quite content with this. Neither party can deny the miraculous way we found Steven, but let us not forget that people have agency and that drugs and alcohol can really mess up a lot of stuff. We're not done with Steven - and neither is he with us - but we're going to lay low for a bit. Trust me, we feel good about it. Like I said, I'll tell you more later.

 

This work is the Lord's work, not mine. I know that he's with us and loves us. I don't ever want to lose the urgency and fire that I feel right now. I hope y'all feel the same way about the Gospel as I do. Stay strong and choose the right. Talk to you soon.

 

Love, Elder Atkin

Sunshine!

Dear Family,

 

This week has been a rainy one. Yesterday it finally cleared up just in time to make for a beautiful Sunday. The temperature was in the 60's to low 70's and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. With all of the rain we've had, everything is green and in full bloom. After companionship study yesterday we were so happy and full of energy that we jumped on our bikes and rode to our appointment with Aaron. Elder H seems to get depressed when the thunderstorms roll in so it was good to see his spirits up. It's moments like these that I truly understand an "opposition in all things." Even the weather! How the rainclouds of life help us appreciate the days of sunshine, and vise versa.

 

Such a beautiful day was coupled with wonderful church services. In elders quorum we reviewed President Monson's talk from the 2012 October General Conference called "Consider the Blessings." In the talk Pres. Monson shares a few experiences in which the Lord answered his prayers and brought about blessings in his life and others. At the beginning of the talk he challenges each of us to take a step back a realize what we are grateful for. Tyler (our branch mission leader) was teaching the lesson and he asked us to think about what we had been blessed with. Naturally, I thought about how much I love all of God's creations and being in the good ol' outdoors. But as I continued to ponder an interesting thought came into my mind, most definitely from the Spirit. I receive so many blessings from the people I'm surrounded by. And even more than that is the blessing of learning from those individuals. My mission has helped me realize that there is always something to be learned from each one of God's children, whether good or bad. It may sound silly, but I'm grateful for each moment I'm with someone - learning from their wisdom or thier mistakes. Kinda makes even the smallest and least of conversations with a human being seem like a glorious opportunity to learn something new! Sorry if I'm not making any sense... Either way I'm grateful. I'm just glad I'm a missionary and that I'm learning. God sent us to this earth to become functionally independent learners.

 

Saturday was a day full of miracles. Heck, this week was full of miracles. I don't know what we did right, but I guess the Lord saw fit to dump a few tender mercies on us. I don't have enough time to share each story, but I'll tell y'all about Steven. On Saturday night we had just finished tracting down in Lowell when we headed back up to Bentonville for our dinner appointment. As we were getting close, I looked at the clock and realized that we had 12 minutes until our dinner appointment. Talk about inconvenient! Not enough time to really get anything done, but too much time to just sit in front of John's apartment until dinner (April, I'm sure you'd understand). But as I was wondering what to do, the Lord simply took charge of the situation. Before I knew what I was doing I took a left at the stop sign, took another left next to a soccer field, and there we found ourselves in front of a few apartments - hidden from the view of the busy street. I felt a strong pull to these apartments and I already saw the door that I knew we needed to knock on.

 

Before Elder H could ask what the heck was going on, he followed me to the first door in the small complex. I knocked once, didn't feel it, didn't wait, then headed to the door previously mentioned. We knocked and a young man with long hair and a beard stepped out to greet us. We explained who we were and began to talk to him. He said he believed in Christ, but he was acting really weird. After a few minutes of talking and asking questions I looked at the clock and asked him if we could come back in an hour. Steven's laughter and irreverence suddenly changed to complete seriousness. "Where are you going? Can I come with you? Take me with you! I'll do anything. I'll walk. I'll knock doors with you. I need God in my life. Take me with you. I knew that you were going to knock on my door - I could feel it..." We were shocked. I didn't know what to say. After begging us some more, I didn't know to say anything more than, "Get dressed. We'll call our dinner and see if you can come." To make a long story short, Steven came to our dinner and we taught him about everything from the Book of Mormon to the Spirit to modern-day prophets. It was amazing! I barely ate anything at all. We're going to see Steven again tomorrow.

 

I know that the Lord is in control of his work. When he needs to get something done, he leads his servants through the Spirit. There was no way that I could've found Steven otherwise. It's my guess that it would've been years before the missionaries tracted those apartments again. I'm so grateful that I was able to be an instrument in the Lord's hand that evening. Isn't that so cool??!! The other little miracle with this story is that Steven didn't make it to church yesterday (he also begged to come to church with us) because he had some stuff come up. The reason why it's a miracle is because the OKC temple president and his wife gave talks on eternal marriage and covenants that were specifically catered to an all-member audience. They were good talks, but I would've been so embarrassed if Steven had come and listened to the in-depth doctrine. Gosh, they went deep! It was almost even over my head... He'll enjoy fast and testimony meeting next Sunday. Along with Steven, we found another new investigator and a couple other potentials through tracting. Cool thing is that most of them are YSAs!! What a miracle! Our hard work is finally paying off.

 

Should be a great week coming up. We can only keep improving and getting better. I'll have many many more stories to share with you on Mother's Day. Take care and be safe.

 

Love, Elder Atkin

He's sure stretching me...

Dear Family,

 

It's sure good to hear from you. I'm so grateful that I have a family back home to write to and receive emails/letters from. Heck, I'm so grateful that I even have a place to call "home." Today is one of those Mondays where I just wish I could see your faces and spend some time with you. I often feel like Ammon did in the end of Alma 26 when he referrs to him and his brethren as "wanderers in a strange land." I've met some of the greatest people here in the OTM, and yet at times I feel so detatched and so foreign. I don't think I've ever been more at home, but far from home at the same time! Friendships and becoming "part of the family" can only go so far when I'm just temporarily in an area doing the work of the Lord. Missionary life is so weird.

 

I'm not going to sugar-coat it. This week was a rough one. I haven't taught so few lessons in almost a year and a half. It's been very humbling to come into the YSA branch and try to find people to teach. I'm used to knocking on any door and being able to teach that person. Such is not the case here. Everyone we've found so far we've referred to the surrounding family wards. I can at least find joy in giving our zone referrals. Elder H (it's Hironymous, Mom) and I joke with each other that we're going to be the favorite missionaries in the Rogers Zone because we find people to teach for everyone. We're hoping that what goes around, comes around. As we give everyone potentials, maybe we'll get potentials back?

 

The good news is that my son is doing well. He's a natural complainer, but he's doing okay. He doesn't let things get him down. I've been doing my best to help him know that not every area is like this. But I've also helped him understand that with sufficient faith, we can do anything. I've told him once and I'll tell him again that he should never let anyone tell him how something will turn out. For example, if a missionary says, "Oh, that stinks. You're going to a dead area." This is exactly what expectation Satan wants a missionary to be instilled with when he goes to a new area. Sadly, this is the expectation I was given at the beginning of my mission. It's taken almost 2 years for me to learn that I should never let a missionary tell me how it is. I want Elder H to start off right and be able to go into each area with full faith and trust in God.

 

So we've been trying to listen to the Spirit. I've been teaching Elder H how to pray over a map and find certain streets. We've done it a few times and each time without fail we've found a potential investigator on that street. Granted, we don't ever get to teach them ourselves, but it's been neat to see the Lord guide us. I sure hope the other missionaries take care of those referrals! And right now, as I'm typing, I've realized another miracle: we haven't met anyone rude yet. Not even one single person has yelled at us or slammed the door or anything like unto it. I don't care if people are rude to us (in fact I love it), but I think it's a miracle because it's helped Elder H open up in his teaching/door approaches. He's very nervous when it comes to teaching the Gospel. I feel bad because the other day I threw him under the bus in the Milewski's (counselor in the branch presidency and his wife) when I asked them to give a shy missionary advice. He was a little embarrassed, but they gave some good counsel. At least the branch loves having a new missionary :) Every morning in comp. study I have Elder H practice his door approach with me. Fun times.

 

Crazy story of the week: Yesterday we went and ate dinner with Wes, a 25-year-old guy who moved here from Utah about the same time we got here. He's out here selling pest control door-to-door. He joined the church 4 years ago and he's awesome! Anyway, as we were chatting he was like, "So you said you're from Logan?" I answered in the affirmative. He then said, "Hey do you know someone named Stuart Edgington?" I about flipped out. "Yeah, I know Stuart Edgington! In fact, his little brother Stephen was one of my good friends back home!" Y'all remember "Edge," right? Come to find out, Wes was roommates with Stuart at about the time I was going to BYU. I guess Stuart is a big deal nowadays because of some videos he made that have gone viral on the internet. He's even been on national television. Cool stuff! I know a famous guy. Small world.

 

We expect this next week to be better than the last. We have a few potentials and we have some great activities that we're planning. Though things may be tough now, I'm excited to do some fun stuff with the YSA branch. Opportunities will open up that I couldn't have done in a normal area. Should be fun!

 

Man, I already feel so much better from just emailing you. Also, guess what I found out? Just like I predicted, Willard is exploding! They have 7 with a date, one of which is Tom. What a miracle! I just wish I could've been there when they set it. So all my efforts weren't wasted. Gosh, it feels good!

 

Hope y'all have a great week! I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all of my heart. It keeps me going.

 

Love, Elder Atkin

 

P.S. Yep, we got a lot of rain this last week. There was one night where we go like 5 inches of rain! The tornado sirens were going on and off all night, but it was no big deal. We have a little closet under the stairs we can hide in.

ahh...Bentonville

Dear Family,

Howdy! It's been a good week to say the least. I'm so happy to have Elder Hironymous as my companion. Yeah, that's his name. We've only been together for a few days, but in some ways it seems like we've already been through an eternity. I cannot tell you how fun it's been to train this guy. Taking him tracting for the first time, teaching our first lesson to an investigator who thinks he's a gangster, studying together... Let's just say that I'm constantly laughing to myself :) I feel like I have a little brother in tow. It reminds me of when I was first trained almost 2 years ago. It really puts everything into perspective. Was I really that immature?

Elder Hironymous is from Webberville, Texas (near Austin) and he is the youngest of 5 - like me. He loves sports, his favorites being basketball, football, and soccer - like me. He's a pretty cool guy - like me!! Haha but really he's super different from me in many other ways. I have never met anyone that was more proud to be from Texas than this guy. To be honest, it's quite annoying sometimes... But I have to give him props for sticking up for his Longhorns in Razorback territory. Gosh, he takes it personal! I don't dare say anything bad about his favorite university. He has a UT flag, UT shorts, UT pajamas, UT this, UT that... I'm not sure if I'll like the color of burnt orange after these 2 transfers. But it's all fun.

Well, I don't have much to report as far as the work goes, but we're planning on having a killer upcoming week. We've already contacted a few of our investigators and we have an investigator named Dakota (the one who thinks he's a gangster) with a date for the 25th of May. I've been trying to help keep Elder H excited about everything and think that there is a lot to do. And there is! We have a whole stake to cover and there's a lot of people in the Rogers/Bentonville area.

Speaking of Bentonville. Talk about a nice town! I love it here. As you may know, Bentonville is Walmart headquarters. This means that there is some type of Walmart office on every corner. The fact that Walmart hires people from all parts of the world makes things a little bit interesting too. I cannot tell you how many Indian people we have already met. Most of them are Hindu, so they don't have a concept of Christ. I'm so used to teaching Christians that I just don't know what to do! I'll figure it out.

Since we don't have many investigators, we've just hit the streets and have done a lot of tracting. Our plan is to find tons and tons of people, keep the single adults for ourselves to teach, then hand off everyone else to the rest of the zone. All the missionaries will love us! Don't worry, I don't do it for that reason alone, but I like to think of myself in their shoes - receiving referral after referral from the YSA missionaries tracting in my area. I feel like I get to be Santa Claus in this situation.

We already love the branch and they love us. I had no idea that we'd have a full dinner calendar on our first sunday. The people here are just great. I'll admit that it's a little strange serving in a branch with people my age, but it opens up a lot of fun opportunities too. Our ward mission leader recently returned from his mission in California so he's pumped and ready to go. We're going to try and think of cool activities that the YSAs can invite their friends to. If y'all have any really cool ideas for activities or finding new investigators, let this guy know.

There's just so much to be excited and happy about. Elder Hironymous is absolutely terrified to teach and to testify, but I'll change that with a little help from the Lord. Every day we practice door approaches in companionship study. He's already getting a lot better. I can't wait to see what this upcoming week will bring. I hope y'all are doing fantastically well. I love you and pray for you.

Love, Elder Atkin

P.S. Here's a monumental picture for you. My one and only son :)

April 8, 2013 - Transfer stuff...

Dear Family,

My goodness, what a wonderful week! Despite our zone dropping below 100 lessons, Elder Heindel and I not reading 20, and a really bad zone meeting on Friday, I feel great. There's nothing quite like General Conference to uplift my spirits and give me confidence. With so many meetings getting in the way of our schedule, we did quite well - 4 new investigators and over 60% member present lessons. Sunday night was full of miracles as we taught many new investigators with our priest exchange in tow. He loved it! How can I be sad when we're having such great priest exchanges? How I wish I could've gone out with the missionaries a lot more than I did before my mission (1 time). I know that the experiences these young men are having will shape the way they start their missions and even give them extra incentive to serve in the first place. Nothing makes me happier than having a priest walk up to me at church and say, "So when are we going on exchanges again?" I hope our efforts help these young men serve missions.

Transfer calls came on Saturday and my dreams came true. I'm training!! You have no idea how much I've prayed to train someday. It's been one of the biggest heartaches of my mission, to be quite honest. Nevertheless, the Lord is merciful and I'll be privileged to be training in Rogers, Arkansas in the Rogers YSA branch. I'm so excited! I'll be ending my mission in the state I started it. I absolutely love Arkansas! Now comes the waiting game where I wait to find out who i'm training. He comes into the mission home on Wednesday and I'll get him on Thursday. Who knows who he is! What's his name? What does he look like? Where's he from? Haha I could go on and on :) I hope he reads this someday and realizes how excited I was to get him. I should be really interesting to serve in the YSA branch. That means that I won't have an absolute area to be restricted to and that we'll be proselyting in a different way. This means that I'm not necessarily going to be teaching everyone I meet, which could be tough, but I'm also excited to teach people my age. So many unknowns. I know the Lord will take care of me.

So yeah, I'm leaving Willard. Kind of sad to leave an area that I feel like I just came to yesterday. We have so many great things going on that it's ridiculous. I don't think I've ever found so many new investigators my whole mission as compared to these last 2 months. I always ask the Lord to pour out His Spirit upon this area and He truly has - I can't complain. Just to give you an idea of what Heavenly Father has helped us do in the last 2 months, we first came to an area with around 5 investigators, a few less-active families to work with, and a couple of potential investigators (mostly member referrals). Hours and hours of tracting and hunting later, we've handed out almost 100 Book of Mormons, we've found close to 30 new investigators, we're working with 15 less-active families, and we've found close to 60 potential investigators. Of course, not all of those potentials are solid, but many of them are starting to turn into new investigators. Last week I mentioned Lori. At our return appointment she came prepared with questions, she having read lots of the material we left with her. We had an excellent lesson on the Restoration and she sincerely wants to know if it's true. It feels good to know that it all started with a successful door approach a few weeks ago. I know that she'll get baptized. I can honestly say that I'm leaving Willard a lot better than I found it, which feels so satisfying. In a town of less than 5,000 we've seen miracles. So it will be hard to leave. I feel a little sad because I didn't really get close with anyone here, but I did my job and I did my best. Elder Heindel (bless his soul) will be staying here with Elder Fritschi and it'll be a transfer of harvesting. They're going to baptize like crazy!

Haha crazy story of the day: I mentioned that yesterday Elder Heindel and I had a great evening exchange. We went out to Walnut Grove to try by a family that we tracted into and said we could come back. Their names are Nikki and Shawn and they have two cute little boys. Luckily they were home and they let us right in. As we were introducing ourselves, they said we could have a seat on the couch. Elder Heindel sat down first, but then scooted over to give Josh (our priest exchange) some room to sit. As he moved over, he suddenly jumped up and yelped. He instantly grabbed his rear. In his hand was a large piece of glass that had stabbed him in the bum! He was trying not to make a big deal out of it, but he was obviously in pain. They responded by saying, "Darn, I thought we cleaned it all up." (referring to a broken pane of glass) Not wanting to prematurely end a first lesson, I said, "Aw, he's alright." But then I leaned over and whispered, "Dude, are you okay? Like is it bad?" To make a long story short he toughed it out and we finished the lesson, thus picking up 2 new investigators who want us to come back. Nikki especially liked the message of the Book of Mormon. My companion is such a champion! We're not too worried because we don't think the actual glass went into his buttock, but it sure bled a lot. We were joking around that he got in a knife fight. Hard core Walnut Grove! (pop. 600ish)

Well, as always, there's so many other stories from my week, but not enough time to share. If I did I would talk all about my last ZLC, our trainwreck of a zone meeting, and some of the crazy people I met. Love ya bunches! Happy birthday April! .....and.... Jesus loves you!

Love, Elder Atkin

April 1, 2013 - Great week!

Dear Family,

Hey thanks for the Easter package! You know how much I love snickerdoodles :) And those chips were pretty good. You betcha that I'm "bigger, bolder, thicker" - to be honest, I've gained over 50 pounds on my mission. The people just feed me so well out here! Ain't nothin' like some good old fashioned BBQ. Yum yum yum. It's tough to fit into my clothes nowadays, but I make it work. I've busted out a few pairs of pants, but no big deal. You might not really recognize me when I come home because of the extra poundage that's distributed throughout my body. I don't mind having a beer gut either...

I'm playin'. April fools! Don't worry, I haven't gained 50 pounds.

I'm happy to say that Elder Heindel and I had an awesome week! Despite a really slow start to the week, we taught a TON of people, we set a baptismal date with Kara for the 13th of April, and we found another 4 new investigators - all from tracting. I'm constantly amazed at how many people are being prepared to receive the Gospel, even if the missionaries have tracted their street a million times before us. I used to be afraid to knock a street that had recently been tracted, but now I have no fear. As long as we have the Spirit with us and we trust in God, we'll always find people.

Such is the case with Lynette. Lynette is an older woman who lives down the street from the Halles (members). When we first knocked on her door a few weeks ago she said that she wasn't feeling too well, but would like to talk to us some other time. She seemed extremely nice and spiritual so we stopped by every few days. We finally caught her on a good day on Wednesday as we were visiting people with Bro. Bird. She let us right in and we had a wonderful visit. Almost 2 hours later we left the house having taught about the Book of Mormon and committing her to read and pray about it. Lynette has such an amazing understanding of scripture that Bro. Bird even taught her about the Pearl of Great Price and the doctrines within. I about flipped out when he started, but I relaxed as she said that she already felt it was true. On more than one occasion she mentioned that the Spirit was really strong in the room and that she "felt" that the Book of Mormon was true. She's so amazing! Lynette has such a deep love of the Bible and is more spiritual than most members I've met. As we were leaving, she kindly said, "See you later! God loves ya." Yes he does, Lynette.

That's what I love about my mission. While I have met the most ignorant, hypocritical, selfish, and misled self-proclaimed "Christians" on my mission, I have also met the nicest, uplifting, loving, spiritually-minded God-fearing people who are truly trying their best to do what it right. How I wish that these people would become a part of the true church and receive the blessings thereof. It's just like the scripture says - they are "blinded by the craftiness of men." They would join the church in an instant if only the barriers of misconceptions and misinformation were removed. Most often those barriers can only be removed by missionary-minded members they're acquainted with. Just the fact that I have a nametag prevents me from talking to the most prepared people on this planet. It's downright silly sometimes how prepared some people are!

For example, we tracted into a lady named Lori who's divorced and has a 12-year-old son with aspergers. She immediately constructed a brick wall of, "Sorry, I'm Catholic," but we persisted and she let us come back (that's another long story that I'll have to tell you sometime). We visited her on Friday and had an awesome lesson. She is absolutely hilarious and her son is the coolest kid in the world. She explained that she was Catholic just because of it's tradition and family values. She recognizes the flaws in every church you can think of, and she totally hates Baptists (hooray, I found a new best friend). Every single thing she said she wished churches had we responded by saying our church had it. By the end she agreed to read and pray and we set a return appointment. Talk about GOLDEN. She just doesn't know it yet.

Well, I have to go, but thanks again for the package and all of your love. Have a great week!

Love, Elder Atkin

March 25, 2013

Dear Family,

I always love hearing about the talks that are being shared in church back home. It sounds like the story about the turkey wandering along the road must've been pretty funny :) And I'm sure April gave a really good talk in the Mendon 1st ward. I wish I could have heard it. You're right Mom, missions are an excellent opportunity to learn about the doctrines of the Gospel. While I'm really not that knowledgeable myself (I'm reminded of this every day as Elder Heindel corrects my crazy opinions on the spirit world, celestial glory, etc.), I can at least recognize that my understanding of Gospel principles has grown in the past couple of years. And judging by how intelligent April is I just know that her talks must be awesome!

One source of doctrine that I've gained the most knowledge from is - you guessed it - the Book of Mormon. I recently finished Mosiah and started Alma and it's been a blast to learn things that I never noticed in previous readings of the same book. As I started Alma chapter 1 I read about the people of the church who were "steadfast and immovable" and the priests who labored to "impart the word of God unto the people," but didn't do it for money. In verse 27 it mentions that the people helped each other out and imparted their substance to those in need. At the end of the verse it reads that "they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely." When I read that, I thought to myself that that perfectly describes members of the church. People who aren't too fancy or wild in their appearance, but a people who like to look neat and nice. My definition of "neat and comely" is this: righteously classy. Take for instance Deiter F. Uchtdorf. This man always has fantastic ties and has the most wonderful hair. He's not in-your-face with his style, but yet he is righteously classy. What a stallion of a man! Just a thought :)

Anyways, on to the work. This week was a good one for us. We picked up 5 new investigators (all from tracting) and we taught 23 lessons - the best since I've been here. We're still struggling to set baptismal dates with our investigators, but both Elder Heindel and I feel impressed that we'll be able to set 2 dates by the end of this coming week. Our zone is equally doing just as well. We reached 130 lessons, which breaks any previous record for the Springfield zone. It's about an average of 14-15 lessons per area, which is near the best in the mission. Sometimes I get so frustrated with the elders in our zone, but I'm happy to see that they're actually working hard for the most part. I think that our zone meeting this last Monday was a real help to everyone. We talked about being in the moment and trusting in the Lord that you won't fail. We reminded our elders that no effort is wasted. I know the Lord will continue to bless this zone if we are obedient and are working hard. And we've been able to see that as we've jumped from 55 to 130 in just a couple of months. Cool stuff!

I also know that numbers aren't everything. I still have my frustrations because I want to see real growth. The kind of growth that is seen in progressing investigators, baptismal dates, church attendance, and most of all - baptisms. Elder Heindel and I have about 50 potential investigators (no lie) from our diligent hard work, but it's a struggle to get them from point A to point Z. Sorry if I've said this same stuff before, but I want to see it improve. But I'm still positive. I try to "rejoice" in the little miracles that happen each day. One little miracle is that Bro. Gould is doing awesome. He'd the one that's married to a member, comes to church every week, says he'll be baptized, but doesn't want to be pushed. We've been trying not to push him too much, but I just want the guy to get baptized already!! While I'm not able to say that we set a date with him this week, I'm able to say that we've had some great lessons with him recently. Yesterday we had a little miracle in our Gospel Principles class as we watched "Safety for the Soul" by Jeffrey R. Holland. Bro. Gould seemed to really liked it and he even recognized the scripture 2 Nephi 33:10-11 about the words of Christ because we had read it with him previously. He really opened up to us and even kind of bore his testimony to us. Baby steps...

Other little miracles include really good exchanges with some of the priests in our ward. We have some awesome priests, but they seem a little disinterested sometimes. They don't realize what a crucial period of time it is right now. Most of them have girlfriends. A few of them talk about missions like it's an afterthought. But this week we went with Slade and Joe on separate occasions and they had a blast. I pray and pray every time that we'll get into doors and that they'll have a good experience and the Lord came through for us. Slade even got to see us teach a first lesson to Karissa and Todd. Joe came up to us at church and said that he wanted to go with us again this week. I've never seen that from him before. Little miracles!

So life is wonderful. It's been as cold as all get out this week and we've gotten tons of snow. I'm about ready for spring, but you know how I love the winter wasteland. I'm still working my guts out. I'm still loving my companion. What else could I ask for than this wonderful experience! I'm very blessed.

Love, Elder Atkin

March 19, 2013 - Positivity!

Dear Family,

Howdy howdy howdy!

Sorry about last weeks email. I really felt bad about typing such a negative email so I thought I chose a better option, even if it was really short. I just need to be more positive! Positive in my emails, positive in my area, positive with the zone in meetings... The Lord doesn't like negative people. In a talk I recently read by Elder Tad R. Callister he mentioned that consecrated missionaries always have a smile and a good attitude because no matter what happens, they have the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There's no need for me to get down on everything. I should be happy that I've made it this far and that I'm blessed to be a part of this church. And how wonderful it is! Now that's something to be happy about. Word of advice from Elder Atkin this week: whenever you're frustrated/angry/sad/down, just remember who you are and what you have. Your problems will then seem tiny.

This week was definitely a finding week. I think that I must've tracted every single day. And I say that with all the gratitude and happiness that my soul can possess. Sadly, our weekly indicator for new investigators was a big fat 0, but man I had a blast. The Lord has definitely taught me a few lessons that I couldn't place a price on. 1) I know I've said this before, but I absolutely love meeting people. 2) God for sure loves each of his children, even when they have the biggest wad of chew dripping from their mouth or they answer the door with a beer in hand. 3) No effort is wasted. 4) I've met dozens and dozens of people that will someday be members of this church. Dead serious. 5) Tracting is NOT A WASTE OF TIME, as many missionaries like to say it is. If you do it right, don't set yourself up for failure, and show your love of the Gospel, you will have success. While we didn't have any new investigators, we have a list of potentials about a mile long. Now comes the struggle of just catching them at home. People sure are busy...

A few days ago we were out knocking doors in Ash Grove and we had a funny experience I thought y'all would appreciate. Elder Heindel and I were just finishing up a street before we headed back home for dinner when we came upon the last house. It was a small, run-down home that had a big sign on the fence that read: "WARNING: I'm a bitter gun owner clinging to my religion."  I'm usually not too scared when it comes to talking to people, but for some reason I just chickened out on this one. Ash Grove is a small town with strange people so I had every right to be. After a short pause I told Elder Heindel that we should probably skip this one and go back to the car. As I began to walk away my courageous companion grabbed my arm and said with a smile, "We're knocking on this door Elder." Oh great. I thought for sure I was going to get shot. Elder Heindel knocked on the door and I awaited my doom. But to my pleasant surprise, a nice old man named Frank answered the door. The same Frank that I previously mentioned had a gob of chew dripping out of the corner of his lips. *shudder* We told him who we were, what the Book of Mormon was, and asked him if we could come back. Once again to my surprise, he said, "Sure, why not." With the goofiest, toothless smile he wished us a good day and we were off. I guess it wasn't my time to die quite yet.

So yeah, Heavenly Father blesses us here and there in different ways that we don't expect. There's many other nice people we met this week that we hope to teach again in the future. Most of our investigators aren't really progressing right not, but they'll come around. I have the faith. Well, at least I hope I do... Either way, life is good and I'm happy.

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Atkin

March 11, 2013 - Another week in Paradise

Excerpt from Willie's letter:

Here's probably one of the greatest pictures of all time. Yesterday before church we found this intersection while hunting for good tracting spots. Can you believe it?? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I will forever remember where William Ave and Dennis St met - a place where the sun shines a little brighter :)

February 4, 2013 - New Transfer = New Opportunities

Dear Family,

So we finally get a new refrigerator after 25 years? Talk about bittersweet. Gosh, I feel like a part of me has died... Will I see our good ol' fridge in the next life? Haha I'm just kidding. You can make fun of me for saying this, but I'll miss that old tank of an appliance. It's all I've known! Well, life moves on.

Speaking of life moving on - I was reading the end of Jacob going into Enos this morning for personal study. As Jacob is finishing his account, he tells the story of one named Sherem - an anti-Christ who is convinced of his wrongdoing right before he dies. I haven't faced many anti-Christs on my mission, but I can sure relate to Jacob in the way that he gets extremely "anti'd" (aka religious bash, battle). But of course Jacob handles the situation like a champ by confounding Sherem in "all his words." He was simply able to do this because the Spirit of the Lord was within him. Just as the Doctrine and Covenants promises the Lord's missionaries repeatedly, Jacob was living right so that he was given what he should say in the very moment he needed it. Cool stuff! Anyway, Jacob ends his words by saying that "time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto a dream..." He also calls his people "wanderers" and a "lonesome and solemn people." As I was reading that I couldn't help but think about how life truly does pass away like a dream when we're living right and helping others come unto Christ. Jacob spent his whole life doing just that. Though we may feel "lonesome" or feel like "wanderers" in this strange world we live in, we can also be blessed like Jacob. Soon life will pass by like a dream and we will look back on the good times of helping people and serving God. Just a thought.

This week sure passed by like a dream. It was another hard working week where we experienced more of the extreme highs and lows of missionary work. Mom, as to answer you're question on how I deal with the roller coaster of the work - I simply pray, trust in the Lord, and move onward. It's not always easy. Heck, Crystal didn't seem as golden as we thought she was. Who knows, she might still be interested, but her husband got in the way. We dropped by this week and he answered the door. We explained that Crystal said we could come back. His response was this, "You know, we talk to God everyday... We're not going to be interested in what you have to share. My wife .... she's easily persuaded ..." Talk about a depressing walk back to the car. I feel like my heart's been broken so many times that I almost expect it sometimes. I always get my hopes up that they are "the one," only to find out later that they aren't.

Such is the case with Grahm (Crystal's neighbor). We've taught him twice now and he's so prepared for the Gospel that it's ridiculous. Both lessons were absolutely perfect and I can see how God has slowly led Grahm to eventually embrace the truth. It's almost too perfect. I can't help but get my hopes up for this one. He's fascinated by the Book of Mormon. He even asked us to show him which scriptures were most important for him to read to know that it's true. Both Elder Heindel and I about jumped out of our chairs to show him 3 Nephi 11, King Benjamin's address, 2 Nephi 31-33, etc. Man, if Grahm doesn't make it somebody might just have to piece my fragile heart back together! He's probably our most progressing investigator right now.

Despite the downfalls, there are wonderful things happening in our area. We taught 20 lessons and picked up 3 new investigators. 2 of them are a couple that we tracted into named Mark and Ashley. They are hard-core Pentecostal, but somewhat open-minded to the whole Book of Mormon thing. We taught a great lesson on the Restoration and afterward Mark asked us what our views were on speaking in tongues. We could tell that it was important to them. Haha Elder Heindel basically zipped his lips shut and looked at me to answer the question. In the most loving and respectful way I could I explained our church's view and the way I felt about it. I didn't want to flat out say that they were crazy. They accepted what I said, but I have a feeling that we'll be talking a lot more about it in the future. Hopefully they gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon before too long :) Good grief!

I hope y'all have a great week and a fun homecoming with April. Sure wish I could be there, but it can wait a few months. Take care, ya hear!

Love, Elder Atkin

February 25, 2013 - Quick transfer

Dear Family,

Hopefully I can write a better email to y'all this week because I'm not as tired (though I still did work just as hard this last week) and a lot of great things have happened. Besides, Rachel let me know that she prayed that I would write a better email so it's got to be better, right?

First of all, transfer calls were on Saturday. Elder Heindel and I were hoping to stay together for another one and our wish was granted. I'm staying in Willard for at least another 6 weeks. Hooray! That means that after this coming transfer I'll have 2 transfers left. Of course, I have hopes that for those 2 transfers I'll be training my one and only "son," but let's not get ahead of ourselves. :) I should be grateful for what the Lord has already done for me so far and for my answered prayers. I've been truly blessed to be in the areas with the companions that I needed all throughout my mission. Sometimes in the moment I've wondered if I was in the right place with the right elder, but looking back I know that each situation has been just perfect for me to learn and grow. Missions are so great! Certain experiences that I've had have built up the appreciation that I have for Elder Heindel and my area that I wouldn't have otherwise. Does that make sense? Basically I'm just happy where I am and I know that the Lord knows what he's doing. Cool stuff.

This week was a good finding week. We've found some pretty neat people through tracting. People that are obviously prepared to receive the Gospel, whether they know it or not. On Tuesday Elder Heindel and I ran out of things to do. We went through our plans and realized that we only had a few options: tracting or....tracting (haha). There was Robberson St. in downtown Willard - one which we previously had prayerfully selected on a map, or we could tract somewhere else. We had been putting of Robberson for the longest time (a few weeks) because we doubted that we would be successful there. It's in downtown Willard and we figured that it had been tracted a million times. But as we were praying and trying to decide what to do, we couldn't get Robberson out of our minds. Finally, we decided to go for it. Time to quit fearing man more than God.

The first 10 doors were either not home or not interested. Surely our fears were coming to pass. But as we knocked on the 11th, a really nice lady stepped out of her house. She didn't seem too interested, but kindly listened to our approach and said, "What, you want me to read your book?" We smiled and explained that this book helps us draw closer to God and Jesus Christ. We then talked about modern prophets and apostles. As we spoke she began to show more and more interest. I asked her if she had felt the Spirit before. Expecting the normal emphatically-Christian YES, she surprised us by saying, "You know what, I haven't. I know that God's there, but I've always expected to feel the Spirit at church and stuff. That hasn't happened to me." We chatted some more and promised that she would feel the Spirit in a way only she could understand if she read the Book of Mormon, prayed about it, and learned more from us. We found out her name is Crystal and she said we could come back. Hopefully we can start teaching her this week.

The miracle continued through the next 2 houses where we met Graham - a nice guy that's not sure about his faith - and another man who teaches religion at Pitt State in Kansas. I don't remember his name, but he's very open-minded and said we could come back any time. I'm not sure how interested he is, but he's fascinated by anything to do with religion, theology, etc. He already has a couple of Book of Mormons. So, moral to the story is NEVER doubt a prompting! We had been impressed to tract Robberson for the longest time, but we just kept scaring ourselves away. Stupid Elder Atkin!! Why did I doubt?

Besides that, we found another lady named Jennifer who is the most dry Mormon I have ever met. And we also found an older man named James who's starting to question his purpose and wondering where he's going after this life. He's realized how close to death he really is and he's searching for the truth. We taught him the Plan of Salvation, thus answering some of his burning questions, but he's still looking for more. We'll go over Tuesday or Wednesday and share the Restoration. That'll get him :)

So yeah, life is good (I know I say that a lot. sorry). We're teaching a lot of lessons, even with a big ice storm on Wednesday night that shut everything down for a bit. I was actually stuck in Aurora for a couple of days, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Have a great week! Be safe, be courageous, have integrity, and show someone your love today. It's a beautiful day to be alive.

Love, Elder Atkin

P.S. Bro. McKinnon and Bro. White are both still doing well. They were both sustained to receive the priesthood and the office of a priest. Bro. McKinnon also received a calling to be the building clean-up director. He'll love that calling.