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