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.