Dear Family,
Less than 3 weeks until General
Conference!! WOOHOO!!! I flippin' can't wait until I can hear from our
prophet. I think that sometimes I forget that we actually have a prophet
of God on the earth. It's like, "Yeah, yeah. Thomas S. Monson is the
prophet. That's cool. Blah blah." But right now I'm like, "Holy catfish
we have a prophet on the earth that not only recieves revelation for us,
but for the whole world!!" So, yeah. I'm pumped.
Mom, I agree with you. When it comes to severe weather,
I think I'm more worried about my stuff than myself. I know, that's
horrible, but I really haven't faced anything yet to make me worried. We
have a plan in place for all types of weather, so I feel safe. Besides,
all of the crazy weather that has happened so far has come in the night
when I'm asleep. And when I'm asleep, I'm ASLEEP. That's one thing I'm
thankful for on my mission so far is that I can fall asleep in an
instant and get a good night's rest. Elder Ivie is totally the opposite -
even the littlest breeze against our window keeps him up. That, and I
snore a little bit haha :)
So. Life is great! El Diablo is trying real hard to get
me in a bad mood as of late, but I ain't lettin' him. The lack of
investigators, referrals, appointments, etc. frustrates me, but I'm
pretty much used to it now. It's kinda bad though, because I'm getting
tempted to do dumb things to get investigators. I won't tell you the
list, but don't worry - I wouldn't be breaking rules. Also, Elder Ivie
is pretty much out of money for the month already, so he's kinda
mooching off my food right now. We both can't figure out where it all
went, but either way he's in trouble. The only thing I can do is let him
eat my food so he doesn't starve. No more stops at QuikTrip for food
until April. Well, at least for him...
No, we didn't get 20 lessons a week :( But hey, we got
16!! It's kinda funny how we complain if we don't make it to 20, yet 2
months ago 5 lessons was a great week. Not to brag or anything, but the
whole Tulsa East Zone/Stake has caught onto Elder Jensen, Bishop, and
I's idea. They are now collecting active member lessons (AMLs) as an
indicator! Thank you, thank you *cheering**clapping*. Haha jk :) But
really, our stake president believes that as we consistently get 20 (as a
zone/stake), we'll get baptisms. Sorry, you're probably getting tired
of hearing this, but it's the hot topic around here.
We met with Tom and Belinda again this week on
Saturday. I went to Walmart and bought him a big Coke because I couldn't
guess a riddle right (Tom loves puns and riddles) when we ate pizza the
last Saturday. He wasn't expecting me to actually do it, so he was
really surprised. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I told Tom that a
deal's a deal, and that Elder Atkin always follows through, even if it
was a joke. But on the bummer side of things, we weren't able to teach a
lesson because Tom was really tired and really out of it. Belinda was
there, and we had a great visit, but we were hoping to lay it all on the
table and commit them to baptism. We'll get 'er done this week!
On Saturday, we met with Deb and Branden to reset his
baptismal date and teach about the Plan of Salvation. Since Branden is
young, we're breaking the lessons up into pieces and making sure he
understands. We taught Branden part 1 of the P.O.S. (pre-earth life to
earth life), and had Bro. Johnson share some of his thoughts as well.
The good news is that we reset his date successfully to the 14th of
April! But the bad news is that they didn't show up at church, despite
us committing them like 4 times to come. Golly I just want to pull out
my hair sometimes! We try so hard to get someone to church so they can
feel the spirit and recieve revelation and meet members and be taught
and and and..... They don't come because they "feel sick" or they have
to go somewhere to see somebody and do something important. YOUR ETERNAL
SALVATION IS IMPORTANT, DEB. It's pretty much impossible to get Branden
to church without Deb, so that's what's frustrating. Branden's all for
going to primary and being baptized, he just needs that support.
Sheesh... I'm getting tired of Bro. Moe (gospel principles teacher)
nagging us for not having an investigator at church. Well, Bro. Moe,
give us a referral then.
Sorry if this email is dumb. I really don't beg members
to give us a referral and such. I'm trying my hardest just to teach by
the spirit and help members feel good about missionary work. It's a
constant, epic battle.
But despite my frustrations, church was as good as
always. I felt the spirit big time and my testimony meter was filled to
the brim. It feels so stinkin' good!!
I know that
the Gospel is true. The Plan of Redemption is very real and it is for
everybody, young and old. I love the prophet Joseph Smith with all my
heart and I feel the power of the first vision more and more each day. I
love you so much! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Atkin
P.S.
Here's some pictures Mommy. The first one is of my main man Elder Ivie
and I, sitting on the Mitchell's couch. The 2nd one is of a sweet
planner cover I made out of an Arizona Mucho Mango drink. Thirdly, it's
springtime in Owasso! Though I do wish I could see the beautiful
Wellsville Mountains with their glistening snow...
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| Elder Ivie and Elder Atkin |
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| Spring time in Owasso |
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