2/13/17

2-7-17

Last night, we went to visit Lynda and shared a message with her. She is doing so well! She's already in 2 Nephi in her scripture study and she called bishop to set up a time to meet with him about going to the temple!

Today, we helped Cindy who is an investigator of ours move a couch. She bought one from her friend that we went to go help her move onto her trailer. Then, we went over to her house to help move it into her living room. We noticed that she had some reading material from the Jehovah's Witnesses from stopping by, so we snagged it without her noticing. Haha she doesn't need to be reading that stuff anyway! Later this evening, we met with Ruben and brought Bro. Gallahar with us. It was a great visit and Sis. Reynolds even fed us dinner! We talked a little bit of the organization of the church and the BoM.

2-8-17

We got to start my birthday off by doing service for someone in Columbia with SBP. We did some more mold remediation at another house. We got all suited up in that gear again. After we got back from the service, we went on exchanges with the Ridgeway Elders. We all stayed in Blythewood and just worked there. Lamping & Oliver went to an appointment we had scheduled while Dean and I knocked around and found two new investigators! We set return appointments with them to come back. Later on that night, we went to Oliver to share a message with them. Little did I know... It was a planned surprise party for me. A lot of people showed up -including Lynda! The sister brought my favorite types of wings to the party to cater. Eric cooked me up a New York cheesecake! It was so much fun to have everyone together. I will always remember this birthday and the people I got to spend it with.

2-9-17

We continued our exchanges today, except I went with Oliver today. It was a long day since we weren't able to catch anyone at home. We did quite a bit of knocking as well. One neat experience that happened today was that we decided to go eat lunch at Panda Express. Firstly, we were walking in the parking lot and we saw a big deisel truck by the front door. The back tailgate had a sticker with writing on it in cursive saying; "Just because there's smoke, it don't mean it's Broke." I was thinking that, that was pretty odd that someone would put that on their truck... Haha but funny! We walked in the doors and a less active was there! Bro. Dove was right in front of us ordering food. We went up to say hi and he was happy to see us. He bought our lunch and saved a seat to sit by him. We had a good visit with him and was just casual. When we went to leave, he got in that truck in the parking lot and drove off. Haha, he is such a funny guy and even funnier that it was his truck we were joking about! Good thing we didn't say anything to him about it! Later this evening, we went to choir practice since Lynda cancelled our appointment with her due to illness. Lamping and Dean were there as well! After that, we finished up exchanges and got ready for tomorrow.

2-10-17

We got up and got ready for ZTM this morning which went really well! They trained on Obedience and being more of accepting to change. After ZTM, we went to Lizard Thicket to have some good southern cookin'! After we ate, we came back and stopped by a guy we had an appointment with, but he wasn't home. We stopped by a few others on our way back with no luck. We ended the night with a productive weekly planning session.

2-11-17

This morning, we helped the Garbe's move into their new house which took a good 20mknutes with just three of us. They don't have very many of their belongings since they're all out in Colorado. They took out to eat at Bojangle's afterwards which was good as always! We got back to the apartment and we had about 30min until we had to go meet Bro. Moon to ride with him to go help clean the church. We got there and the Sisters were there as well. They brought an investigator they have who is on date for baptism next weekend! They have him a tour of the church and then, helped us all clean the church. We made quick work of cleaning and headed back to the apartment. We had an appointment with Lynda which ended up really well. We talked about how God will give/allow trials to help us grow and learn from them. She is struggling with a lot of night terrors, so we helped her understand why she may be going through them. We gave her a blessing before we left to help with them.

2-12-17

Church was interesting today! We had a "musical sacrament" where a member from each quorum and auxiliary goes up and shares their testimony along with their favorite hymn and why it is their favorite. After that, we would sing the hymn that they shared. About seven people went up to do that and it was really spiritual! After that, I taught Gospel Pinciples today which turned out well. We had a big turnout that came to class today. We overheard Ruben talking to Bishop about him wanting to get baptized. He also, expressed that he wants to get married with Debbie in the temple! It was so exciting to hear that. He is such a great guy and is very sincere. I can't wait until he is able to eventually, get to that point!

Lynda grabbed us after church and told us that she met with bishop and is working on getting her limited-use temple recommend. She said that the bishop is going to assign her as a primary teacher! She's was so excited for that because she said that she really wanted to work with kids. I am so happy for her and the progress she has made.

 

-Elder Mitchell

 

 

1/25/17

Dear Reed
1-25-17
I thought you would like to see this text and mine.

"Hello, my name is Lynda. This Saturday morning I am to be baptized because of your precious son, Elder Mitchell :) I moved here almost three months ago and a week after I had moved in I heard a knocking on my door. Heavenly Father has shown me His love and redeeming Grace through these missionaries. They have shown me patience, love, and understanding

As they have taught me about the Atonement and Repentance and Heavenly Fathers redeeming Grace! Sorry, I sent this before I was finished tying...me and technology don't mix well! Lol!  Anyways, I can't begin to express my gratitude to your sons, Elder Mitchell and Elder Lamping, and to you, for your prayers and encouragement!

You have amazing sons!! I will remember them always and I pray that Heavenly Father blesses them and all of you always! I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ️"

My response: "Thank you Lynda. Such expression of kind words makes my heart so happy. I am especially happy that you have had faith in Jesus Christ and in his healing power. He is the great physician. I love Jesus Christ and his gospel with all of my heart. It is the way to find true joy which is deeper than happiness. I love you and am thankful for the love and trust you have given my Son. I have been praying for you. I am so excited about your baptism!! Love, Sister Mitchell "

1/9/17

Fwd: Monday!

Lisa Mitchell

Begin forwarded message:

From: Reed Alton Mitchell <reed.mitchell@myldsmail.net>
Date: January 9, 2017 at 3:20:02 PM CST
To: Mom <lisa.mitchell.423@gmail.com>, Dad <tmitchell@communitybanktopeka.com>
Subject: Monday!

Mom and Dad-
How y'all doing?! My new suit fits really well! We had a mission-wide
conference with L. Whitney Clayton and Elder Gary E. Stevenson. It was
such an amazing experience. I got to shake their hands and talk to
them a little bit. So how are you liking the .22 mag rifle? Does it
have a little bit of a kick to it? That's very surprising to hear
about Indy beating Butler and Hutch! Firing that coach was probably
the best thing they've done. That Black positions coach from Indy
(Coach Lolar) is the head coach at Bethel and he emailed me asking me
to play for them when I get back. I want to go to school out in Utah
somewhere though. Our ZLs are okay. Sorry, we are busy playing
basketball with a lot of my friends from West Columbia. I hope y'all
have a great week! I love you very much. ️

1-3-17
We went on exchanges with the Ridgeway Elders today and I stayed in
Blythewood with E. Dean. He has only been out for about 5-6 weeks, so
he is still a greenie! We tried by quite a bit of people today. We
were able to meet with the Riggs who are less active. Later that
evening, we met with another less active named; Horace Branham. He is
an older guy who has cancer and has been going through a lot of health
issues lately. We were able to teach his daughter who isn't a member a
little bit.

1-4-17
We finished up exchanges today, so we went up to Ridgeway to switch
back. Transfers were today, so Sis. Hansen is training a new Sister in
Blythewood. Her name is Sis. Pew. When we got back, we met with Lynda
and had a really good lesson about the Word of Wisdom. She smokes,
drinks coffee & tea and drinks alcohol. We have been working with her
about the alcohol lately. She went a whole week without drinking last
week, but plans to tonight. She said she has three beers in the
fridge, so before we left we asked for her to give them to us. Haha it
was hard for her, but she ended up doing it after we prayed about it.
We knew that if she wasn't willing to give them up now, then she might
not ever. Later tonight, we had ward Coordination with Bro. Taylor
which went well! We got to meet Sister Pew.

1-5-17
We were knocking by some less actives when Tammy (less active) called
us and asked us to come over. It sounded like she had been crying...
we went over there and she had a really rough day and everything had
just piled up on her. We were the first she thought she'd call. We
went over there and shared some scriptures and a video that we thought
would help. She was very thankful that we were able to come by and
share those things with her. We bore testimony and shared experiences
to relate. After dinner, we met with Oliver and Ana. We brought a
recent convert over named Eric, which they got along really well. We
talked about tithing and fast offering which went well! Oliver said
that he made a promise with God that he would pay a full tithe from
now on and work towards receiving the priesthood. We committed him and
Ana to fast this Sunday for our fast Sunday.

1-6-17
We had Weekly Planning for next week today which went well. It usually
takes a few hours, so that was our morning. Later on, we met with
Lynda and brought Bro. Walker with us. She was upset about some legal
situations with his sister and mother passing.
Afterwards, Bro. Walker had us over for dinner and had some cheesy
potatoes and pork roast! We had to be back to our apartment, Elders
from the Greenville East zone came down early for the mission
conference tomorrow because it's supposed to snow in the morning.

1-7-17
This morning, we got up in the morning to go to a mission-wide
conference in West Columbia. We got to see Elder McArthur and L.
Whitney Clayton from the seventy there along with Elder Gary E.
Stevenson from the quorum of the twelve! The Temple President for the
Columbia temple was there as well. I got to go up and shake all of
their hands and talk to them which was a neat experience. They all
gave talks after Sister and President bore their testimonies. Their
talks were so good! I was nourished and edified. ️ Elder Stevenson
talked about following urgent promptings urgently and went over our
purpose as missionaries. I got to see so many of my close friends
because the whole mission was there! I got to see Elders Winn, Staley,
Rose, Gerardo, Casey, Stapley, Overson, Hartman, Michaelis, Volmar,
Brian, Wille, Holt and Jacobsen! E. Staley came up to me and said that
Tammy Barefoot from Hartsville got the letter I wrote her about a
month ago bearing my testimony to her. He said that while she was
telling him about it, she started crying and he said that I had a
really big impact on her life while I was there. She is still active
in the church and it meant so much to hear that from him. Also, it
didn't snow any...

1-8-17
This morning during studies, we got a text from Lynda saying she had a
rough morning and didn't feel like coming to church. Her mom recently,
passed away and today was her mom's birthday. She was part of my fast
today. We went over to her house before Ward Council and talked about
how coming to church will help her immensely. We promised her that she
will feel peace as she goes. She agreed to still go, so we told her
ride that she will still go. We ended up having three investigators at
sacrament this week! The boyfriend of a less active came and brought
her. We have been working with both of them. It was fast and testimony
meeting and people bore some powerful testimonies.
After church, Lynda came up and said that we are the most persistent
people we've ever met. Haha, but she said that she is glad she came!
On our war home, we stopped by Tammy who is a less active and talked
to her for a little while and talked about having family prayer with
her family. Then, we went over to Bishop Lenker's house to have dinner
and break our fasts. He invited us and Lynda over along with some of
his family members. Lynda seemed to really enjoy it and be with people
from the church. Sis. Lenker's mom shared her conversion story with
Lynda. So go this... Bishop's dad is the temple president of the
Columbia temple and he was there as well! We had dinner with him and
talked to him for awhile. He talked to Lynda about the BoM and bore
powerful testimony of it. That was a super rad experience and Lynda
seemed to really enjoy herself!
We surpassed the Standards of Excellence in member presents again this
week! It was very exciting to get 9 again. It was hard work, but
definitely was the Lord blessing us. The Ridgeway Elders in the
District hit them as well! Blythewood Sisters hit them last week with
us, so the District is doing so well right now. It motivates me to do
even better and is so exciting to labor in the Lord's vineyard!

The whole mission! I am in the front row

Inbox	x
Lisa Mitchell <lisa.mitchell.423@gmail.com>	Jan 9
to Dane, me

11/14/16

11-8-16

DDM was today and it went really well! The trainings given were about helping people make and keep commitments that we leave with them. I started getting a headache during the meeting, so it was hard to focus. Today was a rough day because I didn't feel too good, but we were able to have some good lessons. We met with Bro. Fordham who is a less active that we are working with to receive the priesthood. He's a really nice guy who is a convert and wants to improve his relationship with God. We went over the Oath and Covenant of the priesthood with him and committed him to read somewhere in the BoM. After that, we tried by a few other people who weren't home before we headed in for dinner. I ate my dinner really fast so that I could sleep the rest of the time because I'm exhausted. Bro. Tea called and said that Tyler's friend (who is a senior), Levi was at his house tonight and was open to having us come over to teach him. We went over there and had a great lesson with him. He came to church a couple weeks ago and said that he will try to make it this Sunday. He used to work at the Zoo here in Columbia, so he is going to get us in for free on a Pday! Bro. Tea's daughter had a friend over there as well named Clairey and she had a couple questions about the church too, so we answered them and gave her a BoM. She said that she wants to come to church on Sunday! The Teas are an awesome family who are great member missionaries. 

11-9-16

It was another fairly slow day today. We went and had Mormon.org time before we ate some lunch. I passed out asleep during the lunch hour which was a nice nap. Then, we went to a member's house named Frona to see if she needed anything. She is an older lady with MS who can't get around very well. Her caretaker was there, so we just checked in on her. She was very happy to see us and thanked us for making her day.  We also, stopped in on a lady who is less active named, Sara (pronounced Suh-raw). Some local Elders met her at a Walmart and she told the, where she lived and her phone number so we could get in contact with her. Her records aren't even in the ward, so we went over there to get some info to request her records. She's a really nice girl who hasn't been to church in a few years, but grew up in it. Her husband is in the Army and goes to Fort Jackson here in Columbia. After we met with them, we knocked on another less active's house named Tammy. She was another very nice lady, but wasn't too interested in coming back to church. 

11-10-16

The first thing we did this morning was some service for one of our investigators. William hasn't had water for about three days since the water pump in the well is damaged. They are still trying to recover from the flood last year, so there's some damage they've been dealing with. We went over there and helped him pull the hose and pump out of the well which was about 110 ft deep. The pump was disconnected from the hose, so they had to get another one on there. We had to rush back to the apartment to get dressed up for an appointment we have with Taimi. Some members  of the ward (Gallahars) picked us up and went with us to his house. The husband is Tongan and the wife is Samoan and retired from the army. They connected really well with him since he's from Samoa as well. They brought over a Samoan dessert and we ate that with him. It was a really good visit with him, so hopefully he will feel more comfortable to come to church. After that, we came back to the apartment and took a little break since my head was hurting... we got some food and then, headed back out to try by some more people. We drove by a fruit stand that a less active guy runs, so we decided to stop and talk to him. He wasn't there because he was in the hospital, but his friend was there and gave us a bunch of free apples. We had to leave from there to go to choir practice which I'm not feeling up to doing at all... 

11-11-16

Today was a rough day of not catching anyone at home. We were able to meet Bawu's wife finally and she told us to come back on Sunday. We had Ward Coordination at Bro. Taylor's house which went well. We talked about some of the people we were working with and talked to the Sisters about redrawing the boundaries so we could get a bigger area. This area used to be a biking area, so it's tiny for an area with a car. 

11-12-16

Today was another rough day of not being able to teach any lessons again. We stopped by a family who the mom/wife is active and her kids and husband aren't. Her husband was the only person there and he let us in. We talked to him for a little bit and he talked to us about politics. Haha we just had a casual conversation with him and didn't bring up the church because we could tell he would shut it down fast. When he opened the door I asked, "Hey! Are you Bro. George?"

He replied, "yes, I'm Darrel." Haha oh. 

It's funny because him and his wife both grew up in Hutchinson, KS! First people I've met from KS. He worked for Coleman there and now runs his own business here cleaning the hoods of oven tops in Restaurants. When we got back to the apartment, the front office had a social thing going on for the residents called, "Beats and Eats." We scored some free BBQ and Mac & Cheese, so that was pretty dope. They also, had a live band playing which was all cool, but they weren't good... We left after that and tried to visit some other people, but when it gets dark here.. people don't answer their doors. We went to the apartment and had more success in calling people and setting up appointments for next week. 

11-13-16

Today, was cold and rainy all day... On the bright side, we had two investigators at church which was awesome! Clairey came with the Tea's and Ana showed up with her daughters. It was kind of lame though because the Bishop just talked about tithing during sacrament. Hopefully, Clairey had some good lessons in Young Women's! We taught Gospel Principles which we were asked to right before class started. The lesson was on Eternal Families, which ended up being a pretty good lesson and discussion. Ana was in there, so hopefully it got her thinking a little bit too. After that class, we sat in on a prospective elders class and talked about honoring the priesthood. After church, we went to go and visit Tammy who is the less active we visited earlier this week. She let us in and had a good visit with her and her nonmember husband. They also, had the Chiefs and Carolina Panthers game on with it tied up in the 4th Quarter. So that was hard to be unglued off of. The Corner for the Chiefs, Marcus Peters stripped the ball from the Panther's receiver which got them in field goal range to win the game. I was so excited to watch that even though they weren't because they're Panthers fans. Haha I also saw that Eric Berry had a stellar game with 9 tackles, a TFL and an interception. Back to missionary stuff... she invited us back sometime to have some of her famous Chicken Bog. We left her house and went over to see if we could see Bawu. He was home and we were able to talk to him for the first time in about two weeks. He talked about all the crap he's been going through lately and it was understandable why he was so busy. He was really thankful and it meant a lot to him that we texted him throughout the week to make sure he was doing okay. He said that it showed that "someone was looking out for him." We set up a time to have a lesson with him on Wednesday. He said he's got a lot of questions for us next time. We are going to bring Bro. Taylor over with us next! 

-Elder Mitchell

11/7/16

11-1-16

We stopped by to visit Kristin today who is a less active's wife. She was busy, but told us to come back Thursday at the same time. We tried by some other people who weren't available or home. We had another lesson with Ana and the Bishop came with us. It was a great lesson and the bishop gave some great input. Ana is super solid, but she isn't married to the less active guy she's living with. That is only because she is trying to file for a divorce, but can't locate her husband. It's an odd situation. We went over the Restoration even though she's already been taught it. We refreshed her memory and focused on the importance of reading the BoM to find out if it's true. She hasn't done that yet, but she committed to baptism if she knew this was the right path to take. She is coming to church on Sunday! 

11-2-16

This morning, we had Mormon.org time which we get to do up at the apartment office since they have computers there. After that, we had an appointment cancel last minute, so we tried by some other people who weren't available. We were able to set up a couple return appointments though. We went to go track down a referral to see him, but he wasn't home. There is an older less active couple who live right around the corner from him, so we went to go and meet them. They are nice people, but have trouble getting around. We talked about their conversion stories and some of his stories when he was in Desert Storm. We shared a scripture with them, then asked all of them their favorite BoM stories. The wife said that she like the part where it outlines the Plan of Salvation, so I told her to look up Pres. Uchtdorf's talk from this last Conference! We left to go and meet with a less active we had an appointment with and talked to him about receiving the priesthood. He seemed excited about that, but won't be able to come back to church for a little while since he will be traveling the next couple weeks. After dinner, we went over to Bro. Taylor's house to have Ward Coordination. We scheduled a BoM/Bible study class tonight, so we invited an investigator of ours to come. She confirmed that she was coming right before dinner. Luckily, she didn't show up for whatever reason. Let me explain; The sisters invited a recent convert of a couple months and an investigator they have. They showed up and the investigator was very weird... the first thing he told people is that we can call him "Catdaddy." When we got started, he kept interrupting with these off-the-wall comments and questions. The whole time he was just trying to start a debate with us. Supposedly, he wants to have a vision of God or just proof that He is out there. We tried to explain faith and how we should walk by faith and not sight, but it wasn't good enough for him. He asked all these questions to the recent convert to try and tear down his newly found testimony of the BoM and it was making us mad... he brought of Revelations (of course) where it says that we should add to the Bible. That's when you know the people aren't very educated in their rebuttals. We ended class early because we couldn't get him settled down and no one could feel the Spirit. He was definitely on something. 

11-3-16

This morning, we had an appointment with Kristen and her kids were crazy! It was hard for all of us to focus- especially her. I am convinced that Satan gets in the way of lessons through children. That has happened a lot on my mission. Haha after that, we went to go wash the car and then grab some lunch at Panda Express. We ran back to the apartment to go get some food that the Clark's dropped off for Taimi and his family. We took that over to him and had a good visit with him. Then we went over Sis. Cooper's who is a less active. We were going to teach her granddaughter, but she had to leave. Sis. Cooper talked about the rough times that she's been through and how she became converted to the gospel. We went to visit the Reynolds again and had a nice visit as usual. Her son, Michael is really warming up to us and he read Alma 36 that we left with them last time! I really want to see him go on a mission! We had to rush out and go to choir practice. 

11-4-16

We had ZTM today and interviews with Pres. Turner as well. They both went really well because I was "nourished and edified." Haha then, there was a Mexican guy who catered the meeting and brought a ton of authentic tacos and taquitos! We had exchanges today, so I went to Ridgeway with Elder Michaelis. We had a couple lessons with some less actives and brought a member with us to fellowship. E. Michaelis is a cool guy and plays the guitar really well! He came out on his mission when E. Winn came out. We got trapped on a porch because there was a dog that was going to bite the crap out of us if we stepped off the porch. We waited to catch the dog off guard, and took off for the car. It was pretty scary! Dogs don't like Michaelis most-likely because he is 6'6. Haha 

11-5-16

This morning, we were heading over to a member's home to do some service before we finished up exchanges. We ended up getting in a pretty bad car wreck. We got T-boned on my side of the car by a truck going about 55mph. It totaled the car and knocked me out. We were luckily, wearing our seatbelts and the airbags deployed. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance where they got me all fixed up. I was so out of it! I got some X-rays because it felt like I had broken a rib and I had bad whiplash. Everything seemed to be normal, but I did get a CT Scan and it showed that I have a concussion. I started throwing up while we were in the room. Haha but I am so thankful that the Lord watched out for both us. I truly believe in the ministry of angels because there's no way I could've lived from that-let alone not break any bones. I crawled out of the car by myself and I have no recollection of any of it. I joke around and tell people I stopped the car from hitting me with my hand, but I truly believe an angel must've stopped it from seriously injuring me. I don't remember this happening, but Pres. Turner called to checkup on me and I was probably way out of it. It was amazing because I managed to get the only nurse that was a member to take care of me. Haha 

11-6-16

I am so freakin sore this morning! My whole body just aches and the right side of my torso is swollen. Haha my right pec is a lot bigger than my left. It was hard to get up and go to church, but we went! We stayed for sacrament and gospel principles, but left after that because I was starting to get a headache. Bishop Lenker invited us over tonight for dinner with a recent convert and the sisters came too. They made some really good lasagna and salad! We visited with their son the whole time who is a senior in high school and talked about his plans to serve a mission after he graduates. I went by Rite-Aid to add my insurance card to get a refund on the prescription I got and to buy some Aleve. Pres. Turner called me again to make sure I was doing better. I asked him if I seemed out of it on the phone yesterday and he said, "I think you were in another universe." Haha

On the bright side, Ana came to church with Oliver's daughters who are members and it was great to see them!

PS: Ford Fusions have great crash ratings!

-Elder Mitchell

11/7/16

We just drove back to where we got in the wreck and I found this
laying down next to glass where we got hit from the truck that hit us.
We also, missed to big trees luckily.

10/31/16

10-25-16

This morning, we had DDM and I gave a training on faith. I focused on the power that faith has and how we can use it more fully. The APs showed up for it too, so that was a little nerve racking, but it was also good to see E. Overson again. After that, we stopped by some less actives and tried to set up some appointments with them. One of the less actives we stopped by is actually, Elder Staley's aunt! When I found out I was going to Blythewood, I remembered that his aunt lives there... so I went up and talked to him at transfers and got her contact info. She was a really nice lady when we met her and knew me from E. Staley's emails! It was a great way to break the ice and visit with her. Then, we stopped by a part member family where the wife is just the member. We pulled up to this really nice and big home and matched the address with who we were looking for. Her name is Sis. Lyons and we were able to catch her at home! Her mom and dad were there as well. Above her fireplace was a really big painting of lions laying down. Haha, so come to find out... her and her husband are owners of Auntie Anne's! We had an appointment that set up yesterday while we were biking around and went to a less active's house. He wasn't there, but his fiancée (Ana) was there and had met with missionaries before. We brought a member with us this time and his name is Steve Dobbs. And he looks just like Steve Jobs so it was hilarious. He also works on the circuit boards for work, so they're practically the same. He's just the off-brand version of Jobs. Haha but we got there and Ana was the only on there, so we taught her and one of her daughters. She's such an awesome lady and understands the Restoration! Bro. Dobbs had a lot of good input as well since he is a convert. 

10-26-16

We decided to visit a lot of formers that we have so we can figure out if they're interested in sitting down with us again or not. So we parked the car and biked around to each house. We decided to visit a less active who was in the neighborhood we were at, but she wasn't home. BUT her sister in law was and she was really nice and seemed interested, so we set up a time to meet with her again! After that, we loaded our bikes up and went to another area where there's a less active named Taimi Hill. Come to find out, it's this big Samoan dude. His wife answered the door and let us in. He just had surgery only his leg, so they were coincidentally, home from work! His wife was really nice and she's Puerto Rican! She called their kids SamoRicans. We talked to them for awhile and got to know them. Taimi played on a Samoan Rugby team out in New Zealand, so he knows how to do the Hakka. We went to the apartment to get some dinner and remember that there is a "Meet & Mingle" at the front office building of our apartment. They had a ton of pizza and cupcakes, so we had that for dinner! They had a raffle giving out gift cards and prepaid cards. There were five people that could win and we won! We didn't get any cards though. We got a voucher for a free carpet cleaning... haha but that's okay because we still won something! We had an appointment with a less active family we met last week named the Reynolds. There is a lady and her 18 year old son that lives there. We went there and ended up just talking to the son, Michael and built a relationship. He showed us his Mustang that he has and he took us for a ride. He's very proud of that thing! Haha we talked about how he needs to take us out teaching in it, so maybe he will come out with us sometime! We set a return appointment so we could actually share a message this time with him and his mom. 

10-27-16

I read over my Patriarchal blessing this morning which is always so neat. There are many things that I have already noticed in my life and so much more to come! We went to visit a guy who called us last week to set up an appointment. He was such a nice guy and had some great questions for us. We talked about the BoM and gave him one to read. We are going to go see him again on Sunday! While we were knocking around a less active woman, we knocked on this one house that is really nice with a big pond in the back. A really nice lady answered the door and knew we were Mormons. She started talking about her family history, so we gave her a pass along card for our family search. After that, she went off about Hillary Clinton and the refugees here and how she thinks white people will "become extinct if we keep bending over backwards for other races." Let's just say she was a racist! This sweet little lady was bashing on other races! Haha after that, we went to an appointment with... ironically, a black lady who's a less active (Sis. Lyons). And we shared the talk by Russell M. Nelson this last Conference called "Joy and Spiritual Survival." She asked for another blessing, so we did that as well. After dinner, we stopped by a few other people and then had choir practice. 

10-28-16

We were trying by some investigators and less actives and we noticed that an older lady who is a member lives around that area. We decided to stop by and introduce ourselves. Her name is Frona and she's this really sweet lady who has MS. Her house recently flooded, so she had a ton of things just scattered everywhere since they just put down new carpet. We could tell she was embarrassed about it, so we decided to help her organize her living room. We put some shelves up again and her decorations. She was so thankful and happy that we came because she rarely has visitors. Before we left, she gave us a big box of all kinds of food and a framed pictures of the temple. Haha she wouldn't let us say no! After we dropped the food off at the house and had dinner, we went to ward Coordination at Bro. Taylor's. We discussed the people we are working with and then afterwards, we got into some deep doc questions which was fun! Haha I love learning about deep doc because it's so intriguing. 

10-29-16

Today was a pretty slow day. We had three set appointments today and they all fell through... We were able to get in contact with a less active we have been trying to meet and he said we could stop by later to see him. We went over there and got to know him which was nice. He is from New York and that's where his wife still is. After we met with him, we got back to our apartment and got ready to go to the Ward Fall Festival (Trunk or Treat). There were a lot of people there including another Ward, so we got to talk to and introduce ourselves to a lot of people. We ate some hot dogs and talked with some of the young men and the other Elders. 

-Elder Mitchell