Talmage Mission

Good Morning! It has been an amazing week! I went on an exchange, Estella chose a date for baptism, everyone almost didn't come to church, and I definitely wasn't sick! Okay, I probably was. But nobody noticed! Oh, and it didn't kill me, so that's a plus. I'll start with the exchange. I had the opportunity to lead Elder Denhof, another new missionary, in the Salina area. We did quite well, I taught him how to knock doors and how to approach people on the street! He's getting the hang of mission life, I'm grateful for his willingness to serve. Also, our basketball night was canceled for the evening, so we had a surprise hour of work to do before we had to reunite the original companionships! With that surprise, we returned home, changed back to our ties and tags, and prayed for a miracle. Then we visited a member's home who's always busy, and he let us in and gave us a couple referrals! That was awesome, it's a huge miracle right there.  During th...

Good Morning! We are witnessing miracles! Isn't that the best thing ever? We had three people at church who have never come before, and two others who come regularly. Estella still wants to be baptized, so we'll talk with her and her mother about that this week likely, and we found two hidden brothers who aren't on church records, that both want baptism, and both turn 9 in under 10 days! The work is amazing, I love it.  Here's a bit about my new missionary. He is Elder Dearing, from South-Western Missouri. He is the oldest of 5, approaching age 19, and about 8 inches shorter than me. But that's okay, most of my companions have been shorter than me so far anyways! He is a very willing, diligent missionary who wants to be obedient and do the best he can. Elder Dearing has a very strong faith in his Savior and turns to prayer often. I couldn't have asked for a better new missionary, if I'm honest.  That's a good thing, because I. Am. So. EXHAUSTED. We have ...

Good Morning! This has been a very solid week to end the transfer on. No crazy successes, but lots of planning to move the area forward and ensure those we work with actually progress. On Sunday, two of our friends (different households) got sick and couldn't come to church. One is on date for October, hopefully it still works out. The other is close to setting a date, and we put Finnegan on date! He is planning to be baptized with his 8 y/o cousin, Cayla. Okay so maybe we did have some crazy success! Transfer news came out the other night, remember how I've never stayed anywhere longer than a transfer? That phase is behind me now, I'll be staying in Salina for another transfer, and I'll be training! I'll figure out who my new missionary is on Wednesday, I'm already plotting his future success. Fun times! As I've continued my journey to understand personal revelation and the Holy Ghost's presence, I've found struggles and success. Some days our lesso...

Good Morning! We have seen many miracles this week! I know God is at the head of this work, as none would have come without him. It's been such a blessing to witness God guiding our day and leading us to those who need us. And even more importantly, recognizing His guidance to us. We found four new friends this week, one we didn't have any records of, two are siblings, three have met with missionaries in the past and all four have been humbled over time, so that two are honestly considering baptism as the next step in their covenant journey! It's such a blessing to find people who want to grow in the gospel, and make Jesus Christ a part of their life. We had our Zone Conference this week, and the theme was "Hear Him." This request is repeated across the books of scripture, always from our Heavenly Father, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. I looked forward to Zone Conference in part because of the direction we'd receive on this topic. Last time the focus was on...

Good Morning! Can I just state how excited I am for the work that's moving forward in Salina? This has been an amazing month for our area, especially compared to the last couple months here. When I arrived the history of progression and friends being taught was fairly stalled. Now, it has increased dramatically! We found 7 friends in the month of August, and a good number of members who have stepped back from the church, but have a desire to learn more and meet with us! Miracles abound at every corner, it's been a true blessing to witness God's hand in the lives of those who live here.  We met a member of the area Seventy yesterday morning, Elder Jeffrey Singer, during a brief meeting for all the current and future missionaries in the Stake (basically anyone who already had their call). He shared a significant amount of counsel with us, some of which I'll include in this email. The first principle to keep in mind is this; Utah is the bedrock of missions everywhere.  Wha...

Good Morning! The work goes on! We found two new friends, both of which have so much potential! We've learned more about them, and one is on track for baptism when she's ready, and the other will likely be a much longer process. He's still figuring out where his desires are, and why he wants to look into the gospel of Jesus Christ. But my two friends from La Verkin got baptized last Saturday! They were too far away for me to attend the baptism, but I have photos and that's just as good! We've worked a lot of the initial potential we've found, so now we're going to search for more. I'm still seeking and expecting miracles!  Speaking of miracles, I had a very intriguing study on miracles. Alma chapter 19 has a lot of examples concerning faith, and when you compare that to Moroni chapter 7, where it discusses the prerequisites to receiving miracles, it makes so much sense. That was an amazing study session! I left that hour with a greater desire to recogniz...

Good Morning! We've had some very needed miracles this past week! Chance, an individual we've been teaching, was baptized last Friday! And we found our first two new people to start teaching on Saturday. Ultimately, we're working to shift the area towards a higher productivity level, it's exciting! One of the two new friends we have is a very young girl, the oldest of six in a large family. This was one of those rare times where I'm actually able to communicate with kids, so I led a very entertaining and insightful discussion on God's Love with them! That never happens to me. Right after we were referred to this random apartment lot and we're about to leave, but instead we decided to knock on one of the doors right in the middle. Lo and behold the door opens, we talk to the gentleman for a few minutes, and set up a return appointment in a week! He's from Texas too, so it's meant to be.  We also found a bear. He's our new best friend, he was willi...