Well here we are everyone, I bet you thought this day would never come. You never thought you would get to see your dear friend again! Well this email is the final one (probably) that you will see. :( Sad for you.
Don't forget to come to my Homecoming talk if you want to, I will attach a flyer. Some mat be wondering, "What are the biggest things he learned on his mission?" Or "Has he figured out the secret to a good burger?" Or "What advice would he give me to stay on the covenant path?" These are all excellent questions.
Monday was good we got to get a lot of errands done and I got caught up on emails (mostly). We also got to hang out with Logan and Sarah again. We spent some time looking at cool houses. In the evening we taught Reed again and he was about to head to Dallas to get some more huge buckets of soap to sell haha--so we made small talk about the soap trade these days for a while and then taught him the Restoration. It went quite well he's started reading the Book of Mormon! We also talked to Breanna who gave us the excuse that she's having a baby tomorrow so she can't talk tonight haha--never heard that excuse before! She didn't seem pregnant even, so maybe she's a midwife? Or maybe just a smaller baby I guess who knows. We also had a good lesson with Sonya and watched a video of Christ healing all the Nephites! Sonya seems to have rekindled her interest in the Gospel! She wants to come to church but her car keeps breaking down.
Tuesday we had District council which was good but all over the place. Elder I-wont-name-who has a big mouth and wants to be the funny guy and the center of attention and loud and rambunctious all at once and at all times ESPECIALLY during meetings where it's most discouraged! And he's not even good at it haha--so our whole District council kept being interrupted by his "funny" quips and it was hard to even stay on ONE topic. We did have a good lunch as a District afterwards though at Taco Bell. Taco Bell is one of those places that is good every 1-3 years. Then we drove up to Springhill and visited Tawanna. We figured out her mechanical bed is broken and one side wouldn't lift up so Elder Bradshaw took a look at it cause hes very good mechanically! He took it apart and found that it had a super obnoxious star screw he needed to take out to see inside. Every item has that one obscure bolt that you have to get some custom tool to open. It's so bad. So we went hunting for a star screwdriver all over and nobody had one. So we went to the store and bought one. Elder Bradshaw took the whole mechanism with us so he could fix it at home and then bring it back the next day. Then we went and taught Blake and then Brent. Blake loved our lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Brent got too deep into what about other planets and stuff. We finally just had to tell him to start small and think about how God could help him personally and that he didn't need to figure out the universe to have a relationship with God haha
Then we sat down with Debbie and Brooklyn and got their baptism all planned out. We also went over to Royce's and used Royce's tools to start fixing Tawanna's bed motor!
On Wednesday the Minden Elders were here for exchanges and I went with Elder Miller (the younger). After spending a few hours working on a comprehensive document for Royce we went and walked around the campus. We found a couple interested students! One girl we talked to had a kind of cute 3-legged dog, and we ended up talking to her for a while. We also walked around some other neighborhoods and found a guy named Ward who was playing Frisbee with his buddy. He was very interested but his Buddy sat sulking put out that we had interrupted their Frisbee game the whole time while Ward was all nice and talkative haha--he wants us to come back. Then we drove to Waldo and a had a great lesson with Jamila and watched a Book of Mormon video with her. She told us all about her experiences with angels which was cool. After some more lessons and stops we went to the church for a Branch game night. It was a blast! The Flowers came and we ended up playing some really fun games like Sushi Go and Cover Your Assets. Even some of the grumpier branch members were laughing and having a fun time!
On Thursday we worked more on that blasted document and the others walked the dogs. Then we ate at Sam's Southern Eatery one final time. We usually get the same waitress and we have decided her name must be Sammy since she works at Sam's and what else could she be named? It was good food as always. Then we had a lesson and had the Mission-wide Zoom Out meeting and all the departing missionaries gave testimonies. We had a good lesson with Sonya after that about commandments. Or at least it was good until what seemed like the entirety of her extended family started stomping loudly in and yelling and laughing right when we were trying to make a point haha--We finally cut our losses and gave up. One of the kids gave me a tiny foam animal though. In the evening we ate Chicken Express with Royce in his office at the church and then spent several hours talking about what a Branch president does and so forth. I also met with Logan and showed him how to do Tithing and reimbursements as well as managing the records and so forth. We also stopped by and tried Sarah's candy covered grapes she's making which were quite good!
Friday we went in the morning and had a good visit with Mike. This time he told us of his shenanigans of tricking the police to get out of tickets many moons ago. For example he told us of a time where he was running from them to his house. He hid his car, and then came to the door looking groggy like he just woke up when the police got there and then acting shocked that they would even suggest he was speeding. He then looked over as if to say, "look my car is right there where I left it!" Only to pale and look dismayed as he realizes it must have been stolen and that's why they saw someone speeding in it! He told us a lot of funny stories like that. Then I also finished a document for Logan with some instructions on how to do some more clerk things. We walked around a bunch in south Magnolia and found a girl named Miliya who was super nice and is interested! We also found a lady named Stacy who I had originally felt like we should knock her door but we never did until today when we drove by and I remembered! She asked for a Book of Mormon and everything and seems really interested. I also helped one-legged Chris set up a Netflix account and a Peacock account which was way harder than it should have been because her had an Android. ;) We also got to talk to Logan and Sarah again cause Jay their nephew was over so we said hi to him! He's 2 or so years old.
Saturday we got to baptize Debbie and Brooklyn! I got to baptize Brooklyn and Elder Bradshaw baptized Debbie. It was a good service, a couple of their family members came too! After that we had appointments lined up all day and every single one fell through cause it was pouring and raining all day. So everyone just pulled back into their shells. We did meet a few people though, and invited a TON of people to church. We had a good meal with Sister Rasmussen and Logan and Sarah at Wendy's which is the same place we ate when I first met them!
On Sunday it was weird not having as many meetings! I kept getting called into meetings right and left though to help creat someone's record, figure out the finances, instruct on the order of things, etc etc haha
I thought this would be the 2nd and last time I ever actually got to not sit on the stand in sacrament meeting but then the chorister didn't show up do I ended up leading the music and sitting on the stand anyway. It was fine though I like conducting music more than I like conducting the meeting! Debbie and Brooklyn got confirmed which was great, and then our Sunday School lesson was one of the best ones Ive had in this branch. Every single person contributed in some way. Plus I just like the 1 Nephi stories in this section of Come Follow Me a lot. After church I helped Logan create Debbie and Brooklyn's records, and talked to a bunch of people. Sunday evening we visited some less active members. We also had our usual Sunday Come Follow Me lesson.
Since this is my last weekly here's some final advice based on what I've learned on my mission so pay close attention:
▪︎ People always say Texas has the best BBQ. Based on my experience this has some truth to it but only when you get the expensive stuff. The majority of the BBQ I've had here has been bony and mediocre. There are a few good spots though
▪︎ You can do anything you set your mind to unless it's something that isn't possible to do
▪︎ Reading the Book of Mormon and praying every day is important
▪︎ Going to the temple is crucial--I think it's ridiculous missionaries of all people can't go more often
▪︎ The best burger in the world can bring more happiness than most drugs and is comparatively very healthy and good for you
▪︎ No missionary knows much of anything about anything
▪︎ Stop going "off sugar" to anyone who does. This is a request
▪︎ Going to church will be a great experience if you are engaged and make an active effort to participate
▪︎ Ministering is one of the most important aspects of missionary work
▪︎ Live in the Moment and then between moments make plans to prepare for future moments. For example at church dont always be thinking of that sandwich you want to eat, just enjoy church but then after church you should promptly start planning the perfect sandwich to consume!
▪︎ Focus on Jesus Christ in everything you can
▪︎ Anyone who is preaching from their high horse should be ignored unless it's a nice person and a nice horse and they are telling you to do nice things
▪︎ Missionary work's greatest downfall is the numbers. Unfortunately numbers are also what help motivate as well so I guess it's a necessary evil
▪︎ Every calling you recieve in the church is just as important and in fact more important than the calling as a missionary--but being a missionary prepares you for future callings
▪︎ Surround yourself with good friends
▪︎ Everyone needs to relax and watch some movies sometimes (don't worry on the mission those can be church movies)
▪︎ People say a lot of things and they think they are so smart. Dont listen to their prideful drivel. Like this list for example!!
I'm excited to see yall soon at my homecoming, I have attached again the flyer with this letter. Would love to see you there!
If you would like to subscribe to letters from me for the rest of your life please pay a low price of $78.23/month per email you want on my list. This ammount will increase by 5% yearly. If you are interested contact my secretary at this number: 911
Here is my home contact info:
Phone Number: 385-259-4657
Email: abrahamnielson555@gmail.com
Facebook: Abraham Nielson
Feel free to reach out anytime!! Unless it's you Sullivan, please do not reach out.
-Abe
