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10/23/17
Hello!!!
I hope everyone's week has been "fan-flipping-tastic"! Ours definitely was! Also, we got some good news about the change that came with transfers last Friday!
It was a little different having transfers last Friday. They were supposed to be Wednesday of this week, but got moved up due to some weird MTC [mission training center] scheduling stuff. The big news for us was that Elder Hales and I will be staying together, however we were taken out of the Smoky Hills ward! We will be staying in the Fox Hollow ward, and are gaining the Flanders YSA ward! Yay!!! This will be my 3rd YSA [young single adult] ward to serve in, and I am super excited!
We were a little surprised by the switch. We thought everything would just stay the same for us this transfer, but they ended up switching things up, because of car issues. The mission is losing more cars than it is gaining, and so now our mini van and the Sister's Corolla are the only two cars in our Stake. Elder Hales and I are now the official chauffeur's for the rest of the Elders in the Stake! We also might be doing a bit more biking ourselves, because our mileage allotment didn't get raised by much. It should be quite the "wild ride" for the next couple of weeks.
Our week was super good. I think the coolest two experiences from the week were a lesson we had with Melissa Heckamn early in the week, and then finding a new YSA potential investigator on Saturday night, who is super enthusiastic to learn.
Our lesson with Melissa was on Tuesday. She was super excited to meet with us, but we had a little hiccup because the ward member who was supposed to meet with us, was late. We couldn't go in her house without a member present, so we sat outside on her porch and doorstep, just chatting with her, for almost 40 minutes waiting. [A rule for missionaries is that Elders cannot meet with a single woman without a member being present.] Our ward member, a super funny, kind of eccentric guy named Ray Williams, finally came and he told us that his car battery had died on the way over and he had subsequently gotten stuck in some pretty bad traffic. Luckily, Melissa understood and we had a great discussion about the Restoration, specifically about the role of prophets today and revelation that comes from God. Melissa had tons of questions and was curious about what our current prophet teaches and prophesy's of. Brother Williams did a fantastic job telling her about the The Family Proclamation and how important it is for the world nowadays, but when it was given, it seemed normal. We had a great discussion and left Melissa with some great things to think about. Hopefully things will continue to go great for her with her new missionaries. Next time she will meet with new Elders because she lives in the Smokey Hills ward boundaries, which we no longer work in.
The next awesome experience was with a guy named Taylor Rogers who lives in our apartment complex. We saw Taylor on his porch outside smoking and struck up a conversation with him, talking about the unique message of the Book of Mormon that we share with people. Taylor was so awesome! He was super nice to us and super happy to be hearing the message, and impressed with everything he heard. He told us how grateful he was that we were out sharing what we believed, especially when things were tough in the world. He accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said he would start reading it. He told us we could come back and see him again this Tuesday. We are super excited! It is super great to have these kind of contacts, especially after a while of not having them.
Sunday, yesterday, was one of the craziest, funnest days! Elder Hales and I both gave talks in the Fox Hollow ward, which was super stressful but turned out great! I was happy because it will help the ward members get to know us better. After Sacrament meeting [main worship meeting - called this because this is where you partake of the Sacrament and is held in the chapel], we taught the gospel principles class. There was a nonmember couple there investigating! Anyway, after Fox Hollow we ran to the Flanders YSA ward, which meets at the Chambers building, where Cherry Creek and Piney Creek wards meet! It was fun because I got to say "hi" to a bunch of old friends from each ward there, as we waited for our meetings to start. Flanders YSA ward is a little bitty, teeny tiny ward, with only about 30 members. It is good though!! We met many of them and are super excited for it!
After church, Elder Hales and I became chauffeurs and picked up 4 other Elders, and drove up to Westminster. We were singing in the Conversion Fireside for the north half of the mission. Last week we had a Conversion Fireside for the southern part of the mission and this week it was the northern part's turn. It was an awesome meeting and we were privileged to hear people who have just been baptized stories and testimonies.
The work here is booming and I am just loving life here in Denver. I can see God's hand in my life and in the lives of the people we talk to. I am so grateful just to be a part.
Love,
Elder Bird
All the Elders who have lived with Sister Simmons
My Jesus wall
The swag wagon
10/17/17
Hey everybody!!
What a week! It has been quite a blast. It feels like it just flew by, because so many fun things are happening! Lots of meetings and stuff that just makes the time fly.
On Wednesday, we had a zone conference basically all day. Elder Hales and I got there about 7:30am so that I could practice with the quartet I was singing with. Our quartet sang "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy" at the conference. Also, I was asked to lead some Elders in practicing some songs for the Conversion Fireside, that would be happening on Sunday. It's a little funny to be asked to do all this music stuff! I feel like once people knew I could sing, even if it wasn't that great, they asked me to do music stuff! It is fun! :)
We had a great zone conference. Elder Hales got to experience the great spirit uplift you get from these meetings and we both got to learn lots of stuff. We didn't leave until 6pm (crazy, right?) and then hurried on over to see Dahlia. For our lesson we talked about having Faith and about Repentance, the first two principles of the gospel. Things are going good with Dahlia. She keeps us on our toes because she darts from subject to subject. After our visit with her, I had a baptismal interview with a woman named Wanda, who was going to be baptized on Saturday. Wanda had such a great testimony. She and I chatted for about 45 minutes about her testimony and the things she had learned from the Elders. I knew she was ready to be baptized and so things were all set for her on Saturday. We heard later that it was just an awesome service, and her daughter Cierra wants to be baptized next.
On Thursday, I went on an exchange with Elder Gonzalez, a missionary who is in my group to go home together. He and I are the oldest missionaries in our district! So weird. We are pretty good friends and we had a good day of work together.
On Friday, we had interviews with President Savage. He and I had a great talk, mostly about the missionaries I am over in my district and what they really need coming up with transfers, which will be this Friday the 20th. It was good to council with him and see the love he has for every missionary in my district.
After meeting with the Mission President, Elder Hales and I went back to our home area to get some good work in before having a quick dinner. Then we had a great lesson with a girl named Judy. She is in high school right now and has a friend in our ward who has introduced her to the church. She has come to church with her friend for the last 3 weeks and also watched some of General Conference. We had a great lesson about the Restoration. She understood everything we talked about and took a copy of the Book of Mormon and is beginning to read. She has lots of questions about the Plan of Salvation, and is excited to meet up with us again with her friend! I think the coolest part of our 1st lesson with her was when her friend Isaac, who is prepping for his mission, shared his testimony of him kind of coming back to the church. It was really similar to Alma the Younger's story. It was super powerful, and a great experience for him to share with her. It was a good way to end the night!
On Sunday we had our church marathon again, except this week was especially crazy! We had church with the Fox Hollow Ward from 9am-12pm (it was the Primary program, so really fun [one Sunday a year, usually in the Fall, the children sing and give little talks about Jesus]), then church with the Smoky Hill Ward from 1pm-4pm (Judy came again and enjoyed the lessons!). After church we were invited over to our Stake President's home for a little bit, where we had dinner, and then went to a rehearsal for the songs we were singing at the Fireside, which started at 7pm. It was crazy! I led the basses in a few of their parts, and then I threw together an acapella group of me and 7 other Elders to sing "I Need Thee Every Hour" about 15 minutes before the fireside. The fireside went over great! The songs were all good, and the testimonies were all fantastic! It was so cool to see recent converts bear their testimonies and hear about their paths into the church. Wanda, the woman I interviewed earlier in the week, and was baptized on Saturday, even gave her testimony at the fireside, which was super awesome to hear! I also got to see a few old friends, like Sister Simmons, who I lived with in Parker (every time I saw her, I couldn't help but beam with a smile) and also Ryan Tupper, an investigator who Elder Brown is still working with. It was just a powerful night to feel the Spirit and hear everyone's story.
Anyway, things are going great here! I am absolutely loving it out here and all the things that come with being a missionary! Transfers are coming up on Friday, and I desperately want to stay here and keep working with the awesome people I have met here. I love you all and hope you all have a great week!
Elder Bird
10/10/17
Hey everyone!!
Sorry I didn't get to write yesterday, the libraries were closed because of Columbus Day!
What an awesome week! Elder Hales and I had such a blast this week serving out here, and we experienced like a million little miracles along the way!!
Yes, snow. We did indeed have our first snow of the season yesterday! How crazy is that?? It snowed all day, and we got to enjoy it as we walked around a mall shopping on P-day! It was definitely a shock for Elder Hales [he is from Arizona], but for me it was fun to be back in the cold again. I had to break out my winter stuff and I wore some nice thick socks and some thermals to survive the day.
I don't even know where to start this week, but I guess I'll start with me catching a cold at the beginning of the week. I woke up Tuesday morning feeling exhausted and just terrible. I tried to work through the morning like normal and get out at 10am for some awesome tracting, but by 10:45am I could barely knock on the doors. I ended up calling the mission nurse (apparently we are bound to be besties) and she told me to basically take it easy and go home and nap. Elder Hales and I grabbed some medications at the store and then did just that. After a few hours of rest, I went back to work, and we found a woman named Melissa. She was outside working in her yard, and she let us inside her house (she thought we were JW's [Jehovah Witnesses]) and let us teach her about the Book of Mormon and Restoration! She told us to come back next week and seemed pretty intrigued. Anyway, we worked for the rest of the day, and I was basically fried by 8pm, so we decided to come home early and rest for the night.
Wednesday was pretty uneventful, but Thursday was chalk full of awesome happenings! We went to see and got in with a few former investigators that let Elder Hales "practice the lesson" on them. One went absolutely awesome, and we even watched Tad R. Callister's recent General Conference talk on the Book of Mormon! The other, not so great. She had lots of questions on just about every point and we didn't get to teach like we had hoped, but it was a great experience for Elder Hales!! The real blessing came that night after dinner, when a potential named Omar, let us into his home and let us teach him about the Book of Mormon! It was such a sweet lesson! He accepted a copy and even asked us if he could come to church the Sunday after this one. I feel like God blessed us twice in a row, leading us to people who actually let us come in to their homes, just like that!!
I'm running out of time, but the last miracles came Sunday night, when we had 3 sweet lessons right in a row. First, we had our 'church-a-thon' in the morning, with church from 8:30am-4:15pm [2 wards- 3 hours each, plus ward council meeting times 2]. It was testimony meeting so we bore our testimonies so that the ward members could get to know us a bit better. I bore my testimony of the Lord's love for each of us. I told them about my recent health issues and the story of getting my appendix removed and then them finding the tumor inside, and how I have felt strengthened by knowing I am loved by the Lord. He has blessed me so much! After church, we went straight to a lesson with Dahlia, a 10 year old girl wanting to get baptized. We finished teaching her the Plan of Salvation and made a plan to continue having awesome lessons with her in the future! Then, we ran to teach Maria, a member referral from Sister Torres in the Smoky Hill ward. We taught her once before about the Book of Mormon, and we got to talk a bit more about it. She told us that she feels like God is leading her to our church, but she has been a little resistant. She wants to do what God is telling her though and so wants to read the Book of Mormon! It was awesome! Right after meeting with her, we went on some splits with the ward missionaries and I got to teach Rego, an investigator that is kind of hard to catch. Rego talked a lot about where he is coming from spiritually and just kept saying that he feels God is reaching out to him and he has been holding back. We talked for a long time and at the end "committed" Rego to read in the book of Mormon every day. We promised him that if he would, God would fill His life with what he thought was missing. He committed to it and is even excited!! It was so cool!
Anyway, the work is hastening on and it feels like all we have to do is get out the door and open our mouths! I am so happy to be here and to be serving and loving these people! I know that this is God's work!!
Elder Bird
10/2/17
Hey everyone!
This week just seemed to fly by!! There was some super cool things that happened though!
The week started with a zone p-day, which was super fun! We played Quidditch with the zone, kind of like what we did in Arvada! It was super fun (and super tiring). It was just good to be with everyone in the zone. We had "butter beer," a Harry Potter themed butterscotch soda. And we tried to take a picture of all of us in the air on our brooms. It was a pretty fun day!
Later that day, I had to start prepping for the colonoscopy that was going to happen the next morning. [When Elder Bird had his appendix removed and they biopsied it, they found a small tumor. So, they scheduled a colonoscopy to see if there were any more in his system.] I had to drink like 2 liters of this liquid stuff to get me ready for the procedure. It wasn't that fun for the rest of the night. Then the next morning I had to drink another 2 liters of the stuff. After drinking it all, I got a blessing from some Elders [missionaries] who came over, and then we headed out. Elder Hales and I didn't get too far though, because our truck had a very flat tire. The other missionaries gave us their car to take, while they worked on changing the tire and putting on the spare. That was so nice! We got to the hospital okay and the procedure went very well (I was out for the whole thing, so I got in a good nap). When I came to, they told me that I was all fine and that I didn't have to worry about any cancer. That was a huge relief! Elder Hales drove me home and I rested for the rest of the day. That night we had dinner at a family's house in the ward and then we had a 7pm appointment to teach an investigator.
On Thursday we went on exchanges with our zone leaders, Elder Bjerga and Elder Melchin. I know both of them really well and so I was super excited. Elder Bjerga was my companion for the day, and he and I worked in our area, which he had served in previously. That made the day pretty cool! I got to meet a lot of the people that he used to teach, and he got to see them all again! It was pretty fun to go out with him.
The weekend was filled with watching General Conference. Elder Hales and I got to watch all 10 hours worth which was awesome! General conference, while on your mission, is like the Superbowl, I always look forward to it. All the talks were awesome and many of my questions were answered. We were sad to hear about Elder Robert D. Hales [an apostle of the church] passing away. I liked the thought of Elder Hales "graduating" from this earth life though, just another step in Heavenly father's plan for all of us. We were also sad that we did not get to hear from our prophet, but we could feel his love for all of us through the other Apostles. Conference was a good break from the regular rigors of missionary work and put us back on our feet spiritually and ready to help others get back on theirs!
The last cool thing that happened this week was a car swap for us. We were driving a truck and the mission office decided that all of the zone leaders in the mission needed to have the trucks [it helps with luggage for transfers]. Anyway, Elder Brown down in Parker needed one! So we swapped cars with him. . . which means. . . that is right! I am back in the mini van baby!! I feel like such a dad out here. I've got my fanny pack on, and I'm driving around in a van, with my "baby boy" [missionary lingo] next to me in the passenger seat. And, I'm helping all the missionaries in my district. I have never been more proud as a missionary :)
Anyway, I'm glad this week went well and I'm sure this next week should be awesome too! I hope it is for you as well!
Miracles are happening in the work and in my life, and I have never felt happier. I hope and pray that your lives are the same.
I love you all so much!!
Elder Bird
9/25/17
Hey Howdy Hey, happy people!!
I hope everyone's week has been super awesome! Elder Hales and I had a fantastic week here in the Smoky Hill & Fox Hollow area! Lots of cool things and miracles that keep happening in the work!
Probably the coolest thing that happened this last week was having so many people to teach!! We did a lot of calling around, stopping by, and getting things set up last week, and so this week we were able to SEE a bunch of people! When we came into the area, there weren't too many people being taught, but now we are really starting to build up. We had some really good lessons! Now that we have our feet a bit planted, things are going just awesome!
Another really cool thing that happened this week was something called "Member School." This is where a lot of the zones met up (like a zone conference) and President and Sister Savage presented a really cool new member missionary work initiative to us. It is called "Invite to Ignite", and is really a great program. Members doing missionary work and inviting their friends into the gospel is the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to do missionary work. A lot of members want to help with the work and invite people, but don't really know where to start or don't have tons of time. Maybe they are afraid of hurting more than helping. The program is great because it is a lesson we can sit down and discuss with members about simply being an example in other people's lives and making small invites to church things once a month (like cub scouts or activities or just anything). It takes a lot of pressure off of the members and lets them know that missionary work is easy to do and shouldn't be something forced or scary. We love it! We have already sat down and did the discussion with one of our Ward Mission Leaders and he told us that it is his favorite member initiative he has seen! We are super excited to do it with our wards and just help them with the work.
We have already seen that member work is going to be the best thing down here. Yesterday, we met with two member referrals, a little girl and then a single mom, both in the member's home that invited them to listen to us. And just like that, with those natural invitations leading up to those conversations with us, we were able to start to teach them about the gospel. It is pretty cool stuff!
Elder Hales and I have also been doing tons of contacting and tracting this week. It has been great! We have been able to meet some super cool people and have some great conversations with them about their own journeys throughout life and how the gospel might be able to help them in the future! We have some appointments set up for next week and are super excited to keep working with them!
Last night as we were teaching, a member, Sister Torres, bore her testimony about the gospel to her friend, Maria. Sister Torres is actually a convert too, from Mexico and converted here in Aurora 15 years back. She has quite a story, and told of how much she's trusted in God and how blessed her life has been because of it. There were so many hard times in her life where she could have stopped or not lived the gospel to it's fullest, but through it all she kept the commandments and tried her hardest, and the Lord has poured out blessings for her. She had such a strong testimony of the gospel. It was so awesome to see how application of the gospel principles has literally changed someone's life. I know that the gospel is true, from my experiences, Sister Torres' and a million others. And I know as we live it, we will be blessed more than we can ever imagine.
I love you all so much!
Elder Bird
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