So this was a crazy week, but we had some
awesome things happen. It was also the
first week of the “trio.” It's fun to be
back in a trio again. I am now with the
Zone Leaders Elders McLeod and Leahman. They
are both from Utah and they have both been out for 18 months or more. It's pretty fun because I get to be a part of
their Zone Leader lifestyle and see what they do. It's pretty interesting, though trying to
cover both areas is so much fun to figure out, especially on Sundays.
Monday we had our last P-day with Elder Porter. We hung out with the other missionaries and just played a bunch of games. Then Elder Porter packed that night.
Tuesday we got up early and we drove down to Knoxville to transfer Elder Porter. We then went to MLC (Missionary Leadership Training). Usually only the Zone Leaders go to that meeting so I felt way out of place. It was cool to see some of the missionaries that switched missions with me. We then came back, I packed all of my stuff, and we took it over to the Zone Leader’s apartment. After that we headed out to a lesson with one of their investigators.
Wednesday we had interviews with President Griffin. That was fun. After that we had District Meeting. We then went and worked in my area for a little bit. We had a lesson with a guy named Travis and it went pretty well. We taught about the Plan of Salvation. We extended a soft baptismal commitment and he said yes to that. We then went and did a little bit of tracting. We had a lesson with another guy named Zach, who is pretty cool. He is looking for the truth right now and he said he would come to church this Sunday. Later we found a couple new investigators while tracting.
Thursday we did Weekly Planning. Then we went back to my area and did a lot of tracting. We found another new investigator. Then we went back to the Hixson area and did some finding there too. We also had a lesson with some less-active members. It was a good lesson, but then when we were just chatting with them, I started to fall asleep. It was bad! I would notice my eyes would be closed longer than normal and I would immediately open them up again.
Friday we went to another District and went to their District Meeting. Then we did exchanges with them. We worked in Hixson's area the whole day and we did a lot of finding. One of the coolest things was on one of the houses - they had pineapples everywhere, meaning welcome. Then when we got to the door, their doorbell was a pineapple and looked exactly the one on a Psych episode. I was so pumped. I wished I had gotten a picture of it. We did more tracting and finding for the rest of the day.
Saturday we exchanged back and we met up at Walmart, where we saw a super nice Ferrari. It was sweet! Once we got back to our area, we went tracting some more, but everyone was watching the Olympics so they didn't want to talk to us. We then met up with my Ward Mission Leader and he took me back to my area where we went to visit some people. We were also able to contact a referral we got that day. We tried a few other people, but only got into one less-active member’s house. We had an awesome lesson on the Book of Mormon and the scriptures. Then we met back up and went tracting again. We met a guy who was super rude, mean, and totally put down our beliefs and religion. Some of the things he said contradicted themselves and he didn't know what to do with some of the answers we gave to his questions because he thought we were going to say something false. He was a little nice toward the beginning, but by the end, he was just plain rude. He told us to get rid of that "lie" (The Book of Mormon) and that if we were going to believe it, then we can take that lie off of his property! I was pretty tempted to start walking at that point. We bore our testimony to him about certain things and how we came to know that it was true. Then he said that the spiritual witness we had was false and wasn't of the Holy Ghost. We eventually agreed to disagree and walked away.
Sunday we had church and then had church again with the YSA Branch. On Saturday I gotten a call from Zach saying he might not be able to make it since he was in Atlanta and didn't know when he would be back. We had a ride set up for him and everything. Then Sunday morning I got a call from him saying he was back and wanted to come. I was so pumped! I called his ride back and he brought Zach to church. When we were having the testimony meeting, Zach raised his hand and asked if he could go up there. I was so excited when I heard that. He gave an amazing testimony and when he sat down, I couldn't keep from smiling with joy because "that was my investigator." I can't wait to see his progression in the gospel. We had a Break-the-Fast after church and had a bunch of yummy food.
That rude guy we spoke with on Saturday told us, “We should take off our name tags and throw them in the trash. That isn't who we are and we don't need them to go and bear testimony of Christ. The only reason we are out here on a mission is because we have been indoctrinated by the church, parents and our family taught us that's what we do, and we were pressured into it.” Well, I bore my testimony to him as to why I'm out here and I would like to do the same for all of you. I am out here because I want to, because I chose to. It has nothing to do with that other garbage he said. I love this gospel. I love my Savior and I am doing what He has asked; feed my sheep. This gospel has changed my life and I want to help others receive it too so that it can bless and change their lives as well. I wouldn't be out here if it wasn't true and right and good. That is why I am out here and I leave you with this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Elder Ellison
Monday we had our last P-day with Elder Porter. We hung out with the other missionaries and just played a bunch of games. Then Elder Porter packed that night.
Tuesday we got up early and we drove down to Knoxville to transfer Elder Porter. We then went to MLC (Missionary Leadership Training). Usually only the Zone Leaders go to that meeting so I felt way out of place. It was cool to see some of the missionaries that switched missions with me. We then came back, I packed all of my stuff, and we took it over to the Zone Leader’s apartment. After that we headed out to a lesson with one of their investigators.
Wednesday we had interviews with President Griffin. That was fun. After that we had District Meeting. We then went and worked in my area for a little bit. We had a lesson with a guy named Travis and it went pretty well. We taught about the Plan of Salvation. We extended a soft baptismal commitment and he said yes to that. We then went and did a little bit of tracting. We had a lesson with another guy named Zach, who is pretty cool. He is looking for the truth right now and he said he would come to church this Sunday. Later we found a couple new investigators while tracting.
Thursday we did Weekly Planning. Then we went back to my area and did a lot of tracting. We found another new investigator. Then we went back to the Hixson area and did some finding there too. We also had a lesson with some less-active members. It was a good lesson, but then when we were just chatting with them, I started to fall asleep. It was bad! I would notice my eyes would be closed longer than normal and I would immediately open them up again.
Friday we went to another District and went to their District Meeting. Then we did exchanges with them. We worked in Hixson's area the whole day and we did a lot of finding. One of the coolest things was on one of the houses - they had pineapples everywhere, meaning welcome. Then when we got to the door, their doorbell was a pineapple and looked exactly the one on a Psych episode. I was so pumped. I wished I had gotten a picture of it. We did more tracting and finding for the rest of the day.
Saturday we exchanged back and we met up at Walmart, where we saw a super nice Ferrari. It was sweet! Once we got back to our area, we went tracting some more, but everyone was watching the Olympics so they didn't want to talk to us. We then met up with my Ward Mission Leader and he took me back to my area where we went to visit some people. We were also able to contact a referral we got that day. We tried a few other people, but only got into one less-active member’s house. We had an awesome lesson on the Book of Mormon and the scriptures. Then we met back up and went tracting again. We met a guy who was super rude, mean, and totally put down our beliefs and religion. Some of the things he said contradicted themselves and he didn't know what to do with some of the answers we gave to his questions because he thought we were going to say something false. He was a little nice toward the beginning, but by the end, he was just plain rude. He told us to get rid of that "lie" (The Book of Mormon) and that if we were going to believe it, then we can take that lie off of his property! I was pretty tempted to start walking at that point. We bore our testimony to him about certain things and how we came to know that it was true. Then he said that the spiritual witness we had was false and wasn't of the Holy Ghost. We eventually agreed to disagree and walked away.
Sunday we had church and then had church again with the YSA Branch. On Saturday I gotten a call from Zach saying he might not be able to make it since he was in Atlanta and didn't know when he would be back. We had a ride set up for him and everything. Then Sunday morning I got a call from him saying he was back and wanted to come. I was so pumped! I called his ride back and he brought Zach to church. When we were having the testimony meeting, Zach raised his hand and asked if he could go up there. I was so excited when I heard that. He gave an amazing testimony and when he sat down, I couldn't keep from smiling with joy because "that was my investigator." I can't wait to see his progression in the gospel. We had a Break-the-Fast after church and had a bunch of yummy food.
That rude guy we spoke with on Saturday told us, “We should take off our name tags and throw them in the trash. That isn't who we are and we don't need them to go and bear testimony of Christ. The only reason we are out here on a mission is because we have been indoctrinated by the church, parents and our family taught us that's what we do, and we were pressured into it.” Well, I bore my testimony to him as to why I'm out here and I would like to do the same for all of you. I am out here because I want to, because I chose to. It has nothing to do with that other garbage he said. I love this gospel. I love my Savior and I am doing what He has asked; feed my sheep. This gospel has changed my life and I want to help others receive it too so that it can bless and change their lives as well. I wouldn't be out here if it wasn't true and right and good. That is why I am out here and I leave you with this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Elder Ellison
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| MLC Training with my former Nashville Mission buddies |
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| My new companions (in white shirts) - E. McLeod & E. Leahman (standing) |
Learning Kenpo
jessica@mail.postmanllc.net
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