Changing Your Roots 4-17-17

So to start off, we had 2 exchanges with some Elders in the Zone.  On one of our exchanges the Elder I was with and I tried a less-active couple.  They let us right in and we just talked with them for a long time.  We showed the Easter Initiative.  Before we left they gave us 2 things.  The first was some German chocolate because the lady was from Germany and recently returned from a trip there.  It was delicious!  The second thing required that we buy a ton of ice cream.   We were given some Carolina Reapers.  If you don't know what that is, it is the hottest pepper in the world.  So at the end of the night, what did we do?  Oh yes, we tried them.  We took very small pieces, but as soon as it hit our tongues, our whole mouth was on fire and our saliva was on fire as we swallowed It went all the way down our throats.  The ice cream cooled things a little in our mouths, but it didn't take it away, just masked it.  Somehow my finger touched a pepper and so when I rubbed my eye, that was not fun at all.

Our second exchange we had a cool experience.  We were in the other Elder’s area because they just whitewashed in (which is when two new missionaries come in who don't know anything about the area and it is basically starting from scratch) and they didn't have much of a teaching pool.  So we worked their area double to help get some things going.  The Elder I was with and I went tracting towards the evening and we knocked on the door of an apartment.  They answered and we asked if we could share a message about Jesus.  So to me it was almost like the story President Uchtdorf told in the women's session in October, fourth floor, last door.  The parents were going to say the usual, "we are good thank you," but a 7 year old girl spoke first and said, “Yes.”  So the grandma said we could because the girl had said yes.  It was really cool and if they progress, then it will all be because that little girl stepped up first.

I gave a talk in the YSA Branch.  Can you guess what on?  You got it.  Tithing.  No I'm kidding, it was definitely the Atonement.  I first talked about Satan and the things he does to put us in bondage and related it to how we can only escape if we use the Atonement every day.  I had multiple scriptures to go along with it and ended with the survey that I think I have talked about before.  It is about the 4 questions asked to temple recommend holders.  If I haven't shared that yet then let me know and I will.

We also had Zone Training Meeting and I gave 3 trainings:  One to the missionaries with Elder Smith, one by myself to the missionaries, and one to just the District Leaders.  All of them went well. The one to the missionaries was pretty good.  Elder Smith and I had a really good one on how to begin teaching and we added getting rid of what we call “eternagators” (investigators that investigate, but don't keep commitments or progress, they just sit there) by dropping them for a while or baptizing them.  Either help them progress or help them progress by giving them some time on their own.  Then there was my training.  I spoke about what the title of this email is, changing your roots.  I first talked about how we all want good fruit to come forth from our labors and the only way that good fruit will come about is if we have good roots.  I spoke on 4 roots that can be found in missionary work.  They are the root of Homesickness, Negativity, Work, and Love.  The first two I talked about how we need to change it or use it to help us do our best.  The second two I said are things we need and are good for us.  I ended with the scripture John 15: 16 and how we have been chosen to this work and we should have the hope that we will bring forth good fruit that will remain as long as we start with good roots.

We also had a sweet Easter Sunday.  We went to some awesome members and had breakfast for dinner.  We then did an Easter Egg Hunt because, why not?

Lastly we had interviews with President Griffin.  In the interview we had to teach him about repentance.  It was a little different than most interviews, but it was still good.  I just want to end with a little writing about repentance.  First and foremost, repentance is not supposed to be a fearful, dreadful, scary thing.  It is meant to be a joyous experience.  There is no better feeling than when you have peace come over you and the guilt of whatever mistake you have made is gone.  As our Mission President's son defines it, it is a daily course correction.  We need to repent every day or else the Atonement that Christ performed willingly, is not being used by us properly.  He is the Prince of Peace and peace only comes when we correct our daily behavior to be more in line with God's will.

I close this email in the name of Him who is our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Ellison

They Said to Leave a Book For Others to Enjoy - So I Did!

Easter Egg Hunt

I Balled Too Hard To Stay Awake Waiting For Interviews - I Can Sleep Anywhere Now

P-Day Hike

The View Was Awesome Until We Decided To Block It

Unlimited 4-10-17

So first off, to explain the title, we have a car that has no mile limits currently.  We have actually two cars right now.  One that has a mile limitation, and one that doesn't.  We have to get one of our cars fixed from a rear ending a while back and so they gave us another car to drive while it is in the shop. Well that car is not in the shop yet so we have two cars.  OK so the rest of this week we did a lot of finding and a couple exchanges with other missionaries.  We also set two more baptismal dates which was awesome.

So the first baptismal date is for a girl named Bri.  She is the daughter of a recent convert that was baptized back in February.  We have been working with her for quite a while now and she has finally accepted a date to be baptized on April 29th.  It has taken her a while to want to be baptized because of certain circumstances, but she has decided to finally work with us towards that date and we are hoping and praying that she will be ready for it.

Our next date is for a girl named Alexis.  She is nine years old.  Her parents Daniel and Stephanie were the ones that were baptized last Saturday.  She wanted her dad to baptize her and so we are working with him to get the priesthood and we are now teaching her the lessons.  She will be baptized on May 6th.  She is a lot different than most of the nine-year-olds I have talked to in the past.  All of the others had very small attention spans and didn't always understand all that we taught, but Alexis has a very good attention span and understands everything.  One of the coolest things about our last lesson was her dad.  He had a little skepticism regarding some of the things that we taught them and he was still working to believe some things.  However, during this lesson with Alexis he finally decided to be baptized because the Spirit was so strong and had really touched him.  He even helped us teach her one of the principles of the lesson which we were having trouble helping her to understand.  He taught it in a way that she could understand and it was really cool to see him do that.

This week we also gave a man a blessing.  After the blessing he said he really needed that and after a couple weeks of not being at church, he finally attended this last Sunday because he was feeling well enough.  Also, as I mentioned earlier, we went on a couple exchanges this week. We did a lot of finding on those exchanges and I was with two Elders that were either three or four transfers out.  So they were pretty new.  Well we had fun and we found a few people to go back to and try to teach.  I also got to see my old area of downtown Chattanooga which is awesome.  It feels like I'm right back at home.

Well that's it for me for this week. Sorry not too much happened, but I hopefully will have some really cool experiences to share with you guys this next week.  We have Zone Training meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) and I have to give the closing remarks so we shall see how that goes.  I hope all is well for you and I hope to hear from you guys.  I love you and keep the faith.

Elder Ellison

We've Had a Little Rain

Nice View With the Exception of the Nuclear Power Plants in the Back

Best Week Ever! 4-03-17

Wow! So this week was an awesome week. We had transfers but as you know things are staying the same for this one.  We had to help out a bunch of missionaries though because they couldn't get rides.  So Tuesday night we were driving all over, picking up luggage and driving it to a member’s home who had room.  We were out past 11pm.  For those missionaries out there, you know that is no good haha.  Then the next day we had to do the same thing when they got back from transfers.  We did so much driving in those couple days that we were using “approved” miles rather than our own.

All right, so here is why it was the best week ever.  First off the new Easter Initiative came out.  It is all about the Prince of Peace.  If you haven't seen it then go to Mormon.org.  It shares how Christ is the Prince of Peace and how we can find peace through gospel principles.

Second it was General Conference.  One of the talks that I liked came from Elder Sabin of the seventy.  I really like one of the things he talked about.  He talked about how we need to stand up inside.  If we can be the person we want to be on the inside then it will naturally show forth on the outside.  It all starts from the inside out.

Ok so highlight of the week:  I was able to witness my first baptism.  Daniel and Stephanie got baptized in between sessions of General Conference.  We have been working hard with them and they finally have gotten to this point. The Spirit was so strong in the service.  I gave a talk about the Holy Ghost after the baptism and before we confirmed upon them the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I am so grateful that I could be a part of their journey.  It is not over yet either.  One of their daughters, possible 2 of them, will get baptized in the next couple weeks.  She wanted her dad to baptize her so we are working on getting him the priesthood to do that.  One of the daughters is afraid of water so hopefully we can work through that.  Again, I am so grateful I could be able to witness their transformation and dedication in following their Savior.

That is it for me this week. Hope it is a good one for all of you.

Elder Ellison

Homeless man on a beach chair with wheels being pulled by 2 huskies while waving an American flag - For Real!  You don't see that everyday.

Transfers 3-27-17

So first start out we had transfer calls today and Elder Smith and I are staying put for another transfer.  This last week we had a lot of meetings and driving and preparation for our baptisms coming up this next week.  

On Tuesday we had a really cool experience:  We were able to go up to Knoxville and listen to David Archuleta.  He came and visited our mission.  Half of our total missionaries were there and we were some of the lucky ones that got to go.  He talked to us and sang some songs.  He talked a lot about him gaining a relationship with Heavenly Father and about listening to the Spirit.  One of the really cool things he talked about was the very first miracle that Jesus Christ performed in His earthly ministry.  He had heard this from a professor at BYU.  The very first miracle that Jesus Christ performed written in the scriptures was the event of turning water into wine.  As the professor explained, this event is significant because it shows that Jesus Christ can change things.  As he changed the water into wine, he can also change you as a person into something better.  Not to say wine is good for you or is better than water, but you know what I mean.  This change happens because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  His sacrifice for all of us is something that we can use to become better people.  The atonement does many things for us such as helping us to repent, to be forgiven of mistakes we have made, to have someone there right beside us who knows exactly how we feel when we go through pain and sorrow, and to provide a way for us to become better by following His example.  We get to start over every day and try to do better than the last.  So that is one of the cool things he talked about.  He also sang some songs which were really good.  He has a really good voice.  He even told us some experiences he had growing up and on his mission of learning to listen to the Spirit.  We then got to shake his hand afterwards.

Later that week we had a lesson with the Miller family who is scheduled to be baptized soon.  It was awesome.  We went over the Law of Tithing which can sometimes be a little difficult, but before we even taught anything, they told us of an experience they had where they had seen the blessings from it.  They had learned about the Law of Tithing a little bit before in church, they talked about it afterwards, and they calculated out their expenses to see if they could pay it.  In the end they saw that there was no way they could. Then one day while shopping, Sister Miller had the thought to look through her gift cards and see how much money she had with them.  She looked on the first and saw about $20.  Then she looked on some others that she thought only had a few dollars or none on them.  When she added all of the money up from the gift cards it equaled the exact amount of money that they would have to pay tithing on that they thought they would not be able to pay.  So even with a desire to keep this commitment before baptism and without even having to live it right now, they already saw that it works.  This next week we are working with them on their baptism which is on the first of April.  We are so excited for them and can't wait for a great weekend ahead because it is also General Conference.

The last experience this week I want to talk about is one that happened while finding.  We were about to go tracting and we said a prayer before we got out of the car.  In the prayer we asked that we would be able to find someone who will listen to our message.  We also asked that we will recognize them as people God has prepared and that they would recognize us as God's servants.  While tracting, we went the whole street until we were left with one last door.  A man named Jeremiah answered and said that we could share a message with him.  We asked when and he said right now so we taught him the whole Restoration lesson on his porch and was able to set up a return appointment.  We also got to help teach tailored to his needs because he didn't quite know how the Spirit felt or how God answers prayers.  As we were sitting there talking to him, I thought to myself, "We said a prayer asking to find someone to teach because our teaching pool is small. We then knocked into Jeremiah who told us we could share a message with him right then and it was someone who wanted a closer relationship with God and wanted to know how he could receive answers to his prayers and feel of the Spirit."  This was a testimony builder to me that God leads us to His children who are looking for Him and in need of help.

That was basically my week and so I hope that all of you will have a great week and will learn something from General Conference that you can apply to your life as I too will be looking for that same thing.  I know as we do that there will be something in there; a sentence or a whole talk related to something that we need.  I love you all and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you next week.

Elder Ellison

Getting Swole - #6monthstosexy

District

Guided By The Spirit 3-20-17

Some pretty cool things happened this week regarding the Spirit.  Each experience is different in it’s own way because, well, the Spirit works in many different ways.  Also, a quick note; we have another investigator on date for baptism on Apr. 8.  This man, Lee, has been investigating for 13 years now and has finally come to have a testimony of the Restored Gospel.  He knows and accepts everything so we are looking forward to it.

The first thing I want to share with you happened last Friday.  I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with a newer missionary who is in my District, Elder Battad.  He is a great guy who is still learning the ropes, but will be a great missionary.  We had a rough-ish day and had experienced quite a bit of antagonism.  Some of it was stupid little things like people told us that the picture of Christ we wanted to give them wasn't Him and how He didn't look like that.  We received a lot of criticism in general and were even asked if we would join a Baptist church.  When we tried to answer the question, the man kept interrupting us until he shut the door in our faces.  It was a little bit of a discouraging day because we had done so much finding and had only found one new investigator (which was still great of course).  However, at the very end of the day we had an amazing experience.  

We knocked on the door of a man in his 60’s who lived alone.  We introduced ourselves and said why we were there.  He said that we should probably move on because he worked for a Christian radio station for 7 years and had talked to many different preachers.  He said he would always ask questions that he wanted answers to, but no one was ever able to do it.  So I said, "Well sir, I guarantee that we will have answers to your questions that no one else will."  So he said fine and asked us a question we would all like to know and have a better understanding of:  Where did God come from?  Did He just appear or what?  Well, we told him unfortunately that is one question we don't know the answer to.  He said, "See, you can't answer my questions."  I said we can answer a lot, just not that one.  So he decided to give it one more try before we left.  He asked us, "If God is such a loving Father, then why would He condemn one of His children to Hell forever?  That's like a parent telling their child they can't leave their room forever."  So I explained the whole thing, mainly because Elder Battad hasn't had too much experience with this yet and didn't know how to go about it.  I told him about our belief in the three Kingdoms of Glory and how a loving Father in Heaven provided a way for us to live in a wonderful place that will be comfortable to us.  I explained a lot more about it, but it was a 20 minute conversation so that’s a lot to write.  In the end, we were able to answer his question, which was awesome and I tried to see if we could come back and answer more of his questions.  He declined the offer so I tried giving him the Plan of Salvation pamphlet that I used to teach him.  He said that we might be short one sometime so we should not give it to him.  Well, both Elder Battad and I knew he was worth it and we would never be short one so I left it on his porch anyways.  Haha - I'm so sneaky.  

Afterwards as we were walking back to our car, Elder Battad said that he could feel the Spirit and that he had learned a lot from that experience.  I knew when I looked back on it that it was not me doing the talking, but that the Spirit was working through me.  I don't think I even had to pause or use a filler word, which definitely means the Spirit was there because that is something I am constantly working on.  

Another great experience we had was with the Drake family.  I was leading the lesson and before I even started it, we were already discussing a principle of the gospel that the family definitely needed to hear, especially the daughter.  We talked about the principle of forgiveness.  The commandment is to forgive everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done.  We also need to forgive ourselves for anything we have done.  That one can be hard, but it is doable.  We then lead into the Plan of Salvation and incorporated the Atonement and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  This is another example of how the Lord will direct these lessons the way they need go to so it can benefit His children.  The daughter has had a trouble with keeping her commitment to read and when I followed up this time, she couldn't remember what she had read, but she did read and she said it was one of the best night’s sleep she has had in a long time.  So cool!  Another great experience of the power of the Book of Mormon.

Lastly, we had a Zone Conference, which is always awesome, but was a little boring for me this time because I had already heard the trainings in our MLC meeting, but I still learned some new things.  President Griffin was finishing his training and he had pointed out an Elder that was going home and talked about how fast your mission experience goes.  That impressed upon me how my time is coming to an end here in a few months.  I reflected upon my mission so far and thought about the time I have left.  I want to leave it all out on the field with no regrets at the end.  I want to make sure every day I work so hard that when I lay down in bed at night, I know that I did everything I could for my Savior that day.  I have had a glorious time so far and it only gets better.  I don't know if I have ever felt so happy before.  Even with the frustrating bad moments it is still good.  I have learned things I never would have learned before.  I still have a lot to learn and I look forward to that too.  The impression I got was to make sure I keep doing my best each and every day.  This is the third way the Spirit works; through the impressions and revelations you receive that will help you and will give you that motivational push you need.  The Lord wants you to do your best and He will help you with that through the Spirit.

Quick note: there is a lot more meaning to the hymn Nearer My God To Thee.  If you want to learn more, go study Genesis 28 and compare the lyrics with those verses.  You also might need to do some study on the story in that chapter.

I leave these things with all of you whom I love in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Ellison

Tracting In The Rain

Helping some Senior Couples Move a New Apartment in Our Zone

Lunch After the Move

Tracting With E. Battad

Name That Tune

Exchanges For Days! And Dates! 3-13-17

So this week I am going to switch up my weekly email and see how it goes.  To give a little briefing; we drove to Knoxville twice this week.  We had 2 exchanges with the Chatt Valley Elders and the APs.  We also have a family on date for baptism April 1st.  No, it is not an April Fool’s joke.  They are an awesome family.  A little funny thing though about them.  We have had about 5 lessons with them in the past few weeks since I have been here and I have only got to teach them for 1 of those.  It's just the way it goes when we have exchanges and team up splits with members.

So some cool things happened this week.  On Tuesday we had a lesson with the Drakes.  I was going to it with a member and I had no idea what I was supposed to teach for the lesson.  We said a prayer and during the prayer I had the thought to do a testimony meeting.  The husband and wife are members and the daughter is not.  The wife is recently baptized so we are working with both of them.  We started out by reading Alma 7 and then we started talking about baptism.  I asked both of the parents what it meant to them to have the gospel in their lives.  They both gave good testimonies and so did the member I had with me.  We turned our focus more onto the girl at this point and we talked to her about some of her concerns.  In the end, I was able to bear my testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon.  It was one of the most powerful lessons I have been in.  The daughter is not quite ready, but I think she felt something and made some progress.

Another thing that happened this week was when I was watching the Youth Face to Face with Elder Holland and President Eyring.  They talked about prayer one time and I took some of the things that they said and applied them.  I have tried to say my prayers by kneeling upright.  Not leaning on or over anything.  And before I even start praying, I sit there and wait until I feel ready to approach the throne of God.  Then at the end of my prayer I stay kneeling upright for a time, just listening.  Having my mind clear and just trying to focus on the Spirit and any impressions I receive.  The first time I did this I saw a huge change and I have done it ever since.  A lot of times we say our prayers and then just move on.  A prayer is a conversation and it isn't much of a conversation if we just talk and don’t listen for a response.  We talk and then He talks.  I encourage all of you to try it.  It makes a huge difference.  I would also encourage you to take a question you have to church and pray about it during the Sacrament and then listen to the talks and lessons given.  I did that for a question I had and during the Sacrament I received my answer through the scriptures.  A scripture came to my mind after my little prayer and it was definitely the answer I was supposed to receive.  Church is the best place to receive revelation.

I love you all and leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Ellison

Learning to Play My Ukelele

The District

Nice View

Transfers

E. Leahman Returned for a Visit

Building Up Trust 3-6-17

So this week was a little bit of a rough week.  We had some good things happen, but it just didn't seem like we had much going for us this week unfortunately.

Monday it was only our District at the church for P-day.  We played a bunch of different games and sometimes had jam sessions on the ukuleles and the piano.  That night we tried a few people, but nothing was going.  We did have a cool experience though.  We had to watch our miles on the car while we tried a former.  It was the last person we were going to be able to try before we went home.  He wasn't home, but his neighbors were moving.  It was dark and late and so we went over to see if they needed help and sure enough, we were able to help them move some of the bigger things.  It was cool to see how the Lord provided us with something to do because we were out trying to work.

Tuesday we had District Meeting.  It down poured that day too.  We haven't had a rain like that in a long time.  Well God is good because the rain stopped right as we started proselyting.  We saw Clyde and read from the Book of Mormon with him.  After him we did a bunch of finding and found a few potentials.  That night, since we are now covering the YSA, we went to Institute which was super good.  It was really awesome to see a few people from back when I was here the first time.

Wednesday was an interesting day with lessons.  We had 3 lessons that were more about facts and information.   We had 2 lessons where we used one of the Official Declarations from the church in each one.  That afternoon we went with the Senior couple to see a couple YSA members.  That night we went to our recent converts and had an awesome lesson based off of 2 Nephi 31.

Thursday we did a lot of finding, but had a super cool experience though.  As we were tracting, we came to a four way stop.  Elder Smith asked, "Which way, boss?"  I said, "Press forward."  So we kept on going straight, but before we got to the first house, I had a thought, "No, we need to go right."  I am working on following promptings, even if it might just be my thoughts, but it is something good.  So we went right.  Well nothing really happened the whole 2 hours we were tracting until we accidentally knocked on a member’s home.  We talked briefly and said a prayer with them.  After the prayer, the husband said, "I know why you are here. You can help give my son a blessing."  His son was sick so we got to give him a blessing.  It was super cool because in the blessing he was told he would be feeling better in a couple days and this Sunday the whole family was there.  It was super cool.

Friday we did exchanges with the Dayton Elders.  I was with Elder Charles.  We did finding all day.  Highlight of the day; I got the cops called on me again and we got kicked out of a neighborhood for soliciting even though we aren't solicitors.  We left before the cops arrived.

Saturday was another lame day.  We weekly planned.  Then we drove to downtown Chatt to contact some YSA, but nothing happened.  It was in the projects, but since it didn't work out, we went to my old apartment.  We went and walked the Walking Bridge and the streets of downtown.  Felt like home.  It was funny to see that when we were walking in the projects, I was not walking through with the confidence I used to have.  It's weird how that went away after being gone 3 months.  As we were walking through we passed some kids playing and a little girl yelled and pointed at us, "CRIMINALS!"  That was pretty funny.  Also, not racist in any way, just for your information, the projects in Downtown Chattanooga are all black people.  So she probably called us that because we were white or maybe just for fun.  Boy, after being in the projects and driving through the streets that I used to bike everyday, I sure do miss that area and the wonderful people there.

Sunday we are back to the all-day church now that we have the YSA.  My old investigator Olivia was there so that was cool to see her again.  We had a Linger Longer afterwards.  I also got to see former Elder Leahman again.  He came back to tour his mission with his parents so that was really cool.  That was about it for this week.

Well, to talk about my title briefly, this week may have been rough and hard and trying and testing, but it was all things for the Lord to see if He can trust us with someone He has prepared right now. We will keep working through the tough times, but we know that this is how the Lord builds His trust in us.  The same goes for all of us not just in missionary work.  The Lord puts us through things to see what choices we will make based on what happens.  If we can keep pressing forward and keep the faith, then we will be rewarded with blessings.  So DON'T LOSE HOPE!  If you start to lose hope and maybe make wrong choices, always look to the Savior for help and He will give it to you.  I love you all and I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Ellison

We Made A Jesus Wall

The Walking Bridge At Night

My Old Apartment

Selfie Status:  Missionaries

18 Months, Oh Boy! 2-27-17

Well, time has just flown by.  I have now served the equivalent of a Sister Missionary’s mission.  I am ready for these next 6 months and it is going to be a lot fun and hard work.  My goal is to not start dying off at the end, but to be sprinting through to the finish.

Monday we had P-day with our District and a couple other Elders came down too.  We just did a bunch of fun stuff except we started it off by doing the Tampico challenge.  The challenge is to be the first one to finish a gallon of Tampico.  [Mom's Note:  DO NOT try this at home - most people don't realize it is dangerous and can actually kill people - For Real!]  Well, only a few got somewhat close and those few either puked or almost puked.  It was hilarious.  That night we had a Restoration lesson with a lady named Makeeta (pronounced Markeeta).  Then we had to stay up super late to plan our trainings for Zone Training Meeting.

Tuesday we had Zone Training Meeting.  We also, because of his new schedule, had interviews with President Griffin.  It was a quick one for me.  So I gave my first training and I was so nervous.  Doesn't help that I was not at the training where they were taught about the things I had to teach.  Plus we didn't train on anything doctrine related, it was just on the Mission President's new schedule. Then we had a District Leader meeting after that, but we did get a perk.  It was Sister Griffin's birthday so at lunch we got some birthday hugs.  Well after that we cleaned up and then went and got some ice cream.  We did some finding and then did splits.  I went to a less-active’s home for a Home Teaching visit.

Wednesday we did a bunch of "former" clean up.  Then we had a lesson with a guy named Chester.  It went pretty well.  Then we went and had a lesson with the Drakes.  We watched the Restoration video and then talked about it.

Thursday we did weekly planning.  Then we just did a bunch of finding.  At the end of the day we helped the Drakes move into their new place by moving some furniture.  Also today I got my shoe bit by a Chihuahua. That is the closest it has gotten to getting my skin.

Friday we did exchanges and I went with Elder Clavin.  We started out with a pretty good lesson with a guy named Samuel.  Then we did some tracting.  After lunch we headed out to the Drakes again to move in some more stuff for them.  Since it was so far out, we did some tracting while we were there, but it did not bring forth much fruit.  Seeds were planted, but that was all.  In the ending we had much more success when we got 3 potentials in about 30 minutes.

Saturday was a boring day.  We started out helping someone move and then most of our day was spent putting together Stake Correlation numbers.  At the end of the day we had a lesson with a less-active that is in the YSA.  We just shared a quick thought and got to know her, especially now that we cover the YSA.  I'm excited to get them back.

Sunday we had church and had a couple people show up.  Then later we tried to stop in on some people, but no luck so we went to the Church of God of Prophecy.  They were having a cultural event so it was just a bunch of singing and dancing.  It was pretty good, just not something you would see in the chapel of our church.  Afterwards we talked with some of them and they were really nice people.  They even gave us a welcome at the event.

So my thought today is going to be brief.  It is a quote that came from Elder Smith's training he did by himself in Zone Training Meeting.  He was talking on happiness and this is a quote he came up with on his mission.  "Success never brings lasting happiness, but lasting happiness always brings success."  I hope that sticks with you as much as it did to many of us.  Have a wonderful week y'all.  I love you all.

Elder Ellison

Moving a Bed Redneck Style - Yeah, We Helped

E Smith and I Riding in Style

Purification 2-20-17

So I will start off by explaining my title because I will probably mention when we started it later on. So Elder Smith and I are doing this thing called the Purification Challenge.  It is where you come up with a list of things you want to improve on or stop doing.   After that, for the next 40 days you work on all of those things on the list and you start the first day off with a fast.  The goal is to improve yourself and to improve in the strength of the Spirit.  Also, a little bit about my companion Elder Smith.  He is from Washington, but for a year before he left, his family has lived in central California.  We also have a lot in common.  He loves sports and we have a good time every day.  He is super fun and is a good missionary.  He has been out for about 14 months.  

Monday we got transfer calls, we got some haircuts, and then we just hung out at the church.  Nothing too crazy.

Tuesday I had my last day at the Richard's farm.  I am sad to have to leave it.  Good memories.  Later we went and saw Dan.  Then we saw Zach and taught him about the Word of Wisdom.  I got to say goodbye to them too.  Then we went over and visited with some less-actives.  We gave the husband a blessing too.  That was about it.

Wednesday was a fun day.  So we got up and drove 2 hrs. to Knoxville and said goodbye to Elder Bingham and then I got my new companion.  I also got to see a bunch of friends and my son, Elder Thomas.  Then we drove down to Chattanooga which was another 2 hrs.  We were headed to do some work, but got notified that a Sister accidentally took the keys to her old area's car.  We had to drive all the way back to Knoxville and get the keys.  We stopped in at the Mission Home and got some dinner so I got to see it for the first time.  I also got to say goodbye to some of the departing missionaries.  It's weird to think that the Sisters I came out with are going home now.  Then we drove all the way back to Chattanooga and passed it to a place called Dalton, Georgia to deliver the keys.  We got back home around 9:45pm - 8 hours in the car was fun.

Thursday we started off doing a Home Teaching visit to a less-active.  Then we did a lot of finding and we found 3 new investigators.  We also get to go play basketball on Thursday nights with a bunch of non-members and less-actives with some actives.

Friday we had District Meeting.  It was my first one in a long time where I wasn't in charge of it.  This was also the day we started the Purification Challenge with a fast.  We got a few potentials and a new investigator.  It feels like normal to be back in the Ghettos again.  I love it.  That night we had a lesson with a recent convert and we went through the introduction to the Book of Mormon.  It was a much better lesson than we thought it would be.

Saturday we did some weekly planning.  Then we went to a few lesson appointments, but they fell through unfortunately.  We did have a sweet lesson with a guy named Clyde.  We taught him the Restoration.  He accepted a Book of Mormon and told us he was going to study it and cross reference it with the Bible.  Then we were going to have a lesson in Downtown Chatt at the church building there.  I was so excited to go back there.  I suggested we ride the bus to save miles.  It was Elder Smith's first time riding a bus.  As we were on the bus, our appointment canceled on us.  Well that made me sad, but we are going to ride the bus there again when we reschedule the appointment.  That night we had dinner at a member’s home with one of our investigator families.  We had a lesson afterwards and we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We also committed them to come to church.  The awesome part was that missionaries have been trying every time they teach them, but because of schedules they couldn’t come.  However, recently things have changed and they are now available.

Sunday that family came to church.  We were so excited for them.  Also Elder Smith gave as awesome talk.  He said that half of it, he had no idea what he was talking about, it was just the Spirit.  Well, because of his talk we got a referral from a member after church.  That was awesome.  The rest of the day we did some finding and had a lesson with the recent convert again.  We are doing the new Member Lessons with her.  We are also trying to teach her non-member daughter at the same time.

Well, I have only been here for a few days and I already have learned a ton.  One quote I want to share that came from Elder Smith's talk is, "Satan is voting against you and Christ is voting for you. You are the swing vote."  It is our choice that determines which side we are going to let win.  Are we keeping the commandments and doing our best to live them, or are we trying to find loopholes to get around them and trying to see how far we can go before we are in trouble?  Do we live the Gospel that we have been blessed to have in our lives, or do we take it for granted and not think much of it during the week?  We must be fully committed to the gospel.  Standing firm in it.  Standing takes both feet and saying I am 100% in this, no matter what.  The choice is up to us who we will let win in this election, no one else.  Who will we choose?  That is my little thought for today.  I will end in the name of He who I pray we all choose, even Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Ellison

Dan

Br. Richards

Goodbye My Son, E. Bingham

All Packed Up

Headed Back to Chatt 2-13-17

Well as today was transfer calls, we found out the verdict and something unusual happened.  I will not be finishing Elder Bingham's training.  He will be receiving a new companion as will I.  I am leaving Bristol to go back to Chattanooga and serve in the Harrison Bay area as a Zone Leader.  My new companion will be Elder Smith.  I am sad to leave this area, but I am excited for what else is in store for me to learn.  I have learned a lot in this area alone, some of which is why I was sent here I think.  I could not have learned those things anywhere else.  Well now on to the week.

Monday we just played a bunch of games with the Sisters.  One was Scrabble and I won twice.  That never happens, EVER!  I think that is the first time I have ever won that game and I didn't even have to make up words to do it either.  Later we did some work on the Ward Directory to find people to teach through it.

Tuesday we did our usual service at the Richard's.  We pulled up okra and eggplant plants.  They have a serious root system.  Luckily the roots were mostly dead and it had rained overnight which made it easier to pull them up.  We later had a lesson with Wendi and we helped her to find times in her busy day to read the scriptures and pray.  Then we met with Dan and we were able to figure out a few concerns of his that have been preventing him from coming to church.  So we were able to work those out mostly and get him motivated to come this week.

Wednesday we drove down to Johnson City to do exchanges.  We split off and I was with Elder Christensen.  He is from Alberta, Canada.  We had a great day.  We taught some awesome lessons and found 3 new investigators as well.  We also went to lunch at a place called, Korean Taco.  That was an interesting place.  It was pretty good though.  That night we had a blast because there was 5 missionaries in one apartment.

Thursday we drove back and had District Meeting.  It snowed that day and was super cold.  We mainly just did a bunch of finding and drop-in visits.  Then we went out with Bro Dunn who is the Patriarch in this Stake.  We gave a blessing to a member who had had some health problems that day.

Friday we had weekly planning.  Then we went and tried a couple people.   We then had another lesson with Dan.  We continued to help him understand some things about the gospel.  Then we had a dinner with some members after that.

Saturday we did our usual service at the Davison's.  After that we did some finding before our lesson with Zach.  We taught him the 10 commandments.  We had to reschedule his baptism for Mar. 11.  Then we just did some more finding.

Sunday was a little uneventful.  We had church and then we got to go give the Sacrament to a member who is in the hospital right now.  Not much else happened.

So one of the things I have learned in this area is how to have more faith and trust in God.  The fact that no matter what happens, I need to have trust in God that things will happen the way they need to.  It can be very discouraging when nothing is really happening in missionary work and you don't have hardly anyone in your teaching pool.  You are just going around and tracting or just finding all the time.  However, the Lord knows exactly when people need the restored gospel in their life as well as anything in our own lives.  We may face discouragement or have hard times, but we should always know that a loving Heavenly Father is blessing us with those things for us to learn and grow from.  He is helping us become stronger people.  This are His intentions and it is our choice how we will respond.  Will we sit around and sulk and think "poor me"?  Or will we keep moving forward and look to the Lord always for help and guidance? This is just part of what I have learned.  Sometimes things don't work out the way we want, but always the way we need.  I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Ellison

Awesome For February!

This Dress Code Should Get Approved