Foxtrot

So this week was alright. We spent the majority of it down in Mena. We work with this kid named Brandon a lot because he was going to go on a mission but then he decided not to because there was some things he didn't talk to his branch president about. So it's been really hard for him because he's supposed to be on a mission right now in Australia. But we've been working with him a lot and he is trying to get all his friends to take the lessons and whatnot. He also got us gym memberships to a neat little 24 hour gym and he works out and studies with us in the mornings. Anyways, probably the biggest news of the week was that we were teaching one of Branden's friends who he got to take the lessons and his name is Daniel. So we actually taught him the restoration last week and it was a pretty good lesson but then this week on Tuesday, I think, we taught him the Plan of Salvation and it made a lot of sense to him. We got a little deeper in the Plan of Salvation than we normally do but he was soaking it all in. We were getting super into it and he was asking some really good questions and it was awesome. Then our dinner texted us and we realized that we were 13 minutes late to dinner and so we had to leave but the best part was that Daniel asked us when we could see him again and teach him more! I've never had anybody that interested in the gospel for my whole mission so far so that was pretty neat for me. So the next lesson we had we asked him if he wanted to be baptized and he said that if what we were telling him was true, then why not. So now we just have to talk to his parents and make sure that it's alright that he gets baptized because he's only 17 but I think everything will work out, also we're hoping we might be able to teach his dad because he seems like a pretty chill guy. Well that's the biggest news of the week. Our investigator who already has a date is set to get baptized on the 10 of October so that's really exciting.

Elder Naegle

1870

This last week was pretty slow, mostly because we had mlc and zone conference and then some lady from the Fort Smith ward wanted us to come and help with this play they were putting on that was supposed to be a big missionary opportunity but really the only people who came were members... and it took up all day. MLC was fun because I got to see a lot of missionaries that I hadn't seen in a long time from all over the mission. Then zone conference was fun because I got to see a bunch of other missionaries including some Elders who went to Bingham. It was sad though because there was a point in the conference when Sis Loveland had some missionaries up on the stand talking about the importance of obedience and she was talking to one Elder in particular who apparently was having baptisms every week and she said that this Elder, or his companion, said that the reason why was because they were being super obedient. Well Elder Nau and I both knew that they were in fact, not being super obedient because of some stories and personal experiences with them and after that the Spirit wasn't quite as strong for either of us the rest of the conference. Then on Saturday the play that was put on by the Fort Smith ward was not a quality production, but to us it was quite comical. On Tuesday while I was at MLC, Elder Nau and the Elder he was with actually set a baptismal date with Mckinley, the Pentecostal girl, and then on Friday we called the members that referred her to us to have them invite her to a baptism that was going on Saturday morning and the member told us that Mckinley had talked to her father about her baptism and he shut it down pretty quick so she thinks it would be best to not meet with the missionaries anymore. So now we have pretty much no work in Greenwood to do and we're trying to decide how much time to spend in Mena vs Greenwood because we have a lot more work here to do.... BUT, we do have an investigator in Mena, who the sisters had set a date with before they left and we met with her yesterday and we moved her date up from 21 Nov to 10 Oct and she is super ready! We went over the baptismal interview questions with her and we saw that she is super solid and then we saw what she still needs to be taught so that's really exciting.  Other than that there's not much else to tell.

Elder Naegle

Elder Bednar

Basically the highlight of this week was being able to attend 4 meetings where Elder Bednar was presiding. It was really good. The man is definitely inspired. The best part was when we did the priesthood session and the whole time was question and answer. Definitely instructive. Of course you've got the guy who stands up and asks Elder Bednar is he's seen Jesus Christ. Then you've got the guy who asks if it's time to establish Zion. The guy who asked about Zion is in our ward and he's awesome though. Anyways it was actually really cool how he answered that first question. He said that the Spirit witnesses to the Apostles in a way that is more powerful than all 5 senses. So he knows that Jesus is the Christ more confidently than if he's seen Him. Then today I was reading in the Book of Mormon and it said something that totally supports it. It was in 1 Nephi 11:29 if you want to look it up. Then in the general session Elder Bednar said something along the lines of: Don't worry about the end of the world, there's only a few men in the world who would know when it is, and I know them, and they don't know! It was really funny. He's a lot different in person then he is at general conference. Because he used to be the stake president here he opened up a lot more with the people here than he does anywhere else. At least that's what he said. He told us to repent a couple of times and that was pretty cool. Almost like the prophets of old. He also gave us a glimpse into the life of an apostle and how the church works behind the scenes. It was all very instructive and interesting. Anyways, we went down to Mena, the area we now have to cover, a couple of times this last week. We've already set a baptismal date with somebody down there. Then our investigator here, the pentecostal girl, we talked to her about baptism and she believes everything we teach her but the only thing holding her back is her grandma and sister who apparently are very pentecostal and would be the only ones in her family who would be mad. Then while we were in Mena, we talked to the ward mission leader down there who's a stud and he fundamentally changed how I look at and do missionary work which is good. Also I get to go to MLC tomorrow and that's gonna be really cool. Then we have zone conference on Friday, and we're going to Mena on Wednesday so we are going to be on the road A Lot because Mena is like 60 miles away from Greenwood. Our zone is still dope. We lost Elder Busi which makes me really, really sad, but the Elder who replaced him is really cool so it's alright. Well that's about all I have to say.

Elder Naegle

The Book of Norman

There was a lot of stuff that happened this last week. We worked pretty hard and felt pretty confident about our work, except for on one day where we were really lazy and everything fell through. First of all, everybody in Greenwood always talks about how good the high school football team is. They talk it up A LOT. So long story short, a bunch of members wanted us to go to one of the games so we got permission from President to go. We didn't stay for the whole thing but we got there, and then we walked around the whole field, walking across the front rows of both bleachers we could just feel the Baptists' eyes boring into us and then some of the Pentecostal guys we used to ball with were cool though. Greenwood football though, is just a big fish in a little pond. Pretty much everything there was not even close to Bingham's standards so it was pretty boring. It was funny because everybody talks it up soooooooo much and Elder Nau actually lived in Texas for a while in Euless Texas where they have an even better high school football team, so neither of us was impressed. We also got transfer calls on Saturday and my streak of getting a new comp every transfer was broken by Elder Nau, he... broke it... The catch is I am no longer district leader, I am now a zone leader. I guess the new thing in the mission is that the zone leaders are no longer companions so we'll see how that goes down. The assistants haven't even told us how it's going to work yet. Also we just found out today that the sisters who are serving in Mena, AR, which is the unit just below Greenwood, are leaving so Elder Nau and I have to cover that unit as well as our own. I have never covered two areas before or been a zone leader before so this will be interesting... We committed a bunch of people to come to church and... none of them came even though we had really good lessons with all of them. Sis Whitehead doesn't believe that Jesus Christ knows what we go through and she got very adamant about it. We had dinner with a family yesterday who brought their friend to church, and then had dinner with us and her. She was raised pentecostal and of course their blind, adopted son, the first thing that he starts talking about is baptisms for the dead... Then he was wearing a garment top and thought it was a t-shirt because he's blind. I'm mostly just excited about being able to go to MLC because Elder Ham, Elder Dye and Elder Skinner will all be at MLC and they're 3 of my most favorite Elders so I'm really excited.

We also stopped by the Robbins and they said we were cool to come over this week so we're excited to go teach them because they look like they have a lot of potential. and we're gonna start teaching the pentecostal girl. We think she might be dating the member's son...And Salisaw has a referral for us too so things are looking up.

Love, Elder Naegle