Elder May: Chapter 24

It is hard to believe in some ways that 24 weeks have passed and in other ways, we have felt every moment pass by.  I think that our family misses him right now too with Hunter getting married and knowing he won’t be there physically but he will most definitely be there in spirit.  It’s a huge milestone for our family and his absence is missed more so than I think in normal circumstances. 

We are especially relieved that he is safe especially all the news coverage of Hurricane Matthew.  I am grateful for his leaders that follow the promptings of the spirit to make sure that the Elders and Sisters in the mission are watched over and protected.  Love and miss this Elder so much but oh, so proud of him!  Enjoy!

(the pictures with Hunter are a life size cardboard cut-out of Elder Hayden for the upcoming wedding festivities…see below)

 

1) "You two are great missionaries."

We had a great week here in Hudson and we had a lot of fun while doing so! We actually had two exchanges take place here this past week but all of us were here. A zone leader came to our area for the day to talk with us about the recent decision for a new stake to be built and then Elder Brau took Elder Sites to my area and I went with Elder Reese to his. Really we just went to one another's investigators for the day. It was really fun though! Elder Reese has absolutely no fear. We also had interviews on Wednesday so that is why we are all gussied up in that picture. 

We were able to do a lot of amazing things this week and meet some really cool people! Some of the advice that President Cooper gave to Elder Sites and I is not letting someone know who is the senior companion and so I have been having some fun with that. I told one lady that Elder Sites is training me on how to be a missionary and she completely believed me. Also another really cool miracle. Last week all us missionaries went to church in gray suits. But there was a problem, I don't have one. But then we got home and I found a suit in the closet I am using and it is gray, from men's warehouse and it fits pretty alright. So miracles are happening in this mission. 

Nick- Nick is sooooo cool. We met him at a parking lot when we only had 15 minutes before we had to be home. We talked to him and said a prayer, taught about the gospel, he invited us to his house, and we set his baptismal date. He wasn't able to make it to conference this past week but he did come to a really powerful church tour Saturday and church yesterday.  He had to go to work at 12:30 but he made it to sacrament meeting and really enjoyed it as well! He is excited!

Agnes- Agnes I talked about a couple weeks ago. She was a tracting miracle. Anyway, we haven't met with her since that day so we sent a text to let her know that if she was interested to call us. She then, almost immediately, responded and said "Sorry I have been sick. When is church? I will try to make it." So if we see her there we will start teaching her!

On a final note I want to mention a baptism we had here at the church. It wasn't a convert one but it is the inspiration for the verse for this week. A family in the ward just had their daughter baptized and it was really cool. The mother was walking quickly everywhere before church to get it all set up. She asked us how we make the programs for our baptisms so she can do it. Instead, we just told her we would do it. We finished doing so right when the program started and we were able to help with the font and the father asked us to join in the confirmation circle. After the event we went and thanked them for letting us be a part of the circle. The mom thanked us for all that we did and was on the verge of tears as any mother would be on such an awesome day and she told us that we were both great missionaries. That is a wonderful thing to hear when we hear rejection all day. 

I just want to let each of you know that I love you. Thanks for all that you do. You all excel at every task you do even if you don't recognize it right now. I love you, so do countless others and especially our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Love you all,  Elder May

Elder Hayden: Chapter 23

Love seeing his face - Love our Elder Hayden!

Our family had a CRAZY week last week and I found myself thinking about why we were having such difficult trials even with two missionaries.  As I read through Elder May's letter this week, I was humbled that the Lord doesn't bless us necessarily the way we want or think we should be blessed.  He blesses us because we are obedient and faithful - He blessed us that no matter what happened, no one was seriously injured and the overall damages were fixable.  He blessed Elder Hayden with a multitude of people wanting to learn more about the church and He blessed us with insurance both home and health.  I found myself repentive and then grateful for the many blessings that go unseen at times but are all around us.  Love this Elder more than words can say and miss him like crazy but oh, so proud of him...

Chapter 23:

1) Sharing a car sucks

2) I walked 12,000 steps yesterday from the space of 6:00 pm-9:00 pm

3) Having faith never tasted so good

WOOOOOOOOOOO I am so excited! We are having a ton of fun as a unit! (that is apparently what it is called when you have more than one set of missionaries in the same area. We are a unit.) I am not as excited about the prospect of sharing a car. I will do it though because I love God. To be very truthful though, my tan is getting pretty good. 

Anyway we had a lot of fun just walking around and meeting all kinds of new people. In order to save on some miles we just parked the car and started walking one day. We got to our appointment that fell through at 6 and walked to our next appointment which was at 8 and that went really well but we taught a few lessons along the way as well. I will talk more about that appointment in a second. We were able to see quite a few miracles this week and I am excited to share! 

Nina: We taught a man last week named Ricky and apparently he was still in high school. We generally try not to do that because the parents will get mad. We didn't figure out he was in school until we came back for his return appointment and met his mom. Instead of getting talked to sternly, she said "Oh he is in school. But I will listen to you!" That caught us a little off guard but I thought it was really cool! 

Jason: Jason is a man that was referred to us and just recently moved into the area. He isn't too religious and wouldn't answer his phone when we called so we just walked to his appointment (it is the one that was at 8) and he was home. He opened the door for us before we even knocked and had us come in and teach him. He apparently had a church tour, been to a baptism, attended sacrament and the sisters helped him move out of his old house so he is pretty awesome and really is appreciative of everything we have helped him with. He is interested in learning more as well!

Jen and Ariel: When we left Jason's house we start walking and call the other elders to have them pick us up. Elder Sites is on the phone and I see a lady on her porch and walk up and start talking to her. She really appreciated the prayer and wanted to learn more so we taught her about the restoration. We set a baptismal date with her and a return appointment and start to walk away. We see Jason again and talk to him a bit more. Then Jen comes running back outside to us and yells, "My daughter wants to be baptized too!!!" So we set up to teach her daughter as well. That was a pretty awesome experience!

 

This was a pretty great week and I am super excited to continue in the work! I love this gospel and Jesus Christ and all of you for all that you do. Continue being awesome! I will see you all soon!

Love you all – Elder May

Elder May: Chapter 22

This Elder was in a very big hurry yesterday to get out to a service activity so I was glad to get a few replies to my own questions and then this email.  Glad to know he is busy and happy.  We love him and miss him terribly but oh, so proud of him!  Enjoy!

Chapter 22:

Is that really what chapter this is? Crazy stuff.

I am going to have to make this chapter a little brief because of an activity that we are having pretty soon.

First off: The work is going to go a lot smoother now because they added an extra set of elders into the Hudson area. There great missionaries known as Elder Brau and Elder Reese. So we introduce ourselves as Elder May (like the month), Elder Sites (like websites), Elder Brau (like eye brow) and Elder Reese (like Reese's peanut butter cups). That way we all can be remembered. But we all are in one two bedroom apartment and it is different but it is also a ton of fun.

Secondly: Our stake is kicking us out of their stake as they split to form a new one. Our ward will be a part of the new stake. We don't know what it will be called, where it is located or who the presidency is but we are having a special stake conference on the 16th of October to address all those concerns so stay tuned.

Thirdly: We are teaching a lot of people. Combined for last week we have taught probably 50-60 new people and over 100 lessons. We have a lot of people that are progressing towards baptism and I am very excited about the work going on.

Please continue being awesome and I appreciate all the unseen things that you do for me and all the countless other missionaries in the world. God knows what you do and will bless you for it. I love you all.

Love,

Elder May

Elder May: Chapter 22

This Elder was in a very big hurry yesterday to get out to a service activity so I was glad to get a few replies to my own questions and then this email.  Glad to know he is busy and happy.  We love him and miss him terribly but oh, so proud of him!  Enjoy!

Chapter 22:

Is that really what chapter this is? Crazy stuff.

I am going to have to make this chapter a little brief because of an activity that we are having pretty soon.

First off: The work is going to go a lot smoother now because they added an extra set of elders into the Hudson area. There great missionaries known as Elder Brau and Elder Reese. So we introduce ourselves as Elder May (like the month), Elder Sites (like websites), Elder Brau (like eye brow) and Elder Reese (like Reese's peanut butter cups). That way we all can be remembered. But we all are in one two bedroom apartment and it is different but it is also a ton of fun.

Secondly: Our stake is kicking us out of their stake as they split to form a new one. Our ward will be a part of the new stake. We don't know what it will be called, where it is located or who the presidency is but we are having a special stake conference on the 16th of October to address all those concerns so stay tuned.

Thirdly: We are teaching a lot of people. Combined for last week we have taught probably 50-60 new people and over 100 lessons. We have a lot of people that are progressing towards baptism and I am very excited about the work going on.

Please continue being awesome and I appreciate all the unseen things that you do for me and all the countless other missionaries in the world. God knows what you do and will bless you for it. I love you all.

Love,

Elder May

Elder May: Chapter 21

This week was an extra special treat – we got to see Elder Hayden in his baptismal clothing in the picture he shared and see the joy in his and Elder Sites face as they brought someone into the waters of baptism.  My heart is full.  We miss him terribly, love him to the moon and back but we are oh, so proud of him… Enjoy!

Chapter 21:

1) People are coming to us for the message.

This week was an awesome week! It was so good because we were able to have so much get done! We were able to go to a training center in the mission that we call Metro. I might have mentioned it a few chapters ago but it is just a meeting of a few of the missionaries, especially the ones that are training, to learn from one another about different ways that we can be better missionaries. We also go and teach college students and that is NOT easy. There were a lot of people that only believed in science and wanted proof God was there. One of them was pretty cool because I walked up and said "Hi" and he said, "Hey I love your outfit!" That made my heart feel good. If you want to be my best friend forever, compliments are the way to go. The best lesson we taught there was to a guy named Will and we literally walked ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE CAMPUS TO TEACH HIM. He thought we were pretty cool and gave us his phone number and we set his baptismal date. I will check in with the assistants to the President later to see if it went anywhere.

Metro really helped to have that extra UMPH to do all the things that are required of us as missionaries. Doing so allowed us to see some extra miracles. Here are a few:

Lori Lipka: LORI GOT BAPTIZED! Lori is so awesome and I know that her life has been changed because of how amazing it is and how she has been able to apply the different teachings. She loves it so much and I am glad to have been able to meet teach and baptize her.

Suzette: Suzette is someone that we met yesterday. We had some time and went to an appointment that was more of a drop by and wasn't really set up. That feel through so we went to the park. We went there and prayed for one person to accept the message. Suzette was that person. I talked with her and she was very interested. She understands English well but doesn't speak it too well so I taught in my terrible Spanish-English hybrid. I am getting better at it but still. She set a baptismal date for the 15th. I asked her where she was from and she said "Puerto Rico." So I said "okay cool! Have you ever heard of the Mormones?" (Spanish for Mormons) and she said "Si mi abuella es Mormon." (Yes, my grandmother is Mormon." So I told her we were Mormon missionaries and she already knew and was still interested! SO COOL!

Agnes and Angelica: We were tracting for the third time on my mission and saw a miracle from that. We had walked down the entire street and there was one more house that had no cars and Elder Sites said, "Let's try this last house" We knock and wait there for a while and eventually a young girl opened the door and when we offered a prayer she said, "Let me go get my mom." The mom walked up and said she would love a prayer. We said a prayer and testified of eternal families. After we set up to come by at another time she told us that when she was younger her family was studying with the Mormon missionaries and her sister was baptized Mormon. The only reason Agnes wasn't was because she was 7 when the rest of her family was baptized. I don't know why they didn't baptize her when she grew up but still it is a miracle.

Jason: This is the guy that the verse for this week is written for. We went to an appointment and it fell through so we are leaving and we back up and Elder Sites is putting on his seat belt. When he finishes a car pulls up next to us and rolls down his window. He asks who we are and asked why were weren't going to every door. We explained we had an appointment and another one to go to but he asked what our message was about. We said "Jesus Christ and a modern day prophet. Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" He said, "Not a bit. I think the idea of religion is stupid but I want you to teach me why it is not. Here is my address and phone number and you can come by on Tuesday." That was a pretty cool thing.

I know that the Church is true. I know that because of the Restoration we have the power of God given to those that are worthy males with the priesthood. I know that that power is what will fix the world and all of the madness and chaos that are occurring. I know that everyone needs this message. I challenge you all to find someone to share it with and not be discouraged if they say no. I promise that someone will say yes if you valiantly continue doing so. I know that all of us have the gift of the spirit to help us to do so. I am grateful for what I have been given in this life and I am excited to continue in such a great work here

.

Love, Elder May

Elder May: Chapter 20

We were out of town this week so I was unable to post the email earlier – He makes us so proud and just smile when we read his emails home.  We read his emails and can seriously hear his voice as if he was in the room speaking to us.  And then getting to see his handsome face makes us so happy and also relieved.  We miss him and love him so much but we are so, so proud of him!  Enjoy!!

Chapter 20:

I wrote a song about my diet on a mission and its not too much different than my diet was back home. 

1) Corn dogs and Poptarts and a diet coke! Corn dogs and Poptarts and a diet coke! Corn dogs and Poptarts and a diet coke! 

That is the first verse. Elder Sites didn't think that was too funny. I took some pictures and a video on the way to email today. I am not very good at it during the week. So that is my bad. 

This week was really good though! Elder Bake, our district leader, went on an exchange with us to show us how to better ourselves as missionaries. He also showed Elder Sites and I how to tract because I never have until this past week. He said, "Go to a street with a lot of cars parked out front and start knocking." We did and a few lessons got taught while we were there. He also taught us what a clean apartment looks like. Pretty fun! We are getting better as missionaries and are really close to meeting the standards of excellence! (They are just goals that the mission president sets to help us expand our vision and to stretch ourselves as missionaries.) 

Jim: I have talked about Jim a few times but this week he left a very cool voicemail at about 1 in the morning. It just said this, "HEY ELDER MAy and Elder Sites its Jim. I want you to know that you got through to me. No more beer. Thanks. I love you. Bye." We also promised him that if he prayerfully sets a date for October for baptism, God will help him with his desire to live the word of wisdom. He immediately said "the 22nd." Then he said the prayer to confirm the date with God. That was pretty cool. 

Terrell: Terrell referred himself for a Book of Mormon. He has since talked with his pastor and isn't very interested but he might come around. They let us still sit and talk for thirty minutes and testify of the Holy Ghost, Book of Mormon, prophets, and all that good stuff. But while we were there he and his wife were extremely excited to see that we are so young and love God and Jesus Christ so much. They were losing their minds because of it and it was very cool to see. 

Winn Dixie: Winn Dixie is actually a store but I want to mention what happened there. At this parking lot, we went there with like thirty minutes before we had to be home and didn't teach a single lesson. But what did happen with every person there we talked to, which was about six people because it wasn't too busy and we left after it wasn't working too well, was they told us how much they appreciate us doing this great work and how we all need to be unified in preaching about Jesus Christ. I was just very thankful for that little pick me up. I wasn't discouraged or anything but it is always nice to hear. 

That is what I have for this week. I also got a haircut that actually looks normal. (Sports Clips for the win) Also I think that the lightning here is really cool so that is what the other two things are. 

I love you all and am very thankful for you! Talk to you next week!

Love Elder May