Elder May - Chapter 65

I know I say this every update but he is just so amazing.  Elder Hayden just comes into a new area and just starts teaching people who almost seem like they have been waiting for the right time or the right missionary.  We miss him so much and love him more but we are oh, so proud of him!  Enjoy!!

Chapter 65:

1. Member Family Home Evenings are awesome for kiddos

2. Painting a house is fun to do!

3. Elder Shakespeare is now a year old! 

4. I'm asking you hard questions so I know what to say after I am a member of your church

5. Ice cream pit stop  

Hello from Port Charlotte! For those of you who don't know yet, I got transferred down to the bottom of my mission. Anyone in the Fort Lauderdale mission that is in the north most part can come up and we can meet at the border and high five. That would be a pretty epic picture. 

First off, we are teaching a lot of people, especially unbaptized children. We had two of them and their mom over to a member’s house this past Monday to have dinner and a lesson. They are ready to get baptized. Their stepdad just needs to talk with Bishop now and it will be good. They are very excited. We got a text from the mom later that night and she told us the boy that is getting baptized told her, "I can't to be an actual member of the church." They are so awesome. 

Next, we got to go help a fantastic member family paint a couple rooms in their house. Not to be prideful or anything but it looks soooooo good! I'll try to sneak a picture next time we are over there

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Those members actually threw a party for Elder Shakespeare hitting his year mark this past Thursday so we have a picture of him blindfolded and us setting up the pinata. It was a fun time!

Fourth, we went to a lesson (with our bishops brother and the brothers wife) and each time we've gone by he has hinted he is going to be baptized but asks crazy questions. This past time we had the Elders Quorum President with us and we start teaching and the brother starts asking questions again. We answer them but his response caught us off guard. He said "I want to hear your opinion for when people ask me after I am a member. When I join the church I want nothing in my way to slow me down. When I get baptized I am not turning back so I want to be ready to go." That was pretty awesome. Especially to hear with a member present. 

Last, we took some pictures getting ice cream so you can keep updated what we look like. That mint chocolate chip though. 

I don't know if videos are allowed on the blog but that is there in case you were wondering what Florida thunder sounds like.  

 

I love and pray for you all.  Please continue to pray for me.

Love,

Elder May

Elder May - Chapter 63 (Transfers)

Our Elder is transferring from the area that he has been in since December of last year.  He has had 2 companions and LOVED being in Clearwater.  He is filled with mixed emotions as he heads down to Port Charlotte, Florida which is about 2 hours south from where he is now.  No official email other than to let us know that he is moving and his new address.  I have updated the blog with his new address.  He sends his love and continued testimony.  Please pray for our Elder as he heads into a new area and companionship.  We know that he feels them and the Lord listens to those faithful prayers on behalf of Elder Hayden!  We love him, we miss him but we are oh, so proud of him!

Having lunch with The Russell before transferring tomorrow~ and YES!!  He buzzed his hair!

Elder May - Chapter 61 & 62

Holiday weekends are always tough for me when one of our kids are not with us.  I realized though that this is the last 4^th of July without Elder Hayden and that helped bring a smile to my face.  Crazy week in Clearwater with an Amtrak crash involving bikers and pedestrians.  Thankfully, wonderful Clearwater members were able to let me know that Elder Hayden and his companion, Elder Swapp were okay.  So grateful for ward family that looks after their missionaries.  Love our missionary, so grateful for his service and oh, so proud of him!  Enjoy!!

Chapter 61 and 62 

1. I'm all for increased accountability. 
2. Elders, can you help us move in?
3. Nick got baptized! 
4. Zone Activity!
5. Brother Flake knows the way to my heart through the stomach
6. That's all I have to know to be baptized?!
7. I got two jobs!

Hi everybody! Sorry for the lack of an email this week but I will talk about it!

First off we can start with two weeks ago. June 19-25. This week our mission president encouraged us as "leaders" to increase our accountability and other missionaries. We made ourselves accountable for each day and how we use the precious time we have to be missionaries. It showed us a lot of what we do and how we can improve that. It was awesome and I love the eternal principle of accountability. 

Second, I wanted to tell you about this family that moved into the ward. They are a young couple, he is going to school to be an airline pilot and she is a full time mom for now. OF TRIPLETS! He finished his mission in California, came home, got married, had a child and it turned out to be three children! They needed us to last minute because they had all three children asleep and that rarely happened. So crazy. They are awesome and his brother is apparently the Assistant to the President in the Gilbert Arizona mission. 

Third, quite a few months ago, back in Hudson with Elder Sites, we taught a guy named Nick. He was really interested and committed and then he hurt his foot, we lost touch, he was moving etc. Apparently he was moving down really here to Clearwater. The sisters met him, he remembered a lot, they went through all the lessons and baptized him!

That is ours sisters, him, Myself, Elder Swapp, our mission president, his wife and our stake president. It was so cool to see him get baptized!

Fourth is the reason I didn't email last week. We got together as a zone to relax, bond, and everything and then had a testimony meeting. It was really good. 

those two shiny guys in the back is us. 

Fifth, a member in the ward learned that, although he can't make us dinner, he can buy it for us so he has taken us to Taco Bell twice and told us all his mission stories. They've been great so far. Also, life advice for after the mission!

The next comes from a lesson we had with a family we and the sisters are team teaching. They are teaching the wife, we are teaching him. While we were teaching he asked what he needs to know (because he has a lot of questions that aren't always very pertinent to being baptized) so we went through your questions. She was in the room too so she could hear and after he said, "wait that's all? I pretty much know all that already! What about the temple?" So we went through those questions and he said, "those are pretty much the same" then excitedly told his wife about it. He is ready to be baptized but we are not going to until his wife if baptized. We don't want a part member family, we want eternal families. If that takes a little longer than so be it. 

Lastly, we met with Ochan and he is doing so great. He is in an English class every day to improve his English and because of that he is understanding everything very well. We went over baptism again and the Sacrament and committed him to strive to never miss a Sacrament Meeting. After that he said, "my job I have, that makes me work on Sundays, I quit that. I want to come to church so I quit. After that it to two jobs that don't make me work on Sundays. So I am going to choose the one I like more and then come to church." It was a pretty great moment and I lobed to see God bless him for his exercise of faith. 

I know that God does miracles as we exercise our faith and do something that we know is right even if we don't know how it will work out. He will guide help and bless us. 

I love you all and grateful for each of you - take care!

Love, Elder May

Picture we received from very wonderful ward member after the Amtrak wreck

Zone Conference Picture

Zone Conference Picture

4th of July Fun on P-Day - Miniature Golf