Week 15

Dear Mom,

Thank you so much for your testimony! I loved that :) I love knowing that my parents are strong in the gospel of Jesus Christ! It bring me such great joy! and oh how thankful I am for you for raising me to be strong in it as well :) I am right there with you feeling like I am repetitive with my repenting and being so thankful that our Father in Heaven is graciously patient with us.
Thank you so much for the letter! I loved the quotes and positivity :) It always makes me so happy when I get mail from home :) I love hearing from you!
My week has been a good one.  Monday was okay. The last two times I have not had much time and the computers have not worked well for me. I haven't been able to email very many people, it has been frustrating. Tuesday, we had appointments with some investigators and with a  recent convert and then had dinner with the Dycus family (the family that we went to the Temple with for their sealing and endowments.) Wednesday, we had district meeting and for part of our lesson, we cut Elder Hyde's hair, as if he truly was at the barber (in the model teaching moment)-LOL. Elder Hubert just buzzed a size 2 on the back of his head and only me, Elder Hyde, and Elder Hubert knew so everyone else was shocked and it was so funny!!! :) Afterwards, we went home and actually cut his hair and it turned out pretty good!!! We did a 6 on top and blended it down to a 2. And I even used scissors to trim around the ear and shaped the back of his head with just the buzzer.  Elder Hubert and I were very proud, haha :) We also visited some of the people that said we could come back from when we tracted earlier in the week. I recited the first vision in Spanish and it was pretty cool :) the spirit was strong. Thursday, we had some more appointments and I led one of the lessons and it went actually fairly well. Then later that day we taught a husband and wife (a black couple) and I recited the first vision in English this time and the spirit was stronger and it felt good to be able to do that. They accepted baptismal dates at the end of the lesson which was awesome. Then that night we went on splits with a brother from the ward, Brother Damon, he is in his 20's. I went with him and Elder Hyde and Elder Hubert went together. So, it was basically all me for the night but it went well. We tried to visit 2 people but they didn't answer so then we went and visited a sister in the ward named Sister Cannon (she is the one that we helped clean her carpets) and I improvised for an hour a conversation and then a spiritual thought at the end. It was nerve racking but went well. Friday, we did studies and then had to take our car in for an oil change and tire rotation and then we did our weekly planning. Wednesday to Friday in the night it was really cold and rainy. Friday, almost everywhere in Mississippi got snow but us. We got a little flurry Friday night but many other places got up to 7 inches!!! Anyways, I have enjoyed the cold for a few days, it got down to 32 Saturday morning and that was the lowest. The other days were high 30's, low 40's. We also rode our bikes in the cold rain which wasn't that bad, it was kinda cold to me but I liked it at the same time :) Friday night we ate at a members house and he made us monkey bread later that night and brought it to our apartment :) Saturday, we went to more appointments but not all worked out, then that night a less active brother took us to Mugshots (an awesome burger place) for dinner. Sunday, I gave a talk in Spanish and I was really nervous but it went well. We ate at a member of the Spanish Branch's house and then went to a Stake Christmas Devotional. It was a good week.
I appreciate all the emails and wish that I had more time to respond to everyone, tell them all I love them!  I love you to pieces Mom!!!

Love your missionary,
Elder Acton

Christmas Tie

A puzzle we put together. It adds some Christmas

cheer to the apartment :)

Week 14

Dear Mom,

I am really enjoying being on a mission, though it can be stressful. I am getting along with my companions well. I feel like we are becoming much better friends and it's fun. Spanish is slowly becoming easier to understand but it is still difficult to speak the things that I want to say. I am working hard to learn it though. Our lessons are good, we haven't had as many of them lately because it has been hard to catch people when they're home, they haven't been there when we get to our appointments, and we have had other things we've had to do. Our biggest problem is trying to get them to come to church. I enjoy mission life but still miss home and how things were-but that probably won't ever change, haha. My bed isn't the best so it makes my back hurt, it isn't really flat, it is like indented quite a bit where I lay so I feel like I sleep with my back bowed.  But it's not gonna kill me, just not wonderful. Mentally I am doing good, I don't know how to describe my thoughts exactly, I have so many of them. I think about all kinds of things; the things that we are doing, home, church, lessons, food, exercise.
I feel my relationship with the Savior has grown stronger while being out here but I am hungry for an even stronger relationship! I am reading in the beginning of 2nd Nephi and I love to read about how faithful Nephi was and even though he was so righteous he still felt beat up by the temptations around him. He asked God to make him tremble at the sight of it and to truly be afraid of it. That is some true desire right there.
This week has gone well, on Tuesday we did a thing with our ward called a "Blitz" and the Elders of the ward, the missionaries and the High Priests all met at the church and then split up in 2's to go see people in our ward who had not yet been visited in the end of the year effort. It was really fun and I really enjoyed it and it was also very effective. On Wednesday after district meeting, we went on exchanges with the Zone leaders and Elder Hyde and I went with our new Zone leader, Elder Simbi. It was so much fun to be with him. He is from Kenya and we seemed to connect well and it made the missionary work easier and more enjoyable. We gave 2 blessings while with him because of a member that came out with us and asked us to give them. I also did a lot more of the teaching than I normally do. We were more of a team and it was cool. Thursday we visited some more people and then went and did service at the Salvation Army while with the Zone Leaders. Friday we helped a lady move and spent about 3-4 hours on that. Then Saturday we spent another 3 hours helping her finish moving. She gave Elder Hubert a suit and all of us a fishing rod. After we helped her on Saturday, we went and cleaned a sister's house and cleaned her carpets(which were almost black when supposed to be white. . .). Both sisters really appreciated our help and I felt the spirit strongly while doing so. Sunday was a good fast Sunday, we had a pot luck "Break the Fast" after church at 3:00 on the Air Force Base and then watched the Christmas Devotional at 7 and I really enjoyed the Devotional.
This week has been a good one :) I love you so very much mom!!! I hope you have a great week!

Love your missionary,
Elder Acton

My Companions

Sunset

Service Project

Week 13

Dear Mom,

Thank you for all your emails :) I love them so much!! They make me so happy and I love hearing about what's going on back at home. That's so crazy that Ethan, Hayden, Matthew, and Tye are all leaving soon. That's awesome! I am so excited to have them all out in the field with me!
I am happy to hear you guys are having the missionaries over for Christmas again this year. Being a missionary has really helped me develop appreciation for all that the members do :) It really does mean a lot to have members invite you to dinners.
This week has been a good week and has gone well. It has been fun to be in a trio and I feel that I am becoming better friends with my companions. Tuesday we picked up Elder Hyde and then went and tried to visit some people and we ate dinner at our apartment. Wednesday we had district meeting, tried to visit more people and had a few appointments and then had dinner at our apartment and then did training. Thursday we went to the Air Force Base and did Turkey bowl (football) form 7:00-8:45. It was the Elders and kids against the Elders Quorum and both teams were even with numbers. We creamed them but it was still a good and intense game :) It was like low 40's which was fairly cold but then it was perfect weather during the game as it warmed up. After this game we went and played with the other ward in their Turkey bowl, which was more of just young men. This was also fun but it wasn't as intense and it was longer. We did more of a tournament cuz we had so many people. (We have been walking around like old men the rest of the week from playing in two turkey bowls plus I had just done a leg day with my exercising so I was super sore and am just now feeling like its almost gone, haha.) Then we went home and got ready and changed into our proselyting clothes and went to a members house and ate Thanksgiving dinner at 1:00 with 2 families. The food was good, but not great. After spending about 2 hours with them, we went to another members house for a second Thanksgiving dinner.  The Morris's were there and the other Elders in our ward and a couple other families and it was a lot of fun. All the guys had a nerf war with the boys after that dinner and that was a lot of fun :) Then we went home later that evening. Friday we basically stayed home for most of the day for our studies and then we had weekly planning to do which takes a long time. Then that night after eating dinner, we went to a members home and played a game with them and a nonmember. The game was called "betrayal at house on the hill" it was a lot of fun and I would suggest it to you guys if you want another fun game :) Then Saturday was a pretty normal day. Sunday we had our meetings and then after church I did personal study while my comps napped and then we went and saw some of our investigators. Today, Monday, I have done a lot of cleaning and now our apartment is clean again.
A little while ago we went to this place called the Craw Fish House and I had gator bites and a mahi mahi sandwich. It was really good!! Gator is similar to chicken but a bit more chewy and a slight different taste. I thought it was really good. Also, thank you so much for the trail mix!! I am almost done with the bag already, haha. It's very delicious :)
In the past few weeks I have finished 2 books as well. The first one I finished within probably 4 different days of reading and the second I read half one night and the other half the next night. They were both really good books!!!
I have noticed the difference when the spirit is with me and when it is not in how well I understand Spanish.
It has been a good week and we will see what this next one has to offer. I love you so much mom!! have a fantastic week!!!!

Love your missionary,
Elder Acton

My comps:

Elder Hubert

 Elder Hyde

Critters

A little bit of  "Cashmere"

Week 12

Dear Mom,

Our lessons are going well, I teach part of them mostly when teaching English but I have taught pieces in Spanish as well. There have been a few times where I have shared how I have applied the thing we just taught in my own life. Our investigators are doing well.  Sadly our investigator, Trace, that we tracted into and was super promising, left Sunday morning back to Michigan. Also we haven't been able to get a hold of one of our other investigators.  But we gained a new investigator on Sunday and we have already taught him a lesson and given him a tour of the church and he has also already come to church twice so I am excited to see where he goes. He just walked into church at the end of Sacrament and then after he just showed up in gospel principles and we talked to him and he was gonna leave after gospel principles but then showed up in priesthood and said, "yeah, God told me to come back." He seems pretty willing to follow the promptings of the Spirit. We also set another Spanish speaking guy on date while teaching some of our Spanish investigators.
This week has been pretty crazy and really stressful, again I was having to make all the decisions for the area and it was difficult and really frustrating, but it has helped me grow.  Elder Hubert was doing all this the 5th and 6th week instead of the 11th week, like normal, because he was most likely getting transferred. On Friday we found out that our area was gonna be in a trio and the most likely thing that was gonna happen would be me, Elder Hyde (an Elder that just got done training but his training was really poor), and another greenie that came out with me named Elder Loveless. So we were getting ready to have a Greenie trio, but this morning we found out that the trio is going to be me, Elder Hubert, and Elder Hyde. We are all Spanish speaking so I hope this helps my Spanish a lot. It's gonna be cool to be in a trio and I am excited to have this experience! I am relieved cuz I now have another transfer before I have to lead the area but because of the crunch time preparation, I feel much more prepared and I feel this transfer will be a good one!
On Saturday, we did another Exchange but this time it was our trainers together and us greenies together. It was really fun and relieving for us to be together. We felt like we could make our own choices and do things ourselves and not have to worry about what our trainers thought of it or that we weren't doing things the way that they would and it was really nice. We started Saturday off by meeting at the sports fields and threw the football around for a while and played a bit of soccer and then started our exchanges from there. Elder Jex and I drove back to his apartment and then we were on our own from then until Sunday morning at church where we ended Exchanges.
Anyways, this week was really stressful and hard and I got really frustrated at times but in the end it turned out to be a good week. I am really excited to see how this next week goes. We have Thanksgiving "dinner" at 1:00 with 2 families and then we will probably go to some others for actual dinner as well, haha. I will be thinking of all of you and I hope you guys have an awesome Thanksgiving!! It will be kinda weird not being there for our traditions, but I'm sure it will still be a great Thanksgiving :)
I am so thankful for this opportunity to grow and learn. It has been so beneficial to me and I have only been out for almost 3 months.  I have had an overall impressionable experience that as we are put in uncomfortable positions and push through, that we will be blessed. It has been difficult but I have seen that as I rely upon the Lord more than myself, that He is there to help me.
I love you tons mom! I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Acton

Our District at our last district meeting

before transfers.

This massive truck drove right by us on

the highway, we could almost fit under it

 A cool sunset that Elder Jex and I saw

Week 11

Dear Mom,

This week has been a good week but also a very stressful week. It started off good with last Monday and mountain biking. On Tuesday, we went to Pascagoula for splits and spent the night there. Then we left in the morning on Wednesday and came back to our apartment and got ready for the day, did some studies, and then we went to district meeting. That night we took some of the young men, 2 priests and a teacher, with us. We tried to visit a number of people but had no luck, so they basically just were with us for driving around our area. But it was still good to have them out with us.  Then Thursday I was really stressed and nervous.When we started Daily Planning in the morning, Elder
Hubert told me  that I was in charge of planning for that day. And then also he told me that I was going to be the one driving for the rest of the transfer so that I know the area well, because he might be getting transferred and I will have to lead the area. I spent all my study time in the morning trying to memorize addresses and record directions and memorize the map. Then we spent a fair portion of time trying to get to people's houses cuz I was driving and had to find their houses. So basically Elder Hubert put me as the Senior companion and now I am put in the Senior Companion position about half of the time. Friday we did weekly planning which takes a few hours and we did training and didn't get out of our apartment until late. We went to an appointment and then went to a second one but he wasn't there and then came to find out that I made the mistake of planning it in daily planning as 6:30 when it was at 6:00. I felt really bad and my mind was just so frazzled, also I forgot to put my name tag on. . .So that was something made fun of for quite a while. . .We then went to the Air Force Base and helped someone move. Saturday we went to the Temple!!! It was an Awesome experience. The Baton Rouge Temple is tiny and is only one floor. We were able to go with a recent convert family where the parents were both receiving their endowments and being sealed. And also Sister Cotten, who is a black lady, that is a recent convert and she was also receiving her endowment. Elder Hubert and I rode down there with Bishop Lyman and Sister Lyman. We got there about 2 hours early and Sister Lyman gave us initiatories to do so Elder Hubert and I spent about an hour doing 5 initiatories each. That was cool cuz I've never done that many initiatories before. The other Elders from the D'lberville area in our ward showed up with the Morris's to be there for the same family. Then we went into the 11:00 endowment session and I got to spend a large portion of time in the Celestial room reading scriptures and praying and the spirit was wonderful.  Then we went into the sealing room, which I had never been in before, and watched Brother and Sister Dycus get sealed together. This was really cool and Bishop Lyman told me that that is the same ceremony that will be done on my wedding day and it was just really cool to think of and it just felt so great. Then their kids came into the sealing room and got sealed to their parents which was cool cuz seldom do kids get to be in that part of the Temple. Afterwards, we changed and went outside and got some pictures, and then the Morris's had got us all pizza for lunch, so that was awesome. Then we came home. Sunday went well, we woke up early for ward correlation at 7:00 at the church and then had ward council and then we went to sacrament meeting at 9:00. The entire Biloxi basketball team came and their coaches because Spencer Lyman, the Bishop's son, invited them. We had a little reception in the gym right after sacrament meeting for them where there were doughnuts and milk and the Bishop talked to them for a bit and we gave them all a Book of Mormon. It was awesome!! The team is only black guys except for Spencer and they are really good, like crazy good, and will probably win state. Anyways, that was really cool. This week has been a wild week but I have enjoyed it. Driving is a bit stressful at first because it is a lot of responsibility with making it to appointments on time, knowing where to go and how to get there, making sure we don't use too many miles and more, but I enjoy it. Well that was my week, I hope you are doing well and everyone else is too!
I am finally getting my hair cut today!! My hair is pretty long.
Also, something cool that our ward is doing, they make sure they visit everybody in the ward at the end of the year by Christmas. They do this through home teaching and visiting teaching. I thought it was really cool and thought I might suggest it to the Wenatchee River Ward.
I love you tons!! Have a great day!

Love your missionary,
Elder Acton

At the temple

There are trees, like this, along the highways here in Biloxi

This view is from one of the bridges we crossed, there

is a marsh and then it's really flat for a long ways.

Before my haircut

 After my haircut