Week 33

Monday, April 16, 2018

Dear Mom,

So this week has been a bit crazy.
Monday we had a pretty good P-day where the Sisters came and played volleyball and foursquare with us after we played basketball. It was a lot of fun.
Tuesday was a pretty good day. we got up and went to Tatum park, which is not too far from our apartment and we used the track next to it. I was able to do a workout that i had found on P-day and it was a really good one. It was; run a lap, do 50 walking lunges, run a lap, do 40 air squats, run a lap, do 30 burpees, run a lap, do 20 push-ups, run a lap do 10 broad jumps. I haven't been able to really workout in a little while so it was tiring and difficult. Even though it made me sore for a good few days it was really nice to do some good physical exercise. Later that day we did some tracting but nothing came from it. We knocked on one more door in a different place that we had skipped cause we felt we should and we were able to have a really good lesson with them. That evening we went to a member's house for dinner and we had green pesole and they had salsa to put in it. I put in a spoonful and it was still mild so I put in another 2 big spoon fulls. Anyway long story short, it got really hot and I started sweating and tears ran down but I wanted to finish it all. Later I got another bowl cuz it was really good and only put 2 spoon fulls in this time but somehow it ended up being even hotter!! It was like liquid fire and i felt like I was putting acid or something in my mouth but I couldn't not eat what I served myself so I finished it all and it was so HOT!! We all had a good laugh and they thought I was crazy. Hermana Valezuela said "I've never seen a gringo put in that much salsa!" It was funny but it was really hot. Anyway that was fun, haha. Then we went out and looked at the miniature horses that their neighbor had which was pretty funny.
Wednesday was district meeting which went well and then that evening we went tracting and we were in a large apartment complex and we didn't know where to start so we played "what are the odds" to find out. On the count of three we would name a number between 1 and 37 (the number of apartment buildings) and if we both said the same one that is the one we felt we should start on. It took a little while but we ended up on the number 4 and it happened to be right next to us. We knocked on the doors and we were able to talk to a few different people. It was fun.
Thursday we had lunch with our old Branch President at a little Hispanic restaurant in a Los Compadres Meat Market. We had tacos and they were really good but the sauce and the Jalepeno that came with it was really spicy. That evening we went to dinner with the Cardenas family and we had our investigators over for dinner with them. It was fun, they got to know each other really well and we were able to have a good gospel discussion.
Friday we got hair-cuts which turned out pretty good. We had to find a barber and pay for them because the people in the stake that cut hair for the missionaries won't cut our hair cuz we aren't in their ward. Later we found some former investigators who are ready to meet with the missionaries again and are excited to learn more We also drove out to a town called Runnelstown, kind out in the boondocks and met a former investigator who owns a chicken farm. He has 14 million chickens!! Crazy! We then, on our way back, would stop and knock on any door that we felt would have someone who spoke Spanish. No one was home bit it was still fun.
Saturday was nuts!! We went and played Tennis in the morning like we did the past 2 days and it was warm unlike usual. It was 72 degrees and 98% humid. We had seen that it was supposed to be stormy that day so it was weird that it was partly cloudy and sunny and really warm. Anyway, we came home and went on with our normal morning but then we got a text from a member saying that we were on tornado watch! It started to get more cloudy and then it started raining. We opened up our doors and let in some fresh rain smelling air and watched the storm. It got windy at times and poured super hard at times. We then got a text to take cover. We watched the storm to know if we needed to shut the doors and chill in the bathroom taking cover. The clouds were moving to the right when the ones above us moved to the left. Anyway, the tornado never touched down in Hattiesburg, but it swirled above us and passed over us. The whole time it was a massive thunder and lightening storm and it was like non-stop. After the tornado passed, it continued to thunder and lightening and pour rain for most of the day. There was also a flash flood warning for the day. It was an awesome storm to watch and later we went out in it and tried to visit some people but they didn't answer. Later we were able to visit with an investigator, they were wondering why the heck we were out in the storm, LOL. It was a good day.
Sunday we went to the Hattiesburg ward because we had some English speaking investigators that were supposed to come but they slept in so we came back home. Then we went to the Branch and we had one investigator come so that was good. That night we had dinner with the Cardenas family and had some good taco dinner with them.
This morning we weren't able to go play basketball with the other Elders cuz we had to drive to Colombia and help a couple in the ward move. We were the only ones there, one other brother in the ward, the father of the Cardenas family came. The U-haul that the husband was driving got stuck in the mud right off the side of the road next to his house cuz it was a narrow road with a dead end and he had his car on the trailer. We helped unhook the trailer and then re-backed up the U-haul at an angle so that it was still on the pavement to get the trailer out. I'm thankful for the many times I helped Dad out with trailer and backing up so I knew how to help them back up (they had no clue) and how to make sure the trailer got connected properly. Anyway it was good that we went and it was fun to help them.
This last week has been a good one but a crazy one!! I'm looking forward to this next week!
I love you to pieces Mom!! I hope you enjoy your week!

Love,
Elder Acton

Hair Cut

Watching the storm

It's hard to see from the picture but

the sky was a green color during the storm

At the park

Week 32

Monday April 9, 2018

Dear Mom,

This week has been pretty good, mainly because of the ending with Sunday but it was still a pretty good week.
Monday evening we were able to have a  lesson with one of our investigators which was good.
Tuesday we were able to teach a referral from our zone leaders and that was a good lesson and we hope she continues to progress. That night we had dinner with some members and talked with them about General Conference and the wonderful counsel we received.
Wednesday, we went to a park to play tennis but it was wet, we found a track at the park and so we did some running and bleachers, which I enjoyed but made me super sore cause I haven't done anything like that in a long time. We also had district meeting, it has been relaxing not having to prepare district meeting every Wednesday and do a bunch of phone calls through out the week. District meeting was good, we got to know the new Sister and new Elder in our district. We then were able to have a lesson with a former investigator that an Elder who served here in the past referred to us and that was cool. Then that evening we went to our ward mission leader's work and he showed us what he does and his family run business. It's a plastic plant where they have clients that give them molds they want and then they produce it. It was pretty cool. They make the mailboxes and lawnmower engine covers that are at Lowe's and Home Depot.
Thursday we played tennis in the morning and that was a lot of fun. We were able to visit some less actives and get to know some members who were near by. That evening we had dinner with a guy that we had met outside the library earlier in the week and he had invited us to dinner. He lives in Oregon but visits his daughter down here in Mississippi frequently. We had dinner with him and his daughter and it was fun to get to know them.
Friday we played tennis again and we did a little better and we were actually able to carry out somewhat of a game, lol. We taught a lesson to one of our investigators in Sumrall and then drove deeper into Sumrall to visit a less active but they weren't home. We also did our weekly planning as per usual.
Saturday we went to what is called Hubfest down here, it is a big festival thing that is in downtown Hattiesburg where people from all over come to visit. There was professional arm-wrestling there which was pretty cool. We went to check it out and met lots of people. That night we went to the church for dinner at a member's daughter's quinceanera. Then after we ate we left to an appointment with our investigators.
Sunday was a good Fast Sunday. We had 6 investigators in Sacrament Meeting. It was a family of 5 and one of our other investigators. The branch did a fantastic job of being kind and making them feel welcome and becoming their friends. We were happy that it was a great experience for them and it also seemed to strengthen the branch. Anyway, it was nice to finally see some success and have some of our investigators come to church with us. Well that's about all that happened this week. Until next week!

Love,
Elder Acton

Our New District

An April Fools Joke that the Zoo did.

Arm wrestling at Hub Fest

I roasted a chicken for us for dinner

Another dinner that I made

A big spider-its body was bigger than my thumb

Week 31

Monday, April 2, 2018

Dear Mom,

So this last week has been good but it was a little slow and because it was transfers week, not as much work got done. there have been some changes though. Wednesday was P-day and it was a bit different cause other people were busy packing and stuff so we saw all the guys in the morning for basketball but then it was just us for the rest of the day. That night we went to a BBQ in the hood with some of our "homies" who we talked to and are trying to teach. they invited us on Wednesday and said they wanted to talk about the Church and BBQ and stuff. So we went. We were there for a little while, he was barbecuing ribs and then he barbecued chicken wings. We were chilling behind his apartment and the back of the apartments right behind his in kind of an alley way but it was grassy. We talked with him and answered his questions as he cooked the food. Eventually like 8 other people showed up, one by one. they were so glad that we felt safe with them because most people, if they were the only white people around and a bunch of other guys from the hood just randomly showed up and stuff, would feel scared and nervous, but honestly we felt as safe as if we were at home. We met some potential investigators while there and met a guy who said he has come to church before and knew where it was at and told us to look him up cause he probably has records. So it was fun and we were able to make a good us of our time even though we were chillin at a BBQ. The ribs and wings were pretty good too :) That night we stopped by the Oak Grove Elder's pad to talk with them a bit before we had to go to bed and Elder LeCates got a call, and was called as the new District Leader and then later I got a call and was dropped as the District Leader. I was told that I got dropped because the area that we are in needs extra work and attention because it is struggling and it has been that way for a long time. Also our branch needs our extra attention because they are struggling with strong unity and there are some dissensions within the branch. So, I got dropped so that I can put my full focus on our area and on the branch. It is bitter sweet, I don't get to go on exchanges with the ZL's anymore and it was forcing me to get out of my comfort zone and become better. But at the same time it is a big relief not having to do all the responsibilities of a District Leader.
Thursday was transfer day, we didn't have to go to the church cause we weren't being transferred and Elder Bryson didn't have to be there til noon so they came over during our studies and talked to us for a bit and then we went to IHOP for lunch as one last hoorah for Elder Bryson. Later we went to the Library to make a flyer type thing for General Conference to give to our investigators and people we meet so that they know about it, where to watch and such things. After spending some time making it, we needed to leave to an appointment and as I was about to save it, the program crashed and it was gone. I was very frustrated and we were not able to spend any more time to redo it so that idea got flushed down the drain which was disappointing to me because I was excited for it. Then our appointment fell through and I wasn't in the best mood. We decided to go visit some members that our phones said lived near us. We don't know any of the members that live around our area because they are in different wards that we will work with if we have English investigators come to church. So we wanted to get to know them. None of them were home and a few didn't live there anymore. Kind of a bum afternoon. We then drove to Sumrall for dinner with the Valenzuelas in our Branch. Afterward we watched a video of Thomas S. Monson with them. We had to leave early though because the sisters texted us asking us to go give a guy in the ER a blessing. We quickly left them with a prayer and drove all the way to the hospital in Hattiesburg. we walked through the maze of a hospital it was and got to his room. It was a teenage boy who had got in a head on collision. It was a bad crash but he made it out with only a broken ankle as well as many bad bruises and scrapes and cuts and he said his organs hurt from the seat-belt and the sudden stop. We gave him a blessing and he and his family were very appreciative.
Friday we did our studies and then we went to do some of our weekly planning in the library as we had some things we needed to do on the computers as well. Well, we got to the library at USM and it was closed for Easter, even though it wasn't gonna be closed for Saturday or Easter Sunday. We then decided to go to the Oak Grove Public Library and online it said it was open and the other Elders said they drove by and it was open. When we got there, it was closed. This was frustrating as we had wasted a lot of time and miles due to really bad traffic. We then went to the church, which was nearby, and did our weekly planning there. That evening we tried to contact former investigators but none were home and the day turned out to be a bit of a bust besides our weekly planning and studies.
Saturday was a pretty great day. We texted all of our investigators and potential investigators who we had received numbers from and gave them all the information about conference, because our flyer idea didn't work. It was a reminder to many of them who we had told about it before. We watched conference at the church because we invited many to join us, plus if we went to a members home, we would not understand much of it due to being in Spanish. We got there and we were the only ones at the church, but the broad cast was set up as we were told it would be. We expected to see more people there watching. Then right before it started the other Elders arrived so it was just us 4 for conference. Then between sessions we went to some appointments and a lady dropped us which wasn't cool and then we all 4 met at Panda Express and got lunch. We all 4 watched the 2nd session and then we went to more appointments but no one was there. Then we all 4 attended priesthood session at the church and this time there were other people  there.
Sunday was another great day of conference. There were some other missionaries from our zone at the church with some investigators for the Sunday morning session and then we stayed in between and prepared the church for a tour we were going to give after the last session. Some sister missionaries in our zone also stayed and so we talked with them a bit and then got to know their investigator that came for the 2nd session of Sunday. He was a pretty cool guy who is our age. Us and another older gentlemen or two were the only 7 or so in the building. It was a wonderful conference weekend with some wonderful counsel! And a wonderful Easter Sunday! I am so grateful for all the wonderful examples of Jesus Christ that we have as our Prophet and Apostles. How exciting it is to be a part of the Lord's work at this time. I am looking forward to this next week of this new transfer. Until next time!

Love,
Elder Acton

Elder Christensen during our weekly planning

Living life on the "edge"

When you are the only ones who

show up for General Conference

Us at General Conference

Week 30

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Dear Mom,

This week has been another good week but the work has still been slow. We have found several new people but we are still working on being able to actually meet with them.
Tuesday we found many people who were potential investigators and then that night we also met some members who live down the street from our apartment complex. They were a really cool old couple and it was great to get to know them.
Wednesday was District meeting and it was pretty good we started a little late so I had to shorten the lesson a bit but it still worked out well. I also, as the District Leader, had to do phone audits as a part of the meeting since our phones are still new and we are all still adjusting to them. I had to show them how to make sure their Facebook accounts were cleaned of anything that was not representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as we are representing the Savior. And show them how to do phone audits in their companionships to keep each other accountable. Later we were able to teach some Restoration lessons to a few people as well.
Thursday we had some early appointments and the actually kept them so we were able to teach them a Restoration lesson too. We also drove to Colombia and had lunch with a part member/less active couple at their restaurant. They told us to order steak this time so we both had really good rib-eye steak. That was the first time on my mission that I've had steak so that was pretty awesome! We also had dinner with our Branch Mission Leader that night at his in-law's lake house which was really nice.
Friday we had an appointment with one of our main investigators and he basically said he doesn't want to be baptized or come to church anymore but he still wants us to teach him cuz he likes to learn. That was kinda hard because he was really progressing and being able to see the blessings from doing so. That night we had dinner with some members and they are the ones that speak Mixteco. They fed us some real good picadas.
Saturday we did some service helping out with an event that one of our investigators was in charge of. We did a good amount of tracting but were only able to talk to a few people. That night some members who recently moved up here from New Orleans but are from Columbia, the country, they took us to Cicis Pizza cuz neither them nor us had been there before and it was pretty good.
Then Sunday we attended the branch and then we tried a bunch of people and then had dinner with some members in Sumrall.
Monday we went to Colombia for lunch with the same couple that took us to Cicis. They fed us chicken spaghetti and then had a fruit drink that was pretty good. That fruit you can only find in Columbia. Later that day we talked for a long time with a bunch of people outside at some apartments and they were real cool to talk to. They love talking to us and said that everyone in the whole neighborhood has been talking about us and told us that we must be doing something good cuz we've got everyone talking about us and stuff-lol. We have recently tracted a good portion of these apartments. Tonight, in fact, we will be going to a BBQ with all of those people we were talking to. They invited us to come and eat with them and talk about the Church. I love being in that area. That night we also were able to have a good lesson with a couple who are our investigators and we haven't been able to see in a while.
Tuesday was District Meeting since this week is transfers and President Olson showed up to my district meeting and my heart was racing the whole time. It was great to have him there though and have his input as well. We tried to visit a bunch of people and go to appointments but honestly not much happened. We did have 2 lessons that we were able to teach though so that was good.
Today is P-day for the week and it has been good so far. I am not getting transferred and both Elder Christensen and I are staying here for another one. Well, that was about it. Until next week!


Love,
Elder Acton

The Lake House we went to for dinner 

Random pic of a mailbox that is

broken and open but still used for mail-Lol!

A bag of water with 2 pennies in it that hangs

in front of their door (it is always there)-interesting

Jello that we made cuz we don't want to

spend the last bit of our $$ for the month

and we don't have much food, but we have jello. So, 

we thought we'd make all of it :)

Our District at our last district meeting before the transfer