Week 41

Monday June 11, 2018

Dear Mom,

This week was a fun week but kind of a weird one.

Monday, we had the Petal Elders with us for most of the day and then that night we had dinner with the Valenzuelas.
Tuesday, was a bit of a crazy day. We went to do service at 7 in the morning but there was a big thunder and lightning storm that was rolling in and the lady we were going to do service for didn't want us to be in danger so we came back home. Then we had a morning lesson that we went to but it fell through. We then had Brother Tanner Sperry meet us at our apartment and we drove up to Laurel for an appointment with someone up there. We were hesitant to go because the number we had to call him for confirmation and to get his address, didn't work. We decided to go anyway and see if someone at the Guatemalan store he works at knew where he lived. When we got there we realized that it was closed. So we were about out of luck. The only thing we knew was which street he lived on. We had been on that street many times before and had tried some people there before. So we decided to go to the end in which it seemed he had pointed, which was about 2 to 3 blocks. We drove down it looking at houses seeing what looked like it might be his house. we passed a  few potential houses and then decided to knock a random one near the end that I pointed out. We knocked it and as we knocked it, Elder Christensen looked over from a "really awkward position that he was in and facing a strange direction for knocking on a door" and Nelson (who our appointment was with) was standing on his doorstep exactly across the street waving at us to come over. We went over and talked with him for a bit. He then said he wanted to get lunch with us so he got ready and then we all got in Tanner's car and drove to a Mexican restaurant and he paid for us. Afterward, we went to a park and had a good lesson with him on the Restoration. Then we took him home and then came back to Hattiesburg and had a lesson with one of our investigators there. We then did some studying and tried some other people. Then we had brother Cardenas come out with us for splits. Elder Christensen and Tanner went together to visit some people and go to an English appointment and I went with Josh Cardenas to some Spanish appointments. We had some awesome lessons with our investigators and it was awesome to have him with me. It was a crazy but good day.
Wednesday we didn't have district meeting because of Zone Conference later that week. In the afternoon we drove up to Columbia and we did exchanges. I brought Elder Lakey back with me and we went and visited some people.
Thursday, the Bishop of the Hattiesburg Ward asked us to go say prayers at a funeral so Elder Lakey and I did that in the morning. there were only about 4 members at the funeral. We then got some lunch at Taco Bell and then we visited some people. We had a really good lesson with one of our investigators and gave her a blessing. We also set one of our investigators with a baptismal date. Then Tanner came with us to a dinner appointment with the Gracias. After dinner we tried to visit a bunch of people. We then came home and Elder Christensen and Elder Bryson came down from Columbia so the Columbia Elders could spend the night for Zone Conference the next morning.
Friday was Zone Conference and we all got in the vans and they took us up to the Mission Home in Jackson. It was cool to have our last Zone Conference in the Mission Home with President and Sister Olson. They had a guy cater for lunch and it was really good food. Mashed taters and creamed corn with some roast, rolls, and salad. We took pictures, as that was the last time that we would ever be in the Mission Home because it will be sold when the mission changes. After conference, we rode home and before the Columbia Elders went home, we played some tennis. It was a real good day.
Saturday we had some lessons in the morning and then we had lunch. We did some studies and then we had Branch correlation with Brother Gracia. We then had a really good lesson with one of our investigators. Then we came home and did our weekly planning. We had some other lessons that evening as well.
Sunday we were going to have a lot of investigators in church but they all cancelled which was sad. We went to the Hattiesburg Ward Sacrament Meeting and then we went to Branch Counsel and then had Branch. In Sacrament, President Olson spoke and he had us come on up to the pulpit and recite our purpose (in Spanish, of course) and then talk about what it meant to each of us. Then after church we had interviews with President Olson and it was weird because it was our last interview with him. It was almost like a final interview but with another year to go still, haha. Sad to say bye to him but it will be exciting to get to know a new Mission President.
Today was fun, we played  basketball and we had a youth join us which was a lot of fun. then the Sisters came and we played some volleyball. Then we all went to Chik-Fil-A and got lunch.
Until next week!!

Love,
Elder Acton

Pics with our investigator, Nelson

 Pic with my Mission President, President Olson

Zone Conference inside the Mission Home

Mission Boundar Map 

Pic with Elder Topham

Me and my comp, Elder Christensen

Me and Elder Wiscombe

Me and Elder Worlton

In the van on the way to Zone Conference

Playing Tennis with the Columbia Elders

Week 40

Monday, June 4, 2018

Dear Mom,

I feel like not as much happened this week but it has still been a good week.

Tuesday, was P-day and that night we had dinner with the Cardenas family.

Wednesday, we had District Meeting again and it was a harder topic to prepare but it still ended up being a good District Meeting, but if felt kind of routine. we had dinner with the Zelayas at their restaurant in Columbia and had some really good chicken burgers and fries and then some really good apple pie. That evening we had no luck with being able to teach anybody. We then went and played volleyball at the church with the ZLs and the YSA. We are trying to get an investigator to come but have not been able to get them there.
Thursday, we played tennis again in the morning and it is pretty hot and really humid even in the morning sometimes. It was fun to play tennis in the morning again. Throughout the day we didn't have much success. We were able to have a lesson in the afternoon with an investigator from the Dominican Republic. Then we had dinner with President Cardenas in our branch and he took us to a Chinese Buffet and it was pretty good. I tried sushi and craw fish for the first time. They said that that was not the place to try those things for the first time but they both weren't too bad and I would eat them again but I bet other places are better.
Friday, was a pretty good day. We had our studies and did our weekly planning and then we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators and it was the most spiritual lesson we have ever had with her. I came away from that lesson feeling on top of the world, it was awesome! Then we went to Laurel and had dinner with the Garcia family. We then went to a Guatemalan store there and checked up on some of the people we had met there before who were interested in the Gospel. We set some appointments to meet with them as well. Then we came back home and tried to visit a few people and then had a good lesson with an investigator. We then went to Tanner Sperry's house or rather his Aunt Kim Abel's house and watched the "Be One" broadcast by the church and I loved it! It was so good!!!
Saturday, we tried to visit a ton of people but had little success. We were able to meet an awesome lady in Purvis. Her mom was a former investigator and had talked to missionaries a bit before her own self. They are from Vancouver, WA which was super cool and we talked about that for quite a while. We had to let the Sisters teach her though because she wasn't in our area. This week we have found probably about 6 awesome people that have been for other missionaries to teach, haha. Then we went to dinner at a member's house in Purvis with the Zone Leaders for a 4 year old's birthday party. It was a super, super humid day and pretty hot so you sweat really easily. The kids wanted to play outside and so I spent a good 45 minutes running around with them outside playing tag and stuff. Tanner came out for a bit too. I was drenched after that but it was fun. Then we had a brief lesson with an investigator that night.
Sunday, no one was able to come to church, which was pretty sad but it was still a good Sunday. We went to some sketchy rundown apartments where a bunch of potential investigators lived and tried to visit them all and we were able to share a good Restoration lesson with one of them. Then we came home, ate some dinner and then we tuned in to watch the youth devotional and it was awesome! I love our Prophet, he is so great!
This morning we played basketball again and it was fun and really good but it was a little crazy this time and I got double punched in the face at a point and it gave me a pretty good bloody lip and offset my nose and so I cracked it twice to get it back in place and I have to say. . .that hurt pretty bad, haha. It wasn't really bad but just offset the cartilage and wasn't the best feeling thing. It was pretty crazy ball session though. Well, it was a good week, but I'm hoping this week is a bit better. Until next week!

Love,
Elder Acton

Our pet frog, he keeps showing up

at our front door.

A turtle that we saw on the road.

We actually see a lot of turtles on the road

as well as armadillos

I love beautiful sunsets

Elder Christensen and I at the tennis courts, again.

Another cool sunset

District Meeting

Week 39

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Dear Mom,

I hit 9 months today!!! I can't believe that I have been out on my mission for that long already! I feel that I was home not too long ago but at the same time I feel that a year's worth of stuff has occurred in that time.

Monday, we had a normal P-day and that night we had dinner with the Valenzuela family.

Tuesday, we met briefly with an investigator of ours in the morning and then we went tot he ZL's pad(apartment) at 12:00 for exchanges. I was with Elder Worlton and we were able to visit a few of the people we attempted that day. We visited a less-active member and shared a really cool video with her about a stone cutter who worked on the Salt Lake temple. Later, we were also able to visit one of their investigators. She and her family were awesome. We had a really good lesson with her and she felt the spirit strongly to the point of tears, which she said she never shows emotions like that in front of people. As we were leaving, it started to rain really hard and we got soaked from the house to the car...a big lightning and thunder storm hit so instead of tracting, since we didn't have any kind of rain gear, we tried to visit multiple other investigators and less-actives. Afterwards, we drove to a member's house in my area because we had a dinner with them that night. His wife wasn't able to be there and the investigator we had invited wasn't able to come so he took us to the restaurant that the investigator works at. The storm continued all evening and we couldn't see very far in front of us because it was raining so hard and also causing so much mist.
Wednesday, we left the ZL's pad early so that I could get back and finish up the last bit of District Meeting planning I needed to do. Then we had District Meeting and the ZL's attended this one. The lesson went well and then afterward I handed it over to the Sisters for our practice because I had asked them in advance to do that part of District Meeting. My favorite part of planning District Meeting is getting to choose the songs in advance to best teach the topic and invite the spirit because music is one of the best ways to invite the spirit. We then brought Brother Tanner Sperry with us and went to visit some of our investigators. We had a really good lesson with one of our investigators who has a goal to be baptized on a specific date. Everyone else was busy, and one of our investigators told us they would be busy with family and work for May, June, and July and wouldn't be able to meet with us at all, or in other words doesn't want us coming back. . .Then that night we went to the Youth Volleyball Activity that they invited all the missionaries to and we played some fun games of volleyball. We had some investigators who were going to come but didn't make it.
Thursday, we visited some places in Hattiesburg that we might be able to do service at but had no luck. We had a lesson with someone we met just recently and they speak Spanish form the Dominican Republic which is harder to understand because they pronounce things differently but they're really cool. Then we went to Sumrall and had dinner with the Cardenas family and we had pesole which was really good. Afterward, we had a lesson with one of our investigators.
Friday, we tried to visit one of our investigators in the morning but for the 3rd time this week it happened to just be really bad timing which is frustrating. We hope to actually be able to visit her next week. We did our weekly planning and then we had Brother Sperry with us as usual and we had another lesson with our investigator Earline(pronounced Erlyn) and she is doing well. Then we went to Laurel and had dinner with the Garcia family. She made us empanadas that were really good. Then we came back and visited an investigator that we haven't been able to see in like a month, which was really good.
Saturday, we were going to be able to attend the Birmingham Alabama Temple with our Branch but they were going to get back at 9:00pm and we would have to be back by 6:00pm. Sadly, we were not able to go, but that was okay, we were able to go to a baptism that morning. So cool story; We were in Walmart and I walked down an isle to get something while Elder Christensen waited at the end because of congestion. Anyway while in the isle a worker turned and said "hello" to me and I said "hi" back and asked how his day was and stuff. He asked how my preparation day was going. I answered him and then asked how he knew it was our preparation day and if he was a member. He said "no", but I'm a Wanna-Be-Member!!! I wasn't for sure if I heard that correctly and so I found out more about him, why he wants to be a member and why he isn't. Turns out he was being taught by missionaries a while ago but didn't go to church or get baptized partly because the ward he would be going to was full of old people and he is 23. I basically told him there are other options and younger wards and asked him if he would like us to come and start teaching him again. He said "of course" (he had such an excited and strong desire!). I got his info and told him I would send him the info he needed. Turned out he wasn't in our area, and then since he would be going to the Young Single Adults Branch, it was the YSA Sister's area, so we handed him over to them. Long story short (shorter) a little over a week later the YSA Sisters got transferred out and the Zone Leaders now cover the YSA. After another week or so went by, I thought I should check up with him and see how he was doing. He told me how he had attended institute, church, and was going to be baptized that Saturday! So, the baptism that we were able to attend was his!! It was Awesome! We were not the ones to baptize him but nonetheless he was baptized and we have become good friends. It was a pretty cool experience and he is on fire and ready to continue to progress. I love seeing the work of the Lord being carried out in the lives of those around me. Later that day the Oak Grove Elders invited the ZL's and us to help with some service. We all went down to Purvis and helped some people move a lot of stuff out of their mother's house. It was great to be able to help them. It took about 4 hours or so. The guys that we were with were super cool and a lot of fun to work with. That night we had a lesson with one of our investigators and their kids.
Sunday, we had one of our investigators come to church in the Hattiesburg ward for her second time and she really enjoyed it. Then we went to the Branch and it was a really good Sunday with some really good talks and the spirit was extra strong. Then we tried to visit multiple people but had no luck. We then had dinner at our pad and did some studies.
Monday, we went down to Purvis and tracted some apartments where a lot of Hispanics live to see if we could find more Spanish investigators to help strengthen the Branch. We then had dinner and then tried some people and then had a lesson with some investigators. Also, in  honor of Memorial Day we listened to the National Anthem since there was not really anything else we could do, lol.
Tuesday, this morning, we played some basketball and had some pretty intense games and then we came home and did some cleaning. So far it has been a pretty good day and it was also a great week! Until next week!

Love,
Elder Acton

Week 38

Monday May 21, 2018

So this last week was pretty good with an exchange and also a Mission Conference, which was really good and I enjoyed it a lot.
Tuesday was a decent day. We had our normal studies in the morning and I did some District Meeting planning. Tanner Sperry came out with us and we were able to see a few people and we did some tracting and found a new investigator which was cool. That evening we all three met the Cardenas Family of the Branch at a place called Papitos Grill and we had dinner with them. It was some pretty good food. Elder Christensen and I got a fajitas plate for 2 cuz it would be cheaper than if we both got one but it ended up being huge!!! It was a really good pineapple and shrimp, mushroom, chicken and steak mix. We took some of it home and got a second meal out of it which was sweet.
Wednesday, in the morning we went to the track next to Tatum Park and we both did some warm up laps, stretching and then ran a mile and some other running exercises and it was nice to do that again. We had District Meeting and it went well. It was a bit easier than last time I was DL but still a bit nerve racking to prepare. Nonetheless it was a good district meeting and the lesson and practice both went well. Afterward Tanner came with us and we drove to Petal and visited some people over there. We were able to visit with a really nice less active lady and get to know her. She was really sick and the doctors didn't know what was wrong but she thought it might be pneumonia. We asked if she wanted a blessing and so we gave her one. This was probably about the 6th blessing I've given and I felt the spirit was much stronger this time and it made me happy that we were able to be there for her and give her a blessing and see how much she appreciated it. Then we had dinner with some members in the branch and it was fun to be there with their kids and have fun with them. After dinner we tried some former investigators who lived nearby and they let us in and they have said they would like us to teach them more.
Thursday was pretty good. We were able to meet with two of our investigators who have a baptismal date and have good lessons with them. I love seeing the light that appears in their eyes as we teach them about the wonderful plan that our merciful Heavenly Father has for us.
Friday was Mission Conference so we woke up at 5 so that we could get on the vans and be up in Clinton Mississippi by 9:00 for a picture and then Mission Conference. It was a wonderful conference where we heard a bit from President Olson, Sister Olson, two Stake Presidents, and Sister Robbins and then we heard from Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy. He shared with us a lot about the Book of Mormon and how much power it has. He talked about how it has helped many people quit addictions and overcome depression. They key is to READ and STUDY the Book of Mormon DAILY and internalize the things taught within its pages. He also then had us all talk about our President and his wife and what we loved about them and then he had us do a Question and Answer session for a good 40 minutes which was really awesome and really helped us in knowing how to go about certain situations we run into while preaching the Word to All. Then we grabbed a sack lunch and got back on the vans and came back home. As soon as we got home, we packed and left to Columbia to do exchanges with the Columbia Elders since I am the District Leader. We double worked their area, or we all four did missionary work in their area to help them because they are "whitewashing" it or in other words starting fresh. Elder Bryson and I, after some appointments fell through and tracting and before we went back home, went down the train tracks to a train wreck that someone told us about. It was fun to walk a good couple miles down the tracks in the middle of no where and check out this wreck.
Saturday, we did some service for some people that a member in the Columbia ward knew. We helped them clean out their house cuz flooring needed to be redone. We spent about 3 hours doing this and it was really dusty and stuff. We found a dead mouse, a bunch of dead crickets, a bunch of dead roaches and it was pretty dirty. They fed us lunch afterward which was pretty good.
Sunday we just went to Sacrament meeting in the Hattiesburg Ward because we didn't have any investigators there but it was a really good Sacrament Meeting and I really enjoyed feeling the Spirit there. Then we went to the the Branch and we had one investigator come to church and he enjoyed it. That evening we went and had dinner with the Valenzuelas.
Today we played some pretty good ball. I love playing basketball here with other Elders and it is helping me become better.
It was a good week and I hope this one is good as well. Until next week!

Love,
Elder Acton

A door mat that we saw while tracting

Eating food at a member's house

and playing with the little kids :)

Baby kittens that we saw 

on someone's doorstep

Elder Bryson and I checking out the

Train Wreck

Elder Lakey while we were doing service

and cleaning out someone's house

A lizard, they are EVERYWHERE

Eating at an investigator's house

Me and Tanner Sperry with some guys that we 

met and talked to last week.

Week 37

Monday, May 14th, 2018

Dear Mom,

This week has been a pretty good one that has brought forth a bit of a shock. So we were surprised to both stay in this area and then that night I was called to be District leader again. I feel the weight of being a leader already again, it's a little more nerve racking and stressful but at the same time I am excited for it because it forces me to become better.
Thursday was a good day. we were  able to visit with a few of our investigators and we had Brother Tanner Sperry with us. Besides some good lessons with investigators and Tanner with us, not much else happened.
Friday was kind of a long day. We had weekly planning to do, which took a long time and then we had to do some stuff with our area book and we didn't get out of the apartment until late. Tanner came and picked us up and we went and tracted a trailer park. We met some cool people and then we went and visited a lot of people. We met some real cool guys and talked with and taught them about the Restoration of the Church. It was fun.
Saturday was a bit different. We had a couple different people that we visited with in the morning and then we had lunch and then we did our studies. After that we went up to Laurel and we visited a bunch of people up there. We were able to talk to a fair amount of people and then we had dinner with a friend to the missionaries.
Sunday was a really good day. To start off, we had 2 investigators come to church in the Hattiesburg ward, the first English investigators we have had come to church in this area since we have been here. Both of them really enjoyed being there on Mother's Day weekend as they are mothers themselves. I was so happy to see that they were happy. Later that day ended great with being able to talk to my family and wish my Mom a Happy Mother's Day! It was wonderful to get to talk with you guys and see how you all are doing :) Anyway it has been a good week and I look forward to the next one.

Love,
Elder Acton

Week 36

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Dear Mom,

So this week has been pretty good. I feel like a lot happened but at the same time, there were days that like nothing happened at all. . .IT's just been a longer week because of transfers. Speaking of which, Elder Christensen and I are both staying!! Plot Twist!! Everyone thought one of us was leaving and as you may have seen, some people posted that one of us was gonna leave, so it was pretty funny to find out we are staying together!
Anyway, so last Monday was a good P-day. We played some good ball and went biking which was lots of fun!
Tuesday was an okay day, but not much happened. We had Brother Tanner Sperry out with us and we tried to see investigators and formers, and potentials, but no one answered or let us talk to them. It was kind of a lame day. We then went and had dinner with the Valenzuelas.
Wednesday was our district meeting which went well. we were able to have a lesson with one of our investigators and we read in the Book of Mormon and answered her questions. That night we had dinner with the Herringtons who are members of the Oak Grove ward and live right down the road from us. They made us a southern breakfast for dinner; pork chops, eggs, grits, pancakes, and orange juice.
Thursday we had exchanges and Elder Nally was with me in my area. In the morning I took him to the park and we played some tennis and that was a lot of fun. He said he had played tennis with one of his last comps as well. We were able to have some lessons with a few of our investigators. And it turned out to be a pretty good day. That evening we went to Buffalo Wild wings and ate dinner with the other Elders and switched back afterwards. Elder Christensen was gonna do the "Blazin Challenge" but then our waitress talked him into just trying it cuz "it was such a crazy challenge." He ate a few and it wasn't even that hot to him so maybe we will go back and he'll do the whole challenge.
Friday, we had apartment inspections and they were glad that we had kept things clean :) Then that afternoon, Tanner was with us and we weren't able to have lessons with our investigators as planned but we were able to visit with a less active and he offered to give a ride to church for one of our investigators which was exactly what we needed. He was super cool. Then Tanner took us back home and we got our stuff packed and went up to Laurel to eat dinner with some members and less actives and then we went to the Laurel Elders' and spent the night there so that we wouldn't have to waste our miles and come back up the next day.
Saturday, the Laurel Elders made us all pancakes for breakfast. We then left around noon and had lunch with some members. Both for dinner the night before and for lunch we had Chanclas, which are like really good, but super fattening quesadillas. That afternoon we visited many people, some talked to us and many didn't or weren't home. then that evening we had dinner with the Laurel Elders at their apartment. Then we came back home.
Sunday, we went to the Hattiesburg ward again but our investigators were sick and we had to cancel the ride for them adn the others had to babysit, so we attended sacrament meeting and then came home and did our studies. Then we went to the Spanish Branch and at first it looked like we had no investigators there either but then the Spanish family we are teaching came, just a bit late. We finally have a Gospel Principles Class and this Sunday was the second time we have had it. It was really nice for our investigators because the topics were things that they could apply to their lives now.
Monday was not our P-day as usual and we were expecting it to be really busy but then several of our appointments cancelled. We went to Colombia and visited with the most recent convert of our branch and we had lunch with him and got to know him better. We talked to him about the temple and preparing for the temple trip in 3 weeks that he will be going to. He is an awesome guy and he wants to play soccer with us, we just have to coordinate a day to do so!
Tuesday was our district meeting for this week and it was another good one. It was also Sister Sorensen's last one!! She goes home tomorrow! So we heard her final testimony and said bye to her, it's always cool to hear the final testimony of missionaries who have served their mission and have had so many experiences. Oh, that reminds me, Monday night we had a Spanish Missionary mission wide conference call and since we weren't able to have a Spanish Mission Conference like was planned, we had a call for Elder Hubert to give his final testimony to all of us Spanish Missionaries. It's weird to think that my mission dad is already going home! It was a good conference call. Today has been fun, we found out that we are staying and Elder LeCates is leaving, all of which was unexpected. We had some fun playing basketball this morning and then we also did some more biking, which I love!!!! Oh, also we went to this place called Red Bluff. It is nicknamed the Grand Canyon of Mississippi and it is the closest thing I can get to hiking a mountain around here. We went and explored it and hiked down into it and then followed the stream bed that went on for about a mile or more to a river. It was tons of fun!!! Anyway it has been a good week and I am excited to stay in the area for another transfer, or more. Until next week!

I love you to pieces Mom!! Hope this week is a good one!! Can't wait to see you on Sunday!

Love,
Elder Acton

Pics from Red Bluff

Boiled peanuts in a gas station;

a southern thing

Pic with some people from the Spanish Branch

A recent convert

Pic with the Laurel Elders at their apartment

District Meeting

Some members of the Spanish Branch

(They feed us really good food)