Week 11 in Marskville: The teachers who taught me WERE cool!

 Prescript: Anyone who can name the Beatles song I'm riffing on with the subject line gets a free shoutout in next week's email!


Bonjour amis et familles!

This was the last week of the transfer! Thus the Tuesday email! And that means Elder Mills is out as of tomorrow! And I'm staying here in Marksville! And I'm getting a new companion! Another sentence with an exclamation point!

MISSIONARY MOMENTS OF THE WEEK

We had another lesson with Carl this week. He told us that he knows the Book of Mormon is real and true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God! But - he won't do anything about it! It's honestly kind of frustrating that he won't commit to baptism. But we've been sending him a chapter of the Book of Mormon to read - since he has been reading it - every day this past week so we'll see how it goes.

We've been doing a lot of fellowshipping with the Methodist church in town since one of the people the other set of Elders were teaching goes there. Yesterday we had a 'Men's Breakfast' there where it was us 4 and then 9 guys that were all definitely 60 and older. They were really fun to talk to. Old people are the best.

Also - young people are also the best (Jury's still out on people 18-59). On Sunday, a part-member family in the branch (the mom is a member, the kids aren't) who we've been trying to get in touch with since I've been here finally pulled through for us - sort of. We weren't able to teach the mom but we were able to teach the kids (and their neighborhood friends) about the Articles of Faith and a little more about who God is and how He loves us. It went really well.

FUNNY QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Elder Groom: "Can I eat these too?"
Elder Kephart: "No, those aren't skittles."

Context: Elder Kephart had a medicine vial filled with Skittles that he'd shared earlier in the day. So when Elder Groom saw his actual prescription medicine on the bathroom counter, he probably thought they were communal and edible as well.

SCRIPTURE/SPIRITUAL THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

D&C 58:27-28:
"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; 
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."

If there's any lesson I'm taking to heart more from having Elder Mills as my trainer, it comes from this scripture. I don't like to admit it sometimes, but in a lot of aspects of my life, I've been perfectly fine with someone telling me what to do and how to do it to a tee. I've been less fine with taking my own initiative, or being 'anxiously engaged.' One thing I'm still learning is that I do have 'power' to act for myself, and to make choices on my own accord. 
The verse before this passage uses the phrase 'it is not meet that I should command you in all things,' and that's something Elder Mills has really drilled into me. In order to really fulfill my purpose, I need to open my mouth, I need to preach the Lord's gospel, and I need to make those decisions as to how I'm going to do that. If I do, I will receive a great 'reward,' regardless of how many people end up listening. 
I'm going to miss Elder Mills. He was a cool teacher and trainer. Hence the subject line this week. I'll do my best to apply what he taught me as I move the work in this area forward. 

Je vous aime tous,
Elder May

PICTURES
1. Something I didn't mention in the bulk of the email - I went on exchanges this past week! So here's Elders Baxter, Groom, May, and Lasson (L->R) at Cane's with our chicken. 
2, 3. From service we did yesterday. That is a lot of yard debris, and not even the half of it.
4. Photo credit my dad. This obvi isn't from my adventures this week but it's too funny to not share with more people. Snake doing research on his species. I mean, come on.






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