May 26, 2015

"Happy Memorial Day"

Hey Y'all!!

This week was awesome! Holy cow! We had a freaking marriage this week! It was pretty awesome! So we had previously wanted to do a pot luck and a big chapel wedding, however, there wasn't enough time to plan and prepare. Plus it was Memorial day weekend and people were headed out of town. But it ended up going good because our Bishop interviewed them and they said that they would be happy with a low key wedding in the Bishops office. So we ended up doing that and had a couple people show up that we have had come over to help us teach. It was really small but they seemed really happy. So after the wedding, Kevin got interviewed to be baptized by our District Leader. And from what our DL said, he passes with flying colors! He is now living all the commandments and is ready to be baptized! Man, we are just so excited for him and their family! We were also able to stop by yesterday and we were able to set up his baptism program. He asked me to baptize him and Elder Jacobson to give him the Gift of the Holy Ghost! We are really excited to help him make his covenants with God! He will be baptized this Saturday evening and confirmed on Sunday!!

We have also been working with his now step daughters Cierra and Erica. They are doing great and love learning from us! We have one more lesson to teach them and then they will be ready to be baptized. They are still going to be baptized on June 6th. So the following weekend. Transfers are June 10th, so yes both me and Elder Jacobson will for sure be there. I can't remember who asked that question. Sorry! Haha!

We were also able to get a new investigator this weekend named Jason. He is a younger guy and has been taught by missionaries before in the past and has a lot of questions! We were able to answer a few of them while teaching the Plan of Salvation, but I think that it may have brought up even more questions for him. Which  is fine because asking questions is a way that we learn in the Gospel. But he doesn't have a good religious background because he wasn't brought up in a church. So a lot of the things that we teach him will be new to him, but he has a good heart and he is willing to learn. Which is a really good thing.

We were also able to see one of the less actives we are working with. His name is Jason, he is the one with the social anxiety. We were able to share a Mormon Message with him called Lifting Burdens. He loved it! He said that he felt a peace when he watched the video and that he really needed that. He is trying to quit smoking and also be able to attend all 3 hours of church by the end of June. He knows that he can do it, it all starts with doing the little things though. He has been reading the Book of Mormon with a member for the past couple weeks and they have texted back and for to each other about what they read and learned. It's pretty cool to see that kind of fellowship happening. If only that happened with every less active member. But he is doing great! He came to church on Sunday also!

Yesterday for Memorial day we went Thrift shopping and also had a extra long P Day activity at the church. We played volleyball, basketball, and scatter ball. It was really fun! That'll be the last extra long P day we have  on our mission. It was extra long because we didn't have to email. ;) Haha! Thanks for all y'alls emails and have a fantastic weeK!

Love,

Elder O'Brien

May 17, 2015

Hey Y'all!

So this week was pretty dang awesome! Kevin and Ragan are solid! This week we talked about the Temple with them and what happens there. He had a lot of questions about it and I'm glad he did. I would've have worried a little bit if he didn't just because of his religious background. But he loved it and is planning on going to the Temple after he is baptized! We are also teaching Ragan's daughters who are 10 and 8. We talked about the Plan of Salvation with them and they are really smart! Holy Cow! We tried to dumb it down a bit so that they would be able to understand what we were talking about, but they were dancing circles around the lesson. They are really excited about getting baptized. On Sunday, we had our monthly mission president fireside and they went and got to meet President Ames!  They really enjoyed it and also enjoyed the testimonies of others as well. This week is going to be really big for this family! On Thursday, Kevin will be finished with the missionary lessons and that will also be the day he is done with smoking and drinking. Friday Kevin and Ragan are going to be married so that they are living the commandments and then right after that, Kevin will be interviewed for baptism for the 30th. We are so excited for him! He is ready and super excited!

This week we were able to meet with an guy who has been meeting with missionaries for about 2 years. His name is Ken. He has almost been baptized 3 times within those 2 years but concerns keep popping up and he has kept turning down the opportunity. So we had met with him the first week Elder Jacobson was here and we read out of the book of Ether. He really enjoys history and he really liked the Jaredites and how they came to be. So this week we read out of 2 Nephi 2 and talked about Adam and Eve and how they tie into the Plan of Salvation. He loved it! He stopped reading a few times during it and you could just see that there was light bulbs turning on in his head. He is pretty awesome and we have hopefully sparked that interest again. We invited him to be baptized at the end of the lesson and we didn't set a date, but he said that he would consider being baptized in July. So we are excited to start helping him out.

We were also able to get in contact with a Less Active member this week who was baptized a couple years ago. He has social anxiety and has had a really hard time coming to church for the past couple months. He is a single guy and there is another single guy in the ward that comes out with us every week and we went over and they were talking as if they had been friends for years! It was pretty awesome to see that connection. But we talked with him and we set up a plan to have him done smoking and Temple worthy by the end of June. He agreed that that's what he needed to do. So him and the member decided to read every day and text back and forth what they read and what they got out of it. He also came to church on Sunday and he seemed really happy to be there. So we are excited to start working with him. 

And lastly, we were able to do some more service this week! No we weren't moving 2 1100 pound rocks, but we were helping the same family organize their garage and help clean it out. It looked tons better when we were done organizing it! They even took us out to Logan's and bought us dinner! Which was super good! I had some really good chicken there! They are an awesome family! I also bought me some cowboy boots on Monday and they look really nice! I'm pretty excited about that! Hope yall have a great week and thanks for the emails!

Love,

Elder O'Brien

May 11, 2015

"Happy Mothers Day!"

Hey Y'all!

So we were able to have another great week! Kevin and Ragan are doing awesome! This week we were able to start teaching Ragans daughters who are 10 and 8. They are going to be baptized on June 6th together. Which should be really awesome! I'm really excited for them! Those 2 girls though are extremely smart! They knew almost everything we were teaching them and they understood everything as well. They are excited to be baptized as well! We were also able to teach Kevin a couple times this week as well and he is doing great! He is no longer drinking beer and is now focusing on quitting smoking! He really has come a long way from where he was at. We were also able to talk to them about getting married. They now have their marriage license and are planning on getting married the 23rd of this month. We are planning on having the wedding at the chapel and having the ward come support them and have a little pot luck with them afterwards. They thought that was a great idea and are all for it. This week we will be teaching Kevin about the Temple and how his baptism will help him start to prepare him to go to the Temple. We are also going to be teaching Ragans daughters a couple times this week so that they can be ready for the 6th. 

We were also able to come in contact with a couple new part member families in the ward. They seem really awesome and have some great potential. One of these families is getting ready to build a shed and Elder Jacobson was in construction before his mission and knows how to build it. So we will be able to spend some good quality time with them. The other family is less active and struggle to get to church. However, the wife isn't a member and she really enjoys church. She has some member friends and hangs out with them quite often. There is for sure a lot of potential there and we are excited to try to get to know them better. 

Other than that, we've had some freaking awesome storms down here! No tornadoes in the area yet, but we have had some watches though. The lightning down here is pretty epic to watch though. We've had a good time watching it at night right before we go to bed. But that's about it to report on. Love y'all and ahve a great week!

Love,

Elder O'Brien

May 4, 2015

"We Got A Date!"

Hey Y'all!!

Man we had a great first week of the transfer. So Elder Jacobson, super cool guy! I had no reason to worry about him because he is awesome! He's from Roy, Utah and has been out for 6 months. We graduated the same year and we are pretty similar, except that I like sports and he doesn't. But other than that, we are pretty similar. 

So this week we were able to meet with Kevin and Ragan as usual. Things are really going great with them! We were able to finish teaching the Plan of Salvation and we helped them set up a plan to be done with smoking and drinking. He really wants to quit and he is excited to quit as well. The next lesson we had was freaking awesome! On Saturday we go over and he made us some steaks for dinner. The only word to describe the taste was 'WOW'. It was amazing! He loves to grill and has been doing it for a long time! I freaking love how everyone in Texas can cook! :) So we had a really great dinner and we talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. We got to the point where we were talking about baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost and we talked about it for a good while. After we talked about that we asked him if we was ready to be baptized and he said yes. So set a date for the 30th and he was so excited about it! I've never seen anyone so excited to learn about the Gospel. I might have said that last week, but it's so true! This week he is going to our Mission Presidents fireside and I know that he will love it! We are going to start teaching their daughter this week and it would be really cool if he can receive the Priesthood and baptize her, well I guess soon to be step daughter. That was an idea that we had and we are going to be talking about it to them this week. We are also going to be teaching the Law of Chastity and commit them to live it. I know they're ready to live the commandments and hopefully all goes well. 

This week we were also able to go over to a part-members house and do some service. The members daughter is not a member and she has been asking questions about the church lately. So we went over and hung up pictures and helped around their apartment. We ended up having some really good conversations with her just about like comforting things in the scriptures and such. She has been going through a divorce and is just looking for something good. We didn't teach anything or push anything on her, but we were able to gain her trust and hopefully one day be able to share the message of the Restoration with her.  But it was a really good experience. 

So we are still trying to contact referrals! It seems like every time we contact 2, we get a few more. A lot of the referrals that we are getting are requesting things, but haven't lead to anything to solid yet. Me and Jacobson are really excited for this area though. We have quite a bit of service set up for this week and we are hopefully not going to be moving 1100 pound rocks at this one members house. haha! Even though, it wasn't as bad as it sounds. I'm pretty excited to call home! I'll be calling sometime on Mothers day between 9 am and 9 pm. So just be by the phone ready to pick it up...That's totally fine right? Haha! It'll probably be closer to between 2 and 5. Sunday should be a crazy day for us. Love Y'all and thanks for the emails! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder O'Brien

p.s. Look I sent the email this week. haha!