One of Those Days

I went on exchanges this week with Elder Craig (the new District leader) and I had a blast! Monday was the best Monday yet! We carved pumpkins, emailed and played Packi ball (free for all dodgeball mingled with ultimate frisbee)! That night went really well and the person that is being baptize is doing really well. Please pray for them as they commit to quit smoking. They are only down to the nicotine patches... that is great news!

Tuesday was one of those days. I hope that I only have those kind of days once in a blue moon. Nothing happened. We had like 5 set appointments (that is a record) and all of them fell through. First off we set the church up and everything for a church tour and our appointment kept pushing it back. We where there for 3 hours waiting and then she stopped responding to us. It was rough because we had another appointment that a member was gonna take us too and then his tire blew! It doesn't stop there. After dinner the other member who was going to take us out had a really bad day at work so he had to cancel. The advisory was wrecking havoc over here in Paducah because the sisters here also had very bad day! I learned a lot though from Elder Craig through all of this. He shared a talk with me by Brad Wilcox that has totally changed my view on the atonement. I have been discussing with my mom how we can use the atonement more in our lives and I would urge all to read it. The talk is, "His Grace is Sufficient" from the 2013 September Ensign. Funny enough the next day I was assigned to speak in Sacrament meeting on baptism. I used this talk and experience in my talk on Sunday.

That talk was the first time that I used bulletin points and it actually went really well. The Spirit helped me so much in the talk that I scarcely remember what I said. Also, I felt like I took like 5 minutes but when I was done it was like 15-20! It is a wonderful thing being a missionary and I have seen so much growth already. I just want to know what it will be like in a year from now.

Some sad news also this week. Elder Tuckett, one of the guys from the MTC district, had to go home because of medical issues. He is such a cool guy and send extra prayers his way. He plans on returning in 6ish months and I so hope he does. He is like a brother in arms and I cried when I got the email he was leaving. He shared this scripture with us before he left it was Alma 17: 2 Man it was a good one.

We had the Fall Festival this weekend and I got to judge the chili. They were all so dang good! I have had chili the past 4 days but I am not complaining. My stomach is complaining though. We also got to play a little games especially this donut one and I so won! My companion totally cheated!

To leave on a positive note, I had Rocky Mountain oysters for the first time. Haha! Elder Ward (leaving this transfer) is a country guy from Utah up near Bear Lake and he got a ton of Rocky Mountain oysters for helping out a member and their cows. He tricked Elder Davis and the sisters into thinking it was chicken but I could tell something was up. He winked at me and from that point I knew it was not chicken. They taste like rubbery chicken. It was not that great of a taste but still I have to try everything before I can judge it!

That is it today folks! Have a Happy Halloween! Also, I have like a 50/50 chance getting transferred so if you send me something his week, send it to the mission office:  1646 Sunset Road Brentwood TN, 37027)

Elder Quiring

 

---Elder Davis:

Dear everyone,

Well, I guess I'll just start up by saying happy Halloween to everyone! It has been an adventure for me this week, full of sweets, chili, and of course Pumpkins! 

We started off the week with a district P-day! We had a ton of fun carving out pumpkins, and went and cooked all of the seeds for district meeting. :) I would have to say, it was one of the better ones I have done. You can actually tell it has an expression.

We had to leave P-day a little early so that I could drive up to Marion, Illinois so that I could go do an exchange with Elder Walters, one of my old scout camp buddies if you can believe that. We had a grand time rocking it in Illinois, working up a storm and then freezing our tags off that night at a service project because we can't use power tools like saws. Super fun! 

Man, we also ate a LOT of Chilli over the past few days. We ate it for lunch after a big service project at the Schneiders on Thursday, ate some more at the West's Halloween party on Friday, and then all four of us missionaries were chili cook off taste testers. So, let's just leave it at the fact that the tank was full and it sure wasn't diesel. I am all about chilied out for a while now. 

But enough about me, we have been having a lot of headway still with Ashley. I didn't know her to much before she started really taking the lessons for herself, but from what I hear Ashley has been changing so much as she has been applying the gospel to her life. It is so amazing to see someone change their life for the gospel's sake, and I am super stoked to see her baptized in the next few weeks. Keep her in your prayers, please!

My scripture for the week is Alma 26:27-28

27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world--not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.

I'm not going to lie and say that missionary work is all fun and games. There are times of fun and enjoyment, but there will always also be times of strenuous physical, mental, and emotional trials. Oftimes they can be hard to bear, and some may want to turn back to a home where these very trials, for the most part, would not exist. In this scripture, we find a similar scene where Ammon expresses that even they, the sons of Mosiah, had hard times among a people who were set on destroying them if they could. It was only possible to overcome these trials because they relied upon the mercies of God and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

I remember a time earlier on my mission when I had an extremely hard day with trying to teach people, and my heart was depressed. The lesson had completely backfired into a Bible bash, and my companion at the time said nothing through the whole thing. That night, as I sat down at my desk reflecting on it all and if I as even a good missionary or not, I remembered that I had received a letter earlier that from my dear sister who was still serving her mission. The letter had been written many months before, but as I read it I could feel the spirit enter into my heart at this very scripture was in it. It was exactly what I needed, and the Lord had prepared it to come in my time of need on the very day I would need it. We never know what mercies God is preparing for us to lean on in our trials, but the important thing to remember is that he IS preparing them. He loves you enough to do that for you. He loves you enough to send his Son to suffer all manner of afflictions, including the ones you may be having now, so that he could aid you along your path. I love this gospel, in all its simplicity and love. I know that God is our Heavenly Father, and that he does everything in our lives for our good.

Weekly challenge!

The talk for this week is, "Look to the Book, Look to the Lord" by Elder Gary E. Stevenson. It was given during the October 2016 General Conference.

Ponder questions:

How has the Book of Mormon made an impact on your life? 

How have you been able to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon? How has that drawn you closer to the Lord?

Who is someone that you see regularly that could use the message of the Book of Mormon in their lives? How are you going to help them find it?

Sorry this email was a big later, but President Stone had us get in our teaching this morning because of Halloween...But, that means I can email people up to about 9:00 tonight! I hope to hear from y'all soon!

 

Elder Davis 

 

 

I am the Coffee Man

Where to begin in this one? This might be a bit scattered brained but oh well.

The temperature is finally starting to cool down. I got to wear my sweater! Today it is pretty sunny but not to bad. We have started to get up every other day to go running. Well, I go running and Elder Davis walks. We run just a crossed the street from our apartments in a cemetery. It is pretty creepy because there are no lights and all these headstones are sticking up our of the ground. Plus, it is getting close to Halloween so it makes it that much worse. So much happened this week it is hard to get it down to only a couple of paragraphs.

District meeting was so fun this week! We had a training on how to teach more simply and intensely. He brought out the game, "Liar's Dice" (The one in Pirates of the Caribbean) and just started playing without telling me the rules. He related this to teaching an investigator and not laying down the basic doctrines first. It is so true! I really have to teach like I am teaching a child about the gospel.

I did a lot of studying in Matthew 17 and 18 this week. I have decided to read the Old and New Testament so I can better understand the people here in The South. What I didn't realize is just how awesome the Bible is (make sure you people in high school actually apply yourself in seminary)! The books aren't just awesome, but reading the Bible has made my testimony of the Book of Mormon much stronger. These books really go hand in hand to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. What really helped me this week in getting a better testimony of the Book of Mormon was the talk "Look to the Book, Look to the Lord" by Elder Gary Stevenson. I urge all of you to read it and look for all the blessing he promises you for reading the Book of Mormon (My brothers especially have to read this).

At the community kitchen this week I made and served coffee and tea. I felt so weird giving people things that would break the Word of Wisdom. Ha! Other random tidbits of info is I blew my first bike tire. Now it starts. Once one thing goes wrong, it is just down hill from there. Oh, another thing that happened is I had to teach the Law of Chasity to a family. That was so hard but the Lord was definitely there to help me out. It went well and I wasn't even awkward.... whoot! Last thing was that we had the primary program for sacrament meeting yesterday and I was so stoked! The kids are so pure and can teach us so many things if we all just listen to the spirit.

I love all of you and have a Blessed Day!

Elder Quiring

 

----

From Elder Davis:



Well, I can say that nothing super exciting or noteworthy happened. We just did missionary work, really. Just a week of biking around, talking with people, a little bit of store contacting, and teaching repentance so we can baptize converts.

We have been making headway with our baptismal date, Ashley Ball. They are such a nice family, and her life has been improving drastically as she has applied the message. It is so amazing to see the gospel in action in someone's life. She did relapse this week with smoking, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it reminded her why she wants to quit smoking and strengthened her resolve. You never know where blessings are going to come from. :)

My scripture for this week is Alma 42:29
29 And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance. 

Life can be something that can be very simple, if we allow it. There are many things, however, that may seem to throw a wrench into our workings and make things seem so complicated. When we stress over the little details of things, it really makes life seem a lot harder. In chapter forty-two of Alma, Alma's son Corianton has been so worried and stressed about the little things that he seems to be missing a bigger picture. He is missing the most beautiful parts of the painting because he doesn't understand what something in the corner of it is. The picture that Alma is painting for his son is that of the gospel of peace, or the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we set our focus that, and about how we can repent and come closer to Christ, the rest of our worries and strifes will seem to melt away.

Weekly challenge!

The talk for this week is, "Joy and Spiritual Survival" by President Russell M. Nelson. It was given during the October 2016 general conference.

Ponder questions:
What do we need to do so that we can have "joy unceasing"?
How can turning to the Lord not only help us, but help those around us?
Who are you going to share the Joy of Christ with this week?

Sorry this was the much, but I sure love all of you. Keep the peace!

Contacting, teaching, biking and fries?

It is still hot over here in sunny Paducah. Like today, I think it will be around 90 so yeah... At least the leaves are changing color and are falling so that is sick! I am told that this year it has been a high in heat for this time so I guess it is just my luck. It should start cooling down though so I am super excited for that!

I got a funny story for y'all. Last Monday all of the district and the Zone leaders where spending pday up here at the stake center. We decided to go out to eat at Wing Stop. It is a very good place and pretty darn cheep for wings. While we were eating, me and Elder Crafts, (from the Elderado Branch) were eyeing some french fries on the table across from us. We said to each other that there is no way those two girls will eat all of those fries. Sure enough when they left they also left there fries. So we watched them leave just in case they come back, and right as we turn to take the fries a man next to us just starts busting up! Through his tears of laughter he said he thought we were just checking out the girls the whole time! Haha! I think we have our priorities straight ;)

We had Zone conference this week and we were determined to get the Golden Hubcap award again. We spent hours making sure our Ford Fusion looked brand spanking new. I would have to say, I don't think anything has ever been so clean in my life. When lunch time rolled around we were certain we would win. I guess we missed something because we did not win. It was a sad day but we learned so much during the conference! I learned that I need to be bold and invite to baptism on the first lesson if not the second. That roots out all the enternigators and that is what we are called to do. We invite others to come unto Christ and that is one of the best ways to accomplish that. We are also trying even harder to get the bishops trust so then we can get more referral through the ward members. The best way to baptize people are from referrals because they already have a support group in the church. That is a big thing here in the south. To have a social life at church.

We have been doing a lot of less active work and actually it has paid off! We had a couple of people come to church that haven't been in a while. The one on a baptismal date is still strong so we are excited for November 19th! I so hope I stay just one more transfer so I can see the baptism. But if the Lord needs me somewhere else, I will go and do without complaint. We did a butt ton of contacting on Saturday and it was just a hard day. We got like one lesson it but you can't have any ups without some downs. We tried store contacting for the first time and I absolutely love it! I end up buying some things but we talk to more people in stores then at doors so that was awesome!

The scripture I go to now whenever I feel like we are just wasting time or I need some motivation is Alma 34; 32. "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."  It is also the purpose of life so yeah.

I think that pretty much sums it up. Have a blessed week!

Elder Quiring

P.S.  Look Grandma!  A street named after you!!!!

It's Going to Take Work

Two amazing things happened this week! First, we got a call to go to the hospital and visit a part member family member (I have been leaving out names until they are baptized because I have to be more confidential). She was in the hospital for some sort of liver problem and after we visited her for a bit she expressed her desire to become a better wife and mother. We then asked if she has had the first lesson and she hadn't so obviously we taught her. The spirit was so strong in that room, I thought I could just reach out and grab it. A couple of days later we came and taught her again in her home and she felt the spirit again! She loved that she can see her daughter again after she dies. WE SET A BAPTISMAL DATE! She needs time to get over some problems so we set it for November 19th! I have a video of how excited I got!

Second, we got to go to the temple! Whoot! I felt like I was going into Disneyland. This temple is designed in such a way that it looks like it is floating off the ground. They did that so it is in the world but not of the world. I love the temple and this restored gospel that we can do work for the dead and have all these saving ordinances for ourselves. I tried to stay in the temple for as long as I could because it was just that amazing. I urge all of you to go to the temple this week. You will learn something new and you will feel God's love so abundantly!

So I am starting to realize how fast the mission is already going. 100 days ago I was at my last day in the MTC! That feels like not to long ago and like I have been out here a while. It is a weird concept of time out in the mission. We have a mini plan of salvation for these two years. You lived with your father then you come to the mission to gain experience. You forget your past life and go through your mission working your way to become like Heavenly Father. Once on your mission you experience joy and sorrow for experience and learning. Once you die, you continue missionary work in the afterlife. I am about 16 years old according to mission time and my companion is 54 or so. Haha ...weird things you do as a missionary. I am also starting to crack mission jokes that involve scripture. That is how you know the mission has effected your life. Take this for example, think about knocking on doors and accidentally using 3 Nephi 7 instead of 1 Nephi 7. Now that would be a hoot!

That will be all folks. Until next time! Have a Blessed week!

 

 

Challenge Accepted

Conference in the mission field is like New Years Eve for missionaries! We stocked up on some goodies and waited for the count down for conference to begin! I can't say any of the talks where my favorite but I was most impacted by Elder J. Devn Cornish. Like him, I felt in adequate to get a new companion and take over an area. I was discouraged because all of our progressing investigators decided to up and vanish. I felt like I let Elder Ihler down and the ward down. It was the night before conference and I got to talking with Elder Davis, my new companion, and he helped me realize that it wasn't me that let people down. Everyone has their free agency and slow weeks will always get better. I had the impression that we should do a special fast. I asked if Elder Davis would participate with me and he willingly accepted. We watched conference and Elder Cornish's talk came on and it brought tears to my eyes. I know now that all I need to worry about is what Christ and Heavenly Father thinks of me. They love all of us beyond comprehension and will always be there to help carry our burdens. They won't just take them away but they will help you learn and progress. Every mission has it's own beasts and ours is that people don't like change. I have recommitted to be more obedient and work harder to find souls ready for harvest. Saturday night we got a text right after priesthood to go to the hospital to visit a lady from a part member family. She seemed to be doing better and she told us that she is ready. We were like what do you mean? She said that she wants to be a better mom and wife so she has decided to quit using drugs. Then she went on saying that she wants to be back on track for baptism! She had never been taught any of the lessons so we taught the first and it brought tears to both our eyes. She started right away in the Book of Mormon! I have a huge testimony on fasting now. We went from like 0 people to teach to about 5 in one day!

A little about Elder Davis is he is from Idaho... (another one) but he is pretty cool. He is like opposite than Elder Ihler but he still wants to be very obedient so I am not complaining. Nothing is worse than an disobedient missionary.

Elder Davis goes all narrator style when he starts to read or testify. I don't know how to explain it but maybe I will get a video sometime ... haha! He was in drama and debate in high school. He also did a lot of boy scout stuff. He was a camp commissioner for like 3 years at a boy scout camp. He is pretty legit!

I finally get to drive on the mission! whoot! I miss sitting behind the wheel. We like to listen to gospel music and try and sing along! Nashville Tribute Band is our favorite by far. Actually, the Pentatonix Christmas album is our favorite.

That is pretty much all this week. I love you all and have a Blessed Week!

Elder Quiring