Friends and Family!
Well we’re getting to know more about the wonderful area of Smithville, MS...just give us another week and we’ll know pretty much everyone in the entire town! Things are going good though and Elder Nielsen and I are doing great. He’s a stud of a missionary and we’re teaching and finding and doing this missionary work thing like he’s already used to it!
Dorris, our most progressing investigator is on date for the 14th of October! She may not make it there because we have to figure out some logistical things as far as how we are going to get her baptized. She isn’t in super great health and can’t walk, but she has the biggest desire to be baptized so I know it will happen! She called us on Saturday and told us she wasn’t feeling good and needed a blessing so we went over there and I got to offer the blessing. I’m still in awe at the power of the priesthood and the privilege it is to speak in behalf of our Father to His children. We are also trying to see how interested her husband, Johnny, is in the gospel as well. He’s taken a liking to us so we’re well on our way with those two!
There isn’t really anyone else we have made huge progress with. We picked up a former investigator, Liz, who semi wants the gospel...we’re not really sure but still trying to help her gain a testimony and feel the need to be baptized. Angela still thinks that she is going to get woken up by God at 12:00 at night and be ready to be baptized, so that’s an interesting thing we’ve got going on as well.
We have found a few other people and their stories are kinda cool! (Still haven’t been door-slammed, not interested rejected yet). On Tuesday we met a lady named Bonita. We tracted into her kids last week and they told us to come by on Tuesday so we did and met Mom. It was really cool because she was skeptical about why two young men had knocked on the door and talked to two of her kids but her heart softened a bit when we talked about the Book of Mormon and we had a time scheduled to come teach her again. Unfortunately she wasn’t there for the appointment but we are hoping to get in with her and her family! We also found a couple of girls who attend college up in Fulton. Madison we talked to because we were trying to get directions to another place and she was interested in what we were doing. Then, Chelsea was working at sonic on 50 cent corndog day. Elder Nielsen jokingly asked if he should invite the person who came out to baptism and I said, ‘Yeah, do it you won’t!” So she came out and gave us our food and took our card. Then when she came out again before she left Elder Nielsen-my boy-contacted her like a champ and we taught her! I had a Book of Mormon and pamphlet ready to go and we gave it to her in the drive in at Sonic. Cool story, huh? Except when we went to the address we felt really weird about the house and it turns out it was burned out and they had moved….nonetheless it was a cool contacting experience! Steven Stone is another guy we met at the baseball fields in Tremont. He was throwing a ball against the dugout and both of us loving baseball wanted to go talk to him. So, we did and then before we got in our car to leave we gave him a Book of Mormon. Saturday, so around three days or so later, we get a text from him “So what are the Mormons about?” We have an appointment to meet with him on Thursday!
- We got into the car to pull out and I told Elder Nielsen that the shifter was stuck, that is wasn’t working and wouldn’t let me go into reverse! “Try moving the wheel,” he said as he tried to figure out the problem. I said, partially laughing, “It won’t work unless there’s someone behind backing me!” “OH!” he responded as he jumped out of the car to back me out. Then, to make it all the more a better story he gets in and says, “Wow, that’s cool that they can rig it up like that so someone has to be behind.” Haha. :)
- We went to the Food Pantry on Tuesday and those people are awesome!! I love food pantries, you get to talk to a lot of people and the spirit there is great!
- We gave an awesome FHE lesson with the Morris’ who are hilarious. It was about how to eat chocolate correctly in relationship to how to study the scriptures correctly. Courtesy of President Prewitt in Tupelo.
- Forgot to mention, Liz has a weird obsession with Eminem the rapper and she’s convinced that their lives are almost directly parallel and she wants to move to Detroit to be with him.
- This guy stopped us on the road when we were up in Amory one day and said, “Are y’all out sweating for Jesus??” Naturally we said “Yeah,” gave him a pamphlet and said we ‘d come back by. So we did and he’s an interesting guy-hope to make him an investigator!
- On Thursday we went out to lunch with the District and let’s just say it hit Elder Nielsen really hard in the stomach. So we stopped at a gas station and as I walked by the bathroom waiting for him I heard the most gut-wrenching sound that was echoing through the porselene John.
- We went to contact a former investigator and when we knocked on his door he answered and as soon as he opened the door a wave of weed just hit us. He said, with big eye I might add, that it wasn’t a good time. Then his 3 year old runs around the corner with bigger eyes than the guy! I was praying it wasn’t actually what I thought it was but after we were walking away I conquered with Elder Nielsen. Weed it was.
- Last night we talked to a member (LA) about his beliefs which were interesting to say the least. We talked about a lot of conspiracy and pyramids and bigfoot, or “Skunk Apes” as they are known down in this region.
- Our neighbors, the Averys, are awesome people! I’m pretty sure they are trying to set me up with their granddaughter too. Jamie (the granddaughter) is going to school at UNA in Florence.
We didn’t have too bad a week here and it was all topped off with Conference! I love being able to hear from the Prophets and Apostles! I don’t know if I can nail a single favorite talk but Quentin L. Cook and Henry B. Eyring who both touched on and spoke about leadership in the church was really great! I also loved Henry B. Eyring and Russell M. Nelson who spoke about their response to the Prophet's counsel six months ago! And Neil L. Anderson couldn’t have summed it up more perfectly! I know without a doubt that this is the Lord’s true church and that he is leading and guiding it through His chosen servants! I sustain and pray for each of them, especially our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. I’m grateful for him and his divine leadership and counsel.
Hope y’all had a good week and I hope you can make it a better one this week!
Much Love,
Elder Milius
PS: The sunrise from our house is legit.
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Godspeed,
ELDER MICHAEL S. MILIUS
ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM MISSION
"Behold I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of Him to declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life." ~3 Nephi 5:13
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