Mark's Homecoming

Friends and Family,

Mark's plane arrives in St. George on Saturday, September 3rd at 12:20 p.m.  


Mark will report his mission on September 11th at 1:00 p.m.  Our church is on Brigham Road.  

We appreciate all the support you have given Mark while he was on his mission.  It seems that those two years just flown by.  He totally embraced his mission and would stay forever if he could.  We are so excited to have him home!


We hope to see you there!


The Metcalf Family

The Grand Finale!

Dearest Family,

I am extremely excited admist all the usual missionary post partum depression.

This week was great even knowing we had many moments full of some adminstrative business. One day in particular we had a member take us out to lunch and afterwords we had to take care of some planning at the apartment. Brother Glenn decided to draw an 8 foot tall picture of Christ on our while that is quite a nice addition. I think it ups the value of our apartment. Last night we stayed at another missionaries apartment who is going home this transfer as well and our talking kept us up a little bit...

ok now on to the goods.

So this area I have done very little tracting in comparsin to all my other areas. We have so many part member families its awesome. Considering it is not a zone leader area the ward lists had yet to really be dived into. We spent many hours actually inside the apartment making phone calls which proved to be really effective. One call we had was a lady who was happy to here from us, then she offered a free haircut which we of course accepted (yes mother, my hair was cut by a pro this time). During the hair cut she told us to come over and baptize her atheist husband and she then signed up for dinner. We went over Monday night and her husband cooked for several hours some amazing ribs which gave a better introduction to my young trainee of what Texas has to offer. During the course of the conversation he explained how he was born catholic, wants to die catholic but does not like the catholic church. One reason is because of how closed off the people tend to be. The spirit bore witness to him throughout the meeting that there is something good coming. Following the dinner I considered who would be good to follow up and meet with them. In ward council on Sunday, Bishop accepted the assignment readily. This catholic man wont stand a chance with that kind of fellowshipper.

We had another dinner wednesday evening with another part member family. We texted them way too late the night before asking if we could eat with them the following night to which she replied "we actually just took a whole turkey out of the freezer for some reason so that works perfect." They ended up feeding 4 missionaries a great meal but again, the spirit was there bearing witness of good things to come.

Tuesday night I gave Sister Harty a call in Allen and we talked awhile because lates face it, she's awesome. Something unique she brought up was a friend of hers that just had a stroke and has been in the hospital for several days. The comment she had was that no priests or people from her church had visited. Sister Harty's observation was that if she had a stroke the ward would probably fill the whole building and always be at their side. For some reason, that story stuck with me out of our 45 minute phone call. Well the next day we had zone conference, while we were there we had a break out that involved some role playing. In one role play a missionary that I used to have in my zone took the part of one of his own investigators who was not coming to church. As we went through the role play he gave me the concerns while pretending to be this investigator. Come to find out she is getting back surgery and is worried about being alone, she wasn't coming to church because she was consulting doctors on a Sunday. The Spirit took over and I bore my witness that when she came to church the members would immediately love her and help her out and be at her side during her times in the hospital so she would feel loved and companionship. That was divine!

Another big highlight was Sunday. We only had a couple investigators show up for sacrament but in between sacrament and gospel principles I somehow ended up on the other side of the church. A member approached me and said "hey someone is here wanting to investigate the church." So I met Jean from Rhwanda. He came to gospel principles and I changed the entire lesson to teaching the Restoration. Following which he recieved a Book of Mormon with a warm grasp of the binding. I was impressed with the member who he sat next to who guided him throughout his whole church experience. They hit it off really well. In priesthood he introduced himself and he had a great story to tell. He is moving from Indiana to Dallas and has come to find a job and prepare the way for the rest of his family. Sunday morning he woke up and felt he needed to go to church. He prayed then did a google search and miraculasly ended up in the Dallas 6th ward and is now investigating. Glorious.

Well dear family, this is the final sign off. The last "y'all"

Top lessons:

Follow the Spirit.

Know that you are a child of God.

Relationships are the things that matter most.

Sure do love y'all

Elder Metcalf

2nd to last email

Thank you for all of your wonderful, yet TRUNKY emails. Yes it is quite fantastic and yes I am excited. I have my trunky moments but mostly I am just nervous half to death. There is some sleep lost over the harsh reality that my perfect world of no work, no school, just complete and total focus on the work of the Savior to invite others to receive the restored Gospel, is about to take a most dramatic turn.

 

I have had some rather unusual experiences this week that have, quite frankly, tried my patience. We have a companionship in my district (one of which is going home with me) that can not get along! I do not intend to make this a negative report but it is somewhat disturbing how bad they really are. The missionary that is going home is wasting the last few precious moments in anger, jealousy, etc... This is definitely some of the more poignant moments of my mission, so I haven't quite understood why they cant work it out. The zone leaders and I are working with the President to make sure they are mostly separated for the final week of the transfer. It is a rather excellent learning opportunity for me to realize just how much I really need to forget myself to be happy. It is a lesson that I have been learning for 2 years, the more work of the Lord's that I do without my selfish intentions, the more blessed and happy I become. It is just that natural man that we have to fight off.

 

We had to do a few exchanges this week with this companionship and we had an interesting experience with the one I went with. We were getting food at Braum's and the man in line behind us started to ask us how hot it was doing our work. He then proceeded to do something that even astounded me with boldness. He begin to tell us we weren't Christian and believed in a false Christ. This is an occasional experience being a Texas missionary but it still irritates me. Although my blood boiled a bit I ultimately ended the conversation. I asked myself a few times, why is this church and its missionaries so bombarded? The answers are obvious but I heard a better one the previous evening at a Stake Priesthood meeting. The stake president, while on his mission, had President Faust address him and the missionaries of that particular mission. One missionary asked the same question I had "what are we supposed to do with all this anti garbage?" President Faust responded something like this 'these people continue to shovel manure on the little sapling of our church which will only cause it to grow faster, so let them shovel!' Most excellent.

 

Wednesday was great, we had some appointments fall through early on in the day and the zone leaders were going to the temple. So hey, we went with them. It was a rather powerful experience. As things progressed, I could feel the power in the room change. The things you do as the endowment continues seem to enable you with more power. The only thing I could think of comparing it to was putting a missionary name tag on. It was awesome.

 

We had a unique meeting with a less active this week. The spirit was powerful. His wife has separated from him and there were a few tears given as we talked about following the spirit. It is so important to live the Gospel. We got dropped off at the lesson and didn't have any bikes or transportation to get home, which was about 3 miles away so we just started to walk. As we did a man walked out and sat on his door step as we walked past him. We initiated a conversation and it was something that felt like it was straight out of Preach My Gospel. He was asking "why are there so many churches?" "Where is the truth?" "how can I know what the truth is?" and so on. It was fantastic, especially since the missionary I was with was a convert of about 3 years and bore a power house testimony about joining the church.

 

Another interesting event this week was getting asked to help with a primary class. The teacher gave all the 6 year olds a badge to wear around their neck that read "Jesus Christ loves me." At first I was like, 'oh that's nice' then there was some pretty sweet meaning attached to it. I started a 'church journal' a couple of months ago and  so I started taking note of impressions I had as I watched these kids with their badge. The first was "how much different would the world be if everyone wore a badge that said that?" and then I asked, "How much different would I be?" One of the most important lessons I have learned as a missionary is that I am a son of God. How awesome is that?

 

I love this work.

 

Sure do love y'all

Elder Metcalf

Why is the Lord transferring me to a different department of service at the peak of my effectiveness?

 

Thursday night we had an incredible exchange. First of all I did a baptismal interview for a man who had a stroke in recent years and has to use a mobile device that he types on to communicate with others around him. What makes this so significant was about a week earlier a Bihsop in the stake went teaching with the Elders to this man. He felt a strong impression at the end of the lesson to promise that he will be healed after his baptism and confirmation. The Bishop told him and the missionaries that whoever confirms him must rebuke the sickness and disabilities at the time of confirmation. Needless to say, it was a great interview and the whole zone is awaiting the confirmation which is scheduled for this coming Sunday

Following the interview we had a decision to make. Bike the long distance to their home to have dinner or grab something quick to eat. We chose to bike the few miles. It was a good thing too because during the course of dinner, the missionary I was with got a text that a member was coming by to take us to an appointment... that we didnt have. A scheduling conflict was made earlier in the week. The missionary grabbed the phone and texted a former investigator who said yes to us coming over that evening on short notice. We were picked up and headed over. When we got there, I waited for the Spirit's promptings as the member and the investigator shot the breeze. Finally it came...strong. The member we were with began talking about his father who is going to pass away soon due to stomach cancer and how grateful he was for the plan of salvation. We said a prayer and begin teaching this plan of salvation that he was speaking about. After teaching the principle of the Atonement the investigator said "I just want to find a good group of people that I can follow." I asked him to read 2nd Nephi 31:10 and immediately after ask "will you follow the example of the Savior Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the proper priesthood authority of God?" His delayed response brought the Spirit in stronger and he replied "yes." I continued "Will you prepare to be baptized on September 10?" another spiritual awakening and another yes. I asked how he felt and he described the spirit in his own way, then the promise came that as you read and pray daily you will have that spirit with you leading you up to your baptism.

We walked out of that lesson fired up but we still had one more. This family that we were about to teach was contacted by another missionary in a parking lot. He said "is it alright if I just give you this mormon.org card?" The man looked back and asked "can I just have that Book of Mormon in your hand?" So they set up an appointment earlier in the week which for some reason fell through. This lesson we were about to have would be their first. We walked in with a strong spirit and began with no 'chewing the fat' conversation. We taught a flawless restoration that went right along perfectly with the questions they were asking. The spirit was awesome. At the end of the lesson the husband felt inclined to tell us that his 8 month pregnant wife was diagnosed with Lupus and she was seeing a few high risk doctors during the pregnancy... Following that statement I felt the impression... give her a blessing of healing. My heart was racing, I have seen almost instant recoverys from the flu and double ear infections, but Lupus? I asked the couple "Do you have faith that Jesus Christ performed miracles?" Their immediate response was yes. I explained a blessing, they accepted the offer and we acted with the power of the priesthood. I will hold off on the details at this point. Following the blessing we invited them to baptism, set a date and left.

 

The other huge highlight this week was the baptism of the Garpa sons. I dont really need to say much because the picture holds it all that I'll attach. What was great about this was my companion being chose to peform one of the ordinances. He was so excited. I was so happy for him. It was a fantastic thing to see him in white getting ready to step into the font, something I'll never forget my trainer arranging for me some 2 years ago. He only needed to have one try and he did it perfectly. The font was perfect and we gave each other a very wet and heartfelt hug following the ordinances we had just performed. The 2 sons were equally excited as well. The service was perfect. 

 

It was interesting last week and this week when we helped a recent convert water some of his brand new fruit trees in his front yard. I'll never forget when he said "Elder, just think of how grateful future missionaries will be when they are able to eat the fruit of these trees." Then it hit me that although I will only have 6 weeks in this area and take off, by doing the Lord's work I can help this area for the future missionaries that will come through. An example of this was when we were told on Monday that a less active woman and her boyfriend that lives with her were moving in. We worked it out, which they accepted to have dinner by Wednesday. They were wondering why they had bought 4 steaks that day... During the dinner I felt impressed to ask "When are you getting baptized?" He responded after some silence... "as soon as I get the red tape out of the way." Meaning finalizing a divorce and marrying his member girlfriend. That was a fun one to report on Sunday.

 

I sure do love this work. I nearly had a melt down during dinner when my mind couldnt get the harsh reality of 'life as I know it' is about to take a dramatic turn to some different dimmension. I am excited to continue the missionary experience beyond...

 

Sure do love y'all

Elder Metcalf

Well this week had its miracles.

 

One night we split up and I sent Elder Eklund out with a member.  I had another member with me just to cover more ground and do some drop bys. My GPS was about to die and I only had a minute to select what member to visit so I chose one nearby, memorized the route and we took off. The funny thing was that I didn't have my master ward list with me with all the notes of people we had already talked to. This member in particular had already told us over the phone that she moved to San Antonio. She had been living with her boyfriend here in the Dallas 6th ward and when we did knock, she just happened to be visiting at that time. Her boyfriend invited us to come in. We shot the breeze for a few moments and come to find out, he is a Navy Seal. We taught an inspired Restoration - quick, clear and attended by the Spirit. It just so happens that he grew up Catholic but wasn't feeling spiritually satisfied. Turns out the member I was with joined the church less then 2 years ago with the same Catholic background, they connected very well.

 

That night it was so awesome to reconnect with Elder Eklund and close the evening out. He taught a couple lessons, one to a returning inactive family who has 2 sons that will be baptized this coming Saturday and another young man we found 'on a prayer.' The night before we only had an hour to go finding so Elder Eklund offered a prayer to find a new investigator. Before we could make one full pedal of the bicycle we were teaching a 17 year old on his apartment stairs in our same complex. While we were teaching him, the young man who Elder Eklund was teaching on splits walked out and invited us to come in. He was so excited to hear a quick message of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. We set up the appointment for the following night, which my companion went to without me and set a baptismal date with him. He was so fired up when we reconvened. It was fun to see the light glow from him as he described his experience and setting his first baptismal date.

 

Later in the week we went back over to teach our Navy Seal friend. We followed up on his reading and praying which went very well. He gave a flawless summary of Alma 32 and recognizes that the answer is within the Book of Mormon. We then taught him a flawless, clear Plan of Salvation lesson in about 8 minutes which he understood well. He had very inspiring questions. He did tell us at the end of that lesson he needed some time to study more on his own so we didn't have an opportunity to set up a return appointment. Is it any wonder why the Lord had us teach these 2 unexpected lessons, especially the Plan of Salvation, the day before he lost many friends in a tragic helicopter accident...

 

Another large highlight this week was another scheme of the Elder Metcalf making. The Nesmith's from Frisco took us out to lunch, good heavens they are so awesome. The whole lunch was basically an exchange of faith promoting spiritual experiences. Not too mention we were eating delicious BBQ... They still haven't sold their home since its been on the market for the past couple months, but when they do they will be moving to Vegas. Thank heavens! I have a feeling they will get the home sold around the end of August and the beginning of September...

 

That same day we did some biking after dinner to hopefully connect with some individuals. On the way back I felt like we needed to go down a particular street. The natural man fought the feeling because it was the end of the night, the 30th day or so in a row of 100+ heat, etc... But I pumped myself up enough to turn around and bike the street. The first person we spoke to was actually a member of the Spanish branch that needed help. So we got the Spanish missionaries on the phone and the next day they were over there helping. Fantastic...

 

Thursday shall be a cut short report, we biked 23 miles. I think I was looking for George Bush's home which is rumored to be in the area... Oh yes, and some drop bys and tracting. It was good for me to 'build character' by biking that much.

 

We had several non-members and less actives to church on Sunday. One I'll mention, was the family of the 2 boys that are getting baptized Saturday. The husband and wife were separated, he was about to lose his home and job but then he jumped back into the Gospel a few months ago. Sunday the whole family walked in. I immediately looking at Bishop Robertson who began to cry because he was so happy. The family is what its all about.

 

Sure do love y'all

 

Elder Metcalf

Focus

Trunky

Again, an incredible week amidst all the administrative meetings this church puts us through. We never left to go work before 2pm this week which is rather tough on the spirit. However miracles always happen in the work of the Lord!

 

Saturday was by far the highlight. My diabolical plan succeeded with the Harty's. It just so happens that Elder Moses who spent 10 months in their ward and I were on exchanges. I then received permission to go to Mike's baptism in Allen and got the Harty's involved. They picked us up and it was a sweet reunion. The Baptism was most excellent. The simple fact that it is the first investigator that I have ever knocked on the door, taught all the lessons to and then saw baptized really had a profound effect on me. Granted I've tracted out people that have been baptized, but not like this. The spirit was strong. He asked me to speak on the Gift of the Holy Ghost. My preparation for talks include prayer and pondering but no writing other then looking at the organization of it (you always need preparation!) I told the story of how uncle Jame's, me and my cousins went through Checkerboard canyon and it was sort of a nightmare when at the half way point it was dark and we still had a huge cliff to descend. But the fact that our wonderful Uncle prepared by bringing flashlights saved us and that was where I took the comparison of how we leave the pre earth life where it is perfectly bright, descend into a world of unknown obstacles and how the Holy Ghost will light and direct our path when it does finally become totally dark. I do not boast of myself but I boast of my God as Ammon would say.

Elder Davis had the privilege of baptizing him. It was perfect form and Sunday he was confirmed a member of the church. I'll never forget several months ago being in that area tracting and feeling that something was down there, a work for us to do. Definitely a sweet experience. He went through a lot to make that baptism happen. Overcoming smoking since he was 8 for one...

 

This week I parked Elder Eklund in front of the ward list with the phone and we have been going through all 24 pages of the ward roster trying to find families that are prepared to be completed. Elder Eklund has the new missionary magic touch, when he calls he either has a great conversation with them for a while even if they are not interested or sets up a return appointment. He set up one particular appointment with a 25 year old and his girlfriend who we are now teaching. He wants to be reactivated and needs a lot of support. He let us right into his home and was excited to have us there. He even gave us $50 in Sonic cash. Take your pick at which is the spiritual highlight. And yes, that was the first person Elder Eklund called. Whereas most of the people I call are angry or the numbers are bad.

 

We have a man in the ward, Brother Davis that is phenomenal. He has really caught the Spirit of the Gospel. He was baptized 8 months ago but is even more on fire then he was then. For example: He walks into to church about 40 minutes early and drops his family off, he goes and picks up a Hindu acquaintance from work and brings him to church (he loved it) following church he took his Hindu friend home and then took my companion and I out to teach another coworker of his. Earlier in the week he also took us to visit his neighbor. He is bold and loves the Spirit. Crimeny, he is a better missionary than most of us!

 

Anyway, it was a good experience to have because with limited time I can look forward to continue being a missionary. We should never let that spirit fail!

 

Sure do love y'all

Elder Metcalf

The Big D

The Lord has placed me in the Dallas 6th ward.  I have a brand new missionary, Elder Eklund from Manticka California. Most the members have asked the standard questions, the most funny being "how long have you two been out?" I answer "about 2 years" and Elder Eklund answers "about 2 days." We are in a bike area and I think I am getting used to the 110 degree temperature, seriously. It cools down to a balmy 95 in the evening so we don't sweat or collect humidity as much. I takes about 60-90 minutes to get to each end of our area on bikes so I am considering the $65 monthly bus pass (I have a wonderful mother who taught me well in NYC).

 

I'll get the little interesting fact out first and then continue with the miracles. So the area had the Spanish missionaries cover it sparingly for 4 weeks and during the first day I flipped through the area book with the many teaching records embedded inside when lo and behold my jaw drops when I see who used to cover D6, yes, Hermana Barber. She is definitely a legend down here, we had Bishop Robertson over the first night to identify some families to go check out and he said something to the effect of "we have had some great missionaries down here, have you ever heard of that one Sister... Sister Barber?" Oh yes, and church on Sunday we had a Brother get up and talk about "many great people, like Katie Barber [and others], that have helped me stay on the right path."

 

I don't stand a chance!

 

Saturday was a huge mission highlight. We were in the mission office earlier in the week (about a mile and a half from my apartment) and I ran into President and obtained by stratagem permission to go to Tony's and Hardy's baptisms. I managed to get a hold of Brother Holbrook in the Allen YSA to come pick me up. We first went to Garland for Hardy's baptism where I had the opportunity to speak on the gift of the Holy Ghost since the original speaker had a family emergency. Hardy's baptism was a huge miracle and blessing to see. We strive to set baptismal dates on the first lesson in the mission but they rarely go through on the projected date but Hardy's did. It's especially a miracle since he was not Christian before he started reading the Book of Mormon. It was awesome to give him a big hug and to witness that baptism.

 

Then it was onward ever onward to my former home, the Allen building. We showed up and met Tony there. We conversed for a while then we both had to change. I was a bit worried considering his baptism was at 4, and when we went into change at 3:55 there was about 5 people in attendance. Then when we popped out, in true Mormon YSA fashion there was about 60. The talks were great. One lady, a member coworker who had been working with Tony for 7 years never thought this day would happen but it didn't surprise her because of the great heart he has. That was truly another miracle since he has been investigating for a while now. It was great to be part of that group for a couple hours.

 

We do have a 10 year boy that will be baptized in August in the Dallas 6th ward. He is a genius! At the first meeting we had with him I asked what he had learned so far and I think he explained the Plan of Salvation in better terms then I could. He is a stud. He loves primary and church, something I wish I knew what I had at his age.

 

We had a part member family show up to church that was rather unexpected according to some church members. We got to teach them later that afternoon. They are central American so when she asked if we had a dinner already and I said yes, they fed us anyway. I was quite funny considering the member that took us to the appointment was the one that would be feeding us. The man who is not a member, in my opinion, feels the truth of the Gospel but doesn't seem willing to make the commitments. Besides that, if Sister Barber couldn't baptize him...

 

Elder Eklund's 2nd day here, we had quite the experience. We were tracting 'by the spirit' and he picked a door. We got into it without hesitation and taught an extremely powerful restoration. He accepted baptism and the spirit made a couple big promises to him. Sadly he is 17 and his family told him never to speak to us again. He knows. He knows the truth and the major seed has been planted.

 

We have been doing lots and lots and lots of tracting and many member stop bys. I really feel this crazy dying missionary urge to 'find that family I am supposed to find' feeling. They don't tell you where you are going when you get a transfer call but I knew I would be coming here, to this exact area and I have strong feelings about it. My suitcases remain unpacked (then again, what is the point of unpacking them?), there is a work to do. Too much time has been wasted!

 

I sure do love y'all!

Elder Metcalf

Why is it that when you see the finish line you figure out how to run the race?

 

It seems like all 22 1/2 months are just preparation for the final 6 weeks. I am way excited.

 

We have been doing a lot more 'following the spirit' in our finding. One night we had about 15 minutes before an appointment so we said a prayer that we could find someone to teach in 12. We started walking around the block until we felt like knocking on a door. At 10 minutes into it I was on the doorstep of a guy who wasn't interested. Once that contact was done we honed into one house and marched over to it. A couple answered with their 4 year old son with them and of course, accepted a return appointment.

 

Another experience was when we had about 30 minutes before a dinner in the family ward. So Elder Hong said the prayer and felt like asking to find a young single adult. We got out and started walking around knocking on whatever we felt like. I remember saying "lets knock 1206, I'm feelin' it!" but they weren't interested and sent us away after giving us some water bottles. Eventually we were walking around on some random bike trails until we ended up on another street. Finally we rounded the block and were back to where we started and there he was, the YSA. At first when we began talking to him he wasn't interested, then the spirit took off and we explained what the Book of Mormon was, then gave him one and set up an appointment. During that conversation we got a phone call....

 

It was President giving me a transfer call. At first he said I was being transferred then said I'm being doubled into an area then he said I was training then he said I would be a district leader. Yikes! Actually I am super excited. In my interview with President Durrant a couple of weeks ago when I asked if I could end my mission in Allen I knew that it wouldn't be so, but that wherever and whatever would happen would be right. It is a dream to be a district leader trainer opening an area to tell you the truth. I just don't have time to waste!!!

 

I'll leave the area with 4 people with baptismal dates who are all doing extremely well. Hardy is the one who converted to Christ after the experience reading Alma 7. He called me Sunday to say hi and talk for a bit and is excited for his baptism. Then there is Quinton who we had a miracle with last week. Then Tony the YSA who is right on board with being baptized on Saturday. As well as Mike who is bound and determined to be baptized in July. He quit smoking entirely for this! He asked me in our last meeting, "is there anything else to give up or is this it?" I assured him that he had been through enough amazing changes but that the changes would always keep coming.

 

Well the goodbyes continue to get tougher and it was hard to say anything other then see ya later. But it is exciting to have more love for the people and I am super excited to have another area with more loving goodness.

 

I am jealous of the trip to see the Smith's homecoming. That is awesome you got to go.

 

Sure do love y'all

Elder Metcalf

Well it is a bit interesting to hear "you'll be speaking in sacrament on Sept. 11 but dont get trunky." and I'll leave it at that...

This week was awesome. Tuesday I had a huge mission highlight when we met President Durrant. We got to the meeting one hour early because it was at our stake center and while we were setting up chairs he walked in. You could definately feel the mission president's presence. We had about 45 missionaries in our group and we basically hung on to every sylabol that he would utter. At the beginning of his meeting he read page 148 of preach my gospel and asked for a volunteer to role play a one minute message with him. There was silence for a seconds before the spirit worked on me enough that before I knew it I was role playing with our new mission president in front of the other missionaries. I dont care how long I've been out, that was a bit nerve racking! It went well though and it played and important role later. Our zone stayed after lunch for interviews that afternoon. I was the final interview of the day. It was the most powerful interview I have had and he paid me some wonderful compliments. I walked in and he said 'of course your a zone leader' referring to the example of the role play interview. He said some other things that were quite unique but I'll leave them to my journal rather then the world knowing. It was awesome. He is a phenomenol leader which got me very excited yet extremely depressed that I only have a short time with him here in the TDM... A missionary did end up asking him a basketball question and he talked about how when he was younger he watched Julius Irving play basketball, his hero. Then, years later he was playing against him in the NBA. I have full confidence in our mission president.

We had a great find last week as well. Elder Hong and I were in our nightly planning session and I introduced 'process of elimination' to him. We each pick 10 streets without the other one knowing what we are choosing. Then we take the pool of 20 streets, we each pick 5 and whatever streets match up, we knock. Well within the initial choosing of 10 streets I felt very impressed about a street next to Bishop Thomas' home. Turns out when we showed each other the streets we had picked, Elder Hong had the same street on his list. It was obvious we needed to go there. We also picked 7pm as the time to go. When we got there we saw a family outside and we approached them. They knew Bishop pretty well and quickly agreed to an appointment. We told Bishop about it that night, turns out he has had similar impressions about that same family and has spent the last 4-6 weeks improving their relationship. We teach them tonight with Bishop so I am excited. If they cancel, I will die.

A big event of sadness happened on Thursday when we turned Hardy over to the missionaries in his area. He had totally converted to Christianity and is dead set on baptism this month since we started meeting with him. We taught in a member's home in his area and I nearly lost it. It was then that while everyone was waiting for my direction that I heard a little voice 'this is it, you are at the height of your mission and it is about to be over.' That was difficult. Hardy came to the branch on Sunday anyway though.

Some other highlights were sharing mission experiences with most of the active members lessons we had, they are quite inspiration and you definately find the spirit when you are creative in how you perform missionary work. Sure do love the miracles.

Well it is fun to hear the lake stories from the family. However, I think the jealousy remains on your side of the court...

With love to y'all

Elder Metcalf

Another interesting week from your favorite favorite in Texas.

 

We had a unique experience at the beginning of the week. We taught a Muslim teenager who we think is interested in the Gospel. Following that appointment we dropped off one of his friends, wrapped around the corner and saw a group of young teenagers playing basketball. My instant reaction was to pull over and challenge them to a game. The deal was that if we won they had to get baptized. We got started in our proselyting clothes and they proceeded to destroy us, it was quite embarrassing. After playing with them they all started asking questions about the church. We aren't exactly allowed to teach without parent permission but their questions were awesome "How can I know your church is true?" "How do I get baptized?" "How can I know when God is talking to me?" It was definitely a major seed that was planted.

 

The next day was a big highlight. We picked up a YSA last week who we committed to baptism. He was pretty awesome yet had no christian background so we left him the introduction as well as Alma 7 testifying of Christ. On our follow up appointment, we asked about his experience. He told us how he had to read it several times to grasp an understanding of it but when he did, he knew it was true and now believes in Christ. Thank you Book of Mormon. It was quite remarkable how fast that conversion occurred yet the Lord was willing to make the process speedy through the provided tools.

 

One evening this week, Elder Hong chose a street to tract that I had already knocked before (I have been in Allen a while). What was interesting was when we were about to tract it we received a call from our ward mission leader who asked us to give a member a blessing since he was in a position that wouldn't allow him to do so. Where did she live? The street Elder Hong had chosen. It was a great blessing.

 

Our baptismal date, Tony is doing awesome. He was interviewed this week and passed with flying colors. He says he has been feeling the spirit a lot lately and continues to attend all the activities of the branch more than most active members. He did have to move his date back two weeks because of conflicts of schedules. It only has me a little worried... However he is still awesome and solid.

 

An odd but great experience was when we took the oldest son of the Fox family to lunch with us (the one who has yet to be baptized). One Elder tried to call Sister Harty to invite her but she didn't answer so I said "watch, she loves me the most."  I gave her a ring and yes, she answered and came to lunch. I bought her a taco which was nothing since she found out we were 'dinnerless' for the night and fed us that evening. Following lunch, we played checkers with the Fox son for a bit and I gave him a mock baptismal interview to see where he was at. He did pretty well, just needs help with Joseph Smith. Since he lives in the other Elders area it has been a coordinated effort to help him out.  They did pick him up for church yesterday and Elder Treasure told him to bear his testimony. He did. And I heard it was awesome.

 

I conducted a baptismal interview on Friday and it is always a divine experience. I love seeing people completely ready to go and be prepared. I have the interview memorized so we basically talked about the Gospel and his testimony the whole time without him really knowing it was an interview. I have noticed something awesome with most interviews I do though, there is always a connection with dates. I interviewed him on July 1st (mom's birthday) and his mom was born on Dad's birthday. In another interview the couple had been married on May 15th (my birthday and the restoration of the priesthood). Awesome to see some of God's little micro managing skills, he is the greatest!

 

Saturday Dina's parents took us out to dinner. It was a great experience but they called us by our first names the whole time which made us laugh. It was so strange. We talked about everything from the Gospel to NASA and Mom and Dad meeting them in September.

 

Sunday we had a unique 'casual miracle' as I would call it. We picked back up some investigators Elder Hall and I found while we were sick of our apartment, had the flu and in an ice storm. We taught her at 11:30 and finally got out of there at 1245, 15 minutes before church. She said "I think I'll come today" while holding a tiny newborn (8 weeks old) and her husband was in the bathroom. We kind of brushed it off but as sacrament started she walked in and sat next to us! It was a "Hey good to see you again." In a non-shalant way and then the meeting ensued. It was awesome. Goes to show some people are just craving the spirit no matter how much you believe them or not.

 

Anyway hopefully mom enjoys my card (it is similar to another one I have sent) Sure do LOVE YOU mother and hope you had a perfect birthday, Sounds like the Lord provided an answer to a prayer I gave Thursday night. "Please give my mom some great water to ski on for her birthday."

 

With tons of love,

Elder Metcalf

Jubilee!

I had a really awesome week so I will just get right into the goods.

First of all, Friday and Saturday we had to go down to the Garland events center for the Texas Jubilee and youth conference. (Which was funny because a stake president mentioned that the youth of the 11 stakes in the mission have been practicing and putting this together for 2 years since August 2009.) They had the missionaries involved in one of the numbers so we had to practice on Friday then stick around all day and all night Saturday for the performances. I called it 'paid vacation' time as a missionary. What really made it special (other then my singing) was all the reunions. It was another Ammon like moment when he passed out from getting so excited meeting Alma again. This church is all about reunions. After our first rehearsal we had a couple of hours to kill so I convinced one missionary who wanted a picture with President and Sister Smith to chase them down before they took off. As soon as we walked out one particular door with the Smith's, we ran right into Bishop Nicholas of the Nacogdoches first ward. We talked for literally 2 hours waiting around for my next cue. It was awesome! Friday and Saturday I crossed paths with tons of the Nac youth which nearly put us in tears. When one of them saw me he screamed "MEEETTTTCALLFFF!" and chased me down for a hug.

Another tender mercy was during the 2nd performance on Saturday. They had ushers right above where we were sitting for the Jubilee and who was the volunteer usher that was right above me? None other then Brother Mcdonough of the Frisco 2nd ward (if you are questioning who he is, he is the member who has provided me with the most powerful spiritual experience on the mission.) We spoke with each other for an hour until the next performance began which was yet another spiritual experience and something that I needed to hear.

So needless to say there are some pictures attached.

Sunday night was awesome. We went over to Summer's house and talked with her for a long time and then spoke with her oldest son McKinnon who did not get baptized with the family. He now has a date for July 16th so pray your hearts out for him. He did have a huge concern though, he said "I am not going to wear one of those white jumpsuits! No way."

Friday we had a lesson with Tony who is getting baptized in July which was an awesome experience. He said he had been feeling the spirit pretty heavily lately and knew he was doing the right thing. He used my example of the 'learning the voice of the Lord' and said it worked perfect for his situation so he feels he is on the correct path now.

Sunday morning we had an appointment which we set up at the Slavens. I have taught in their home so many stinkin' times that when we walked in with Brother Slavens he told his wife "Hey we're having a discussion here in 5 minutes, just a heads up." We taught a YSA named Hardy the restoration and set a baptismal date with him in July.

We taught Mike a couple of times this week and then he met with Bishop Thomas on Saturday. He has stopped smoking for the first time in 40 years. He is ready for baptism but his job is making him work odd hours on Sunday while his sister is out of town. Normally I would think this is Satan's doing but considering the drastic changes in his life he has been making, he may need a little more time to fully feel he is doing the right thing with all the chemicals exiting his body. He is incredible. "Oh yes, I have a testimony which is strong about this truth" he says.

A huge highlight this week was with a part member family. We had a dinner at a active member's home and she invited them over to eat with us. What I enjoy about being in areas forever is that you develop relationships with just about everyone so there was nothing really awkward about the dinner. However the active mother had a son who was being tortured with a double ear infection. We offered a blessing after the meal which she accepted. The poor kid struggled heavily so we made it quick. I sealed the anointing and said a sentence "you will be comforted very soon." Well later in the week we ran into the part member lady at the gas station who approached us and said "about 10 minutes after you left he was healed."

Glorious.

I love you to pieces,

Elder Metcalf

We had a very memorable week in the Texas Dallas Mission.

 

Our zone continues to take off so I am excited about that. Monday night we taught Anthony again who's mom is against the church. We listed the concerns he had about getting baptized and there was only one other one besides his mom which was callings. He was under the impression that when he got baptized it meant that he would commit to a 2 year mission to the church. Just kind of goes to show that we have a different vocabulary than most that can get confusing. His mom went to work this Sunday so he snuck out of the house and came to church (although he did have to leave early to beat his mom home). We had a lot of fun together.

 

A highlight this week was after specialized training I went to Melissa/Farmersville for exchanges. They had a 14 year old girl there who had been attending church for 2 years but had just received permission from her mom to be baptized. Elder Sullenberger and I went to a members home, taught her all the lessons and then I interviewed her in the shortest baptismal interview I have ever conducted. When I asked "What does it mean to you that President Monson is a prophet?" She replied "Well, every time I hear his voice or read his words, I am happy...It's the spirit." She was baptized Saturday night which went extremely well.

 

We have been teaching a young man named Tony for a couple weeks now who is preparing for baptism in July. He has been attending church for quite sometime now but needed a little extra loving boldness to get his baptismal engine turned on. We taught the plan of salvation on Wednesday by getting a white board, drawing it all out and briefly going over it. We kept the lesson to about 14 minutes yet he seemed to understand more about the plan once we were finished, than most. I have definitely grown a testimony of simplifying everything I teach into basic sentences to allow the Holy Ghost to work more effectively. He came to church on Sunday and loves the branch. In Elders Quorum, a few members were sharing 'missionary experiences' which he got a laugh at, since he is one.

 

That night we also taught a less active who hasn't been to church in years. I felt inspired to turn the pages to Luke 19. It seems whenever I or another missionary struggles that the best antidote is to tell them who they are! "You are a daughter/son of God for crying out loud!" I was reading the verses and it was another one of those experiences where you could tell when occasionally the Holy Ghost would step in and add something. I could probably count experiences as profound as that on one hand but they seem to be occurring more rapidly as I endure to the end. We had lunch with her Sunday then she came to church.

 

Friday we had an assistant exchange. They said that they were down for anything I had in mind as far as our regular work and helping out other missionaries, so I got creative. The assistants both have phones and each companionship has one phone so I organized a "phone blitz" in a particular, missionaries area, because the work was slow and a companion had just broke his foot. Elder McHardy gathered together about 100 numbers while we called all of them setting up many appointments. It turned out much more effective then tracting in the hot sun in the early afternoon in suburbia.

 

Tuesday was extremely heart wrenching. It was our final meeting as missionaries with President Smith. When we got there and he walked into the room on time and started the meeting, we stood up out of respect as usual but there was a great reverent tone about it. Sister Smith gave her training and promised not to blubber then the assistants gave theirs. After that it was our beloved mission president's turn to take the pulpit for the final time addressing the missionaries in Dallas. He spoke on 10 specific points of how we could be most effective in the Lord's hands, essentially, a summed up training of his 3 years in Texas. It was phenomenal. Then he gave his testimony which was the most sure and excellent I had ever heard. He had to stop and leave us all in silence every few sentences to hold back tears. Then with his amen we began the closing hymn, 'The Spirit of God.' President and Sister Smith couldn't sing, but the missionaries in the chapel sounded like we had angels in the background. Towards the end of the 3rd verse each row, one by one, began to stand up. At the 4th verse, the Smith's were up as well. The final hymn, the final prayer. I doubt there was a dry eye in the room. The missionary giving the closing prayer had struggled in the past with President but couldn't withhold tears. It was a tough mission conference. Then they went to the back and we hugged President and Sister Smith at parting.

 

Sure do Love Y'all

Elder Metcalf

 

P.S. watch the trunky comments... I have enough to worry about knowing the exact hour mom has me walking off the plane.

Howdy y'all!

 

I received my new companion Tuesday and I was about as excited as receiving a package from friends or family. His name is Elder Hong (half Chinese) from Blackfoot, Idaho so he knows how to work hard. This week he has already proven to be quite the inspired leader and we have had an abundant amount of success.

 

One reason I thought I would be transferred is because the zone had one single baptismal date. This week we have 15 throughout the stake that are mostly solid. So already we are getting back on track.

 

Monday night went well, Elder Davis and I taught our last lesson together to a young man named Anthony who would like to be baptized but his mom is currently putting the ax on that decision. We made a few visits to Summer Fox and family and Bishop Thomas before wrapping up the evening. 

Tuesday was transfer meeting and I think President was doing his best to avoid the fact that it was his last one. It lasted a couple of hours with some instruction from President and many departing missionaries as well as several companionship's getting changed up in the mission. I was excited to see who would be trusted in leadership when the new President gets installed in a few weeks. Should be interesting.

Elder Hong and I then got back to Allen, got some In-n'-out, helped out a few of the new missionaries then went out knocking. We were feeling one particular complex and a certain building so we went to work. We passed by one door and a few minutes later Elder Hong said "we need to knock 821." So we went back down but I left out the detail of telling Elder Hong that behind door #821 resided a Do Not Contact family. We knocked anyway and got in and spoke with the father who wants to get back into the church but is struggling because his wife was somewhat offended over something a while ago.

Another miracle was getting into the home again of the couple Elder Hall and I found during the ice storm. It had been about 3 months and she had her baby in May (the 17th to be exact, cousin Brad.)

 

Wednesday we met with Michael who is determined to quite smoking and be baptized this coming Saturday. We redid our calendar with him and made sure he understood just how quickly the baptism was coming. We had a few more unique moments, for example, when I asked how his reading in the Book of Mormon was coming along he responded in a similar way from last week "Terrible! I only am able to get in 20 minutes a day. I don't want to put it down."

Elder Hong continued his wave of inspiration by choosing a street to knock that I didn't recognize at first which was odd because the 5th ward is tiny and I have been here forever. I finally figured out why my memory was clouded because we had already knocked that street 5 months prior. Oddly enough, we started knocking it again and getting the same results. Nothing! Until...(once again I didn't inform Elder Hong that we were about to knock on a door of a part member family that I have been trying to get into for several months) we knocked and got in for an hour. It was another strange coincidence where they just happened to be home in the afternoon.

 

Thursday was toe chopping day. I had my ingrown toe nail removed which threw my grove off for a few hours. We did have a lesson right after the 'nail surgery' which we went to and had a great meeting. It was the lady we taught on Monday morning last week who wants to be baptized but her current living situation doesn't allow it.

Another big highlight was eating lunch with Elder Hall, his family and Summer Fox. It was an awesome reunion. His stake president released him over the phone so he was back to normal (however not adjusted) and when we parted ways we both laughed and said "see you in a couple months."

 

Friday we had a zone council with the new and improved Allen zone. It was powerful I believe because each Elder was assigned a Christlike attribute to train on and it was very well thought out. I got sick of the standard 'stand up in front train' format so we got in a circle and had a pow wow to make it more friendly and open. That day we also set another baptismal date with a lady named Katrine from Nigeria. Should be good.

 

Saturday we set a date with a young single adult named Tony who had been attending church in Plano for a couple months. Get this, it was Elder Hong's last area so he had already taught him before. We got the referral and it was funny how it all worked out.

 

Sunday was an incredible day. We had all our people who committed to church, come. Vivian who wants to be baptized came to church with a broken knee cap. Anthony snuck out of his home so he could attend the branch. Tony was picked up by a cute YSA girl (no more comment will be made) and Mike came with his granddaughter Alexis who ran to her teacher and gave her a giant hug during sacrament. Dina also taught gospel principles and nailed right on the head what our investigators needed.

 

Sure do Love y'all

Elder Metcalf

So Saturday was transfer calls night and yes the assistants did call us. Elder Davis answered the phone so I walked over with my hand held out ready to receive the transfer notice...

 

Nope, I will stay in Allen for another 6 weeks! So I will be here as long as I had been in Nac. Wild. Considering I only have 12 weeks left, it could be a interesting run for the gold.

 

So just a funny highlight before I dive into the miracles. I have become a coupon shopper under the education of our Bishop's wife. We do numbers and send in reports every Sunday night at the Bishop's home and its only a one man job that Elder Davis always volunteers for so I get to chat it up with the Thomas family. His wife got me hooked on the stuff. Last week I bought a gallon of milk and 3 boxes of cereal for $1.46 and this week it looks like I'll be getting proglide razors for 89 cents. I am also working on a deal right now to get crest advanced whitening strips and am currently up to $15 off so far... Anyways...

 

Every Monday we have been teaching a 19 year old whose mom absolutely hates the church. He told his best friend who is a member that he would love to be baptized except he doesn't have the means to move out, get a car, etc... So we meet with him again tonight and are hoping for the best. Someday he will be baptized so it is not a matter of if, but when.

 

Tuesday we had the most powerful zone leader council ever. It was President and Sister Smith's last one so they went out in apostolic style if I do say so myself. President Smith read out of the Book of Alma and compared himself to Heleman overseeing the stripling warriors. It took him some time to really get through it because he thoroughly considers us his sons. It was awesome. One of the Assistants is going home this cycle and he bore a testimony that really touched me. He was in a lesson and at the beginning he was talking about what missionaries do but when its all over he will go home and be a regular person. Well the zone leader that he was on exchanges with corrected him and said "we will go home and continue to serve God." It was awesome...

 

Wednesday I opted to give a training in a district meeting. I need it! I spoke on how missionaries need to act as angels sent from God and to develop the required Christlike attributes. I am at the point where it took 5 minutes to give a 20 minute training. I recorded it on the voice recorder so maybe I'll try to send it home on a disc. We will see, there are still some embarrassing moments. I really think that the reason I felt I needed to give that training was because I am lacking in the 'acting as an angel' department.

 

Friday we had a discussion with our next baptism, Mike. It is getting a bit intense because he was scheduled to be baptized this coming Saturday and he would do it and wants to do it except his coffee addiction is smack dab in the way. He had spent the night before our lessons cruising on lds.org for 6 hours so I think we will be ok. Please keep him in your prayers.

 

Saturday was unique. We drove up to Mckinney in the evening for dinner with a missionary who is going home on Wednesday. We had a great relationship the whole time we were around one another so it is pretty surreal to see him depart. We had 3 COR baptisms in our ward and were invited by a family because they had many non-members there. It was a great interactive experience.

 

Sunday we had a few non-members show up to church, which we got return appointments with. One being a man named Jose who has been taking lessons from the spanish missionaries for months. At the end of church I started to get to know him but then went into missionary mode and taught him about how God knows him, then committed him to live the word of wisdom, then ask God if the Book of Mormon is true, and then be baptized. He readily agreed which was pretty awesome.

The branch also threw a big party for Dina's birthday which was awesome so Elder Davis got to say bye to her.

 

This morning we taught a lady who loves the church. She easily committed to baptism but was a bit saddened at the fact that she has to marry or move out of her boyfriend's place before that happens. I think the spirit will work with her pretty well.

 

During ward council in the branch we have a high councilor assigned who always attends. While waiting for tardy leaders we shot the breeze about Metcalf mortuary. His dad was Robert L Simpson who was a GA whom dad took care of their funeral. They liked it so much that they had dad take care of his wife's funeral as well. Pretty cool....

 

Another huge highlight is for mom. If you recall about 15 months ago I reported a story about a girl in Nac that started taking the lessons after I approached her with the famous green eggs and ham. She did drop us shortly after the 3rd lesson because of some angst from her family. A couple weeks ago she went to church in Nac and told the missionaries she was now ready to be baptized...

 

Well Love y'all so much.

Elder Metcalf

Dina had the best baptism ever! And yes, I should clarify a bit on that, just like Jody had the best baptism ever or Felipe and Vanessa did because it was their baptism.

It was a pretty powerful experience. For the talk on a baptism we had a former Bishop draw tears from half of the crowd of 50 or so people. Then a couple of Sisters sang the best song ever "I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain..." and she was then baptized by brother Slavens. Following the actual ordinance, President Smith who came in behalf of President Wright, spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost. Extremely spiritual. About halfway through the talk he looked directly at Dina and said that tomorrow when she would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, she would feel it immediately. I wish I would have remembered the exact words because the next day she was confirmed. I was asked by Dina to do the confirmation and I felt very impressed about specific promises throughout the day leading up to the ordinance. She approached me during the break between sacrament and class and said to me 'Elder Metcalf I just wanted to let you know I felt it when I was confirmed yesterday, I felt the burning when I received the Holy Ghost.' Tell me that is some superior evidence of Heavenly Father's love.  In my journal I wrote just how grateful I was for His love for me as well as Dina's outstanding example with her choices and that I could be a part of this event.

Monday evening we had a remarkable lesson with a YSA who we started teaching a couple of weeks ago. We followed up with his reading and praying then taught the plan of salvation in about 20 minutes. It is amazing to see his recognition of the spirit because he has all but borne his testimony that he knows its true. The difficult thing is that if his mom found out he was meeting with us or even that he had a book of mormon in his possession then he would be kicked out of his home and disowned by his family. He said something that indicated his faith that he would be ok with that because he knows that he would be doing what God would want him to do.

I had a bit of a scare this week when I had a difficult time getting a hold of Mike who is getting baptized in June into the 5th ward. I was worried that something or some concern was causing an avoidance however much to my relief we finally got a hold of him late in the week and his testimony of the church and the book of mormon is still strong and outstanding, He just wishes his wife would quit having so many concerns and get into the church with him. He came to church yesterday and brought his granddaughter Alexis who absolutely loved everything about church attendance. She is 6 years old and while she was in sharing time during primary she wrote a note to her teacher Sister Deaver and said ' You are the best teacher ever.' Now there is no chance that with that 6 year old angel in the home they will be on board with coming to church a lot more consistently throughout their lives.

Another random highlight this week would of course go directly to Steven. Tuesday night the same storms that wrecked Missouri went right through the middle of our mission. There were tornado sirens everywhere screaming at us. We were supposed to exchange back from Greenville but the assistants soon informed us that every missionary needed to be inside immediately. We had some missionaries locked down in members homes until 10pm until this massive thunderstorm gave some mercy. The location we were at in Mckinney was clear but you could look south and see lightning bolt after lightning bolt destroying downtown Dallas. It was awesome! Our branch mission leader had us at his house until we were given the clear to get home while the storm was more calm then usual. Of course he detoured to In-N-Out on the way back and we picked up a shake then we got home and were safe and sound.

Sure do love Y'all!!! take care and it is great to hear the missionary work.

Elder Metcalf

Holy Cow (in remembrance of the birthday card mom got me) I am 23 years old! I actually forgot about my birthday yesterday until studies when I checked the phone.  That was a bit strange. It was great though, to be in the mission field adding an extra year is quite an honor.

 

So anyway Dina's baptism was rescheduled until the 28th of this month which was a bit heartbreaking. She is still golden but something with coordinating schedules messed it up until a couple weeks later.

 

Another big piece of news was a man that we tracted out when Elder Davis first got here accepted a baptismal date and came to church on Sunday. The lesson with him setting the date was awesome, I thought for a moment the Preach My Gospel training DVD film crew was on us. It was one of those lessons that made all the tracting worth it. We found out he has been reading the Book of Mormon 5-10 minutes everyday and knows it to be true. He actually apologized that he didn't read more often. I had a huge smile on my face. So we set the date, the spirit was strong and we left. He really enjoyed church on Sunday as well.

 

I cant believe I am going to write about this but... on Tuesday Elder McHardy and I waited 90 minutes in line for a special event. The grand opening of the first In-n-out in Texas. We talked to about a thousand people while in line but I think I felt the spirit while sinking my teeth into the double double. So we became the first Texas Mormon missionaries to eat there. Yes... that is going to be one of my spiritual highlights.

 

On Saturday we had a very unique contacting experience when Elder Davis and I were trying out a new technique. We throw a baseball around near other people then talk to them. While at the park we ran into an interesting organization, The Allen Jedi's. Apparently it is some religious organization that is making it's way to the states. Needless to say when the contact began their mediclorines jumped off the scale when they felt the spirit. Their light saber didn't stand a chance against our sword of truth.

 

It was an awesome week, the investigators that needed to come to church, came. A great birthday present.

and our zone is on 7 straight weeks of perfect contacting...

Sure do love y'all

Thank you for the gifts!

 

Elder Metcalf