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