iPad's and Stuff

Yep. iPads and other gadgets are coming to missions. Missionaries are now being authorized to use social media sites and blogs to proselyte, but they are phasing these things in mission by mission. I may be here to see it or I may not. They also talked much about how they want MEMBERS to mobilize the missionaries, and not vice-versa. Very few of our members came to the broadcast, and I don't know how many watched at home and will begin applying what they taught. If they do what was taught, then we will have a great next few months!

Have a Great Week!

Elder Ryan Bell

New Members!!

Ryan & Betty Kinnel who was Baptized June 15, 2013

Rocky & Christina LaRocco

This week was great here with the 3 baptisms. It was awesome to see the miracles that brought these 3 people to the gospel and to see and hear of the growth of others who are hopefully coming closer. The La Rocco's are awesome! And Betty is like my adopted Grandma. We meet and go out to lunch quite a bit, and she is just.... one of the coolest. This mission thing is tough, but it is so worth it for people like her and others who have the Restored Gospel change their lives!

Photo Time Ya All!

    Elder Ry chatting with President Pingree (something about a Guitar and Mission Rules?!?)

   Elder Bell and his new Missionary/Companion (Elder Murdock) he is assigned to train this transfer

Hearken!! The week in the life of a Texas Houston Missionary as narrated by Elder Ryan Bell

This is a slightly altered version of a letter I sent to one of my companion's parents telling them what their son did this week, mixed with comments of my own. Hearken-

On Monday, Read some of the New Testament, followed by a dinner at the home of a rockin' member.

On Tuesday, taught an investigator named Ron Malick Matthew 14 when Jesus walks on the water and calls Peter to him. After that, he taught a lady named Lisa the first lesson- The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not to use the same phrase twice, but HE ROCKED IT!

We get to Wednesday. We ate lunch with a very nice older member couple and taught them about the Armor of God. After this, we mowed a 70-something-year-old couple's lawn. We then ate a rib dinner and all went on splits and met with the ward mission in one of the wards.

Thursday, just to shake things up, Elder Williams suggested that we go to Denny's for a pre-breakfast breakfast before beginning a hard day of grit, sweat, and missionary work. Neither of us can remember what happened after Denny's so it must have been awesome. Then we went to the home of a member for dinner. The deacon-aged son had a shiny guitar in the entryway to their home, so probably as is customary, Elder Williams asked him to play us a song. And oh, that kid played us a song, alright. There is no forgiveness in this world or the next for how many rules we broke listening to this young man serenade us with some rock. We are all very content with our new place in the mid Telestial kingdom because of this.

Now we arrive at Friday. An investigator named Betty Kinnel took us all to Red Lobster! We dined on fresh fish and great conversation. After this great lunch we helped Betty do some family history work and prepare to take some names to the temple after she is baptized on June 15th. Again, the rest of the day was a blur.

On Saturday, Elder Williams was found crammed in the back of a sedan visiting the home of less-active and part-member families and knocking on some doors. Our Mystery Van ran out of miles so we hit the streets after this, walking to our next destination and trying to talk to people along the way. As we did so, we met a man named Saul, playing with his dogs in a park. Elder Williams invited him to Church! Then came time for dinner, and we ended up at the home of a part-member family named the Bells. The husband is a Catholic, but is willing to listen to missionaries, so Elder Williams helped to plan out a lesson around the principle of John 8:31-32 and then we explored examples of some who have sought truth and have in turn been made more free. It was an awesome lesson! Since our car was parked a couple of miles away, we set out to talk to more people while walking to our car. On the way, two new investigators were found. Out curfew is 9 pm, so by about 8:20-something we all literally started running through neighborhoods to make it back on time. We did.

Then comes Sunday, on Sunday while walking through Church, an investigator couple who have been coming to Church for over a year and have been on the VERGE of baptism for months came up to us. "Hey guys!" they said, "just to let you know, this is our last week visiting your Church. It has been great and everything..... but...... we decided we want to become members!"

Wait........... wait.......... wait.......

It was a hilarious and well-planned prank. They are both in their 30's and have four girls. But this was their way of telling us that they have decided to be baptized before they leave out of town on June 21st. We took them to Gospel Principles class, announced the great news to everyone and then did a lesson on what to expect for their baptism. And better still, the couple wanted Elder Williams and Elder McKell to baptize them. Two relatively new missionaries who definitely need that!

So... all in all, after doing the math, it was a week!

Hope you all have a great week!

                                                     -Elder Ryan A. Bell