This week has been a different week!
I got a new companion (my second comp in Ely) and he is Elder S. from Maine. The only thing about him is he scares me with how similar we are. Other than that, it's soooo awesome to be serving with him. He is about 18 months out, and so this is probably his last stop in the mission, but I'm leanring a ton from him.
I almost feel like we are reopening an area. When we baptized B. last week, we almost emptied our teaching pool and now we are searching from new investigators! (Calling all RM's, you should write me {contact the sister by way of comment for the address}and tell me your finding ideas for small towns. How did you do the work in your "Ely"?) When Elder Swank came in, I realized, we are teaching a ton of people who aren't do anything! So now we are trying to change how we do missionary work in the area. We shall see how it turns out.
I had a super neat experience last week. We attended Lund ward on Sunday. The first big highlight was they had homemade bread for the sacrament. I felt like a was in a Joseph Smith movie or something. AWESOME...
But no, the big highlight was this. There is a governement funded ranch outside Ely that is owned by a member. About 6 boys from the ranch come to church almost every week and they were expressing desires to learn and join the Church. The boy's ranch is basically a jouvie alternative, and it's neat to see kids want to change after seeing the life they were heading towars. We are trying to find a way to get permission to teach them right now, but it's sooo neat. I love being here in Ely!
This weekend is Lund Pioneer DayS! (yes, DAYS. This is Lund we are taking about.) They have team sorting and branding, rodeos, fireworks, parades, etc. We are going to try to do service and do some less active work down there this weekend because that's where everyone will be.
I'm having fun in Ely. The work is true and it presses forward in Sin City or in little old Ely. I love being a part of this work. I hope these things inspire you to strengthen your faith and to share this message with others.
Elder Hitchcock
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Russell's Email 7-16-09
this is an old tire shop/chicken coop down in lund.
someone has a freakin lion! actually it's a dog, shaved like a lion
this is an old car in some weeds. I thought it looked almost pretty...
Hotel Nevada! there is a mountain bike race I am going to do after my mission and you get to ride through the hotel nevada casino
backgound of #305 is the 60x40 garage we did a huge service project for. Took about 20 hours (oh yeah, and they don't like harry reid)
look at the elk that I shot! just kidding, a guy found the elk (natural causes death) and then packed the skull and rack 3 miles. It was HUGE
Russell's Email 7-9-09
I love serving my mission! I had some really neat experiences this week that I want to share.
The first is our investigator down in Lund, B., who is going to be baptized on that 18th! She is so awesome, and her husband is getting the priesthood on Sunday so that he can baptize her! I'm so stoked, she's one of those that will be to the temple in a year! I'm really pumped for that! We also took a member with us to her home, and this member is friends with B. but she added so much to the lesson! I love teaching with members and seeing them have a spiritual experience. There's really not much better than to see a member get excited, because then they share the gospel even more!
The second was an answer to my fast. Saturday night I knelt down and began my fast, and maybe 5 minutes later (I was shinning my shoes) the phone rang and it was the Bishop of Lund ward. He told us about someone he had just met, J. He had recently moved to Lund with his brother, J. (who is a member of the Church.) He had been taking the lessons down in Vegas and he wants to get baptized. I'm so excited for this to happen. There are tons of little details to figure out, but no worries, we will figure it all out.
Ely is a great place and I love serving here. Right now we are at a little bit of a low point. I want to ask everyone at home to pray for us here in Ely, and also pray for the members, that we might have more people to teach. Ely, we can't do much here by our own efforts. We have to have the members help, and I could use some extra prayers!!!
Those are the exciting things. Oh yeah, the Tour de France started. I was trunky. There's a family here who is keeping me posted, and it's driving me nuts. I'm trying to avoid them so I don't get distracted... I hope everyone has a great week!!!
The first is our investigator down in Lund, B., who is going to be baptized on that 18th! She is so awesome, and her husband is getting the priesthood on Sunday so that he can baptize her! I'm so stoked, she's one of those that will be to the temple in a year! I'm really pumped for that! We also took a member with us to her home, and this member is friends with B. but she added so much to the lesson! I love teaching with members and seeing them have a spiritual experience. There's really not much better than to see a member get excited, because then they share the gospel even more!
The second was an answer to my fast. Saturday night I knelt down and began my fast, and maybe 5 minutes later (I was shinning my shoes) the phone rang and it was the Bishop of Lund ward. He told us about someone he had just met, J. He had recently moved to Lund with his brother, J. (who is a member of the Church.) He had been taking the lessons down in Vegas and he wants to get baptized. I'm so excited for this to happen. There are tons of little details to figure out, but no worries, we will figure it all out.
Ely is a great place and I love serving here. Right now we are at a little bit of a low point. I want to ask everyone at home to pray for us here in Ely, and also pray for the members, that we might have more people to teach. Ely, we can't do much here by our own efforts. We have to have the members help, and I could use some extra prayers!!!
Those are the exciting things. Oh yeah, the Tour de France started. I was trunky. There's a family here who is keeping me posted, and it's driving me nuts. I'm trying to avoid them so I don't get distracted... I hope everyone has a great week!!!
Russell's Email 7-2-09
So I'll start off this with a joke that one of the young women told to open her talk.
Okay, Imagine you are on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you find you are sinking and there is a big hole in the boat (and there is to much water to bail out...) What do you do????
STOP IMAGINING!!!
Anyway, Dad your sense of humor is still very much a part of me. This week has been really good. I think Lund is my favorite place in the state of Nevada. We are still working towards baptism with our investigator there, and we were teach The Gospel of Jesus Christ on Monday and we were teaching her about baptism and the sacrament, how they are connected. Well, turns out she knew the whole time what we were talking about, and it really took me off guard. I asked her how she knew and she said she had read it in her "Converts guide to mormonism" My mind=blown. It was pretty crazy.
A quote that Sister B. (from Cookeville TN) shared this week has really stuck in my mind. "There is not faith or growth in convience, only in sacrafice." Over the past few days, I feel I have grown some and my mission is becoming more joy than sacrafice. I think, what am I giving up? All I am doing is gaining....
Another neat experience is one I want to share. In Lund and Preston (about 500 people between the two towns, seperated by a two lane highway) there are only a few nonmembers. Of course members try to work with most of them, but one member said, "I feel like I need to invite her to something." We challenged her to figure it out and take action, we left her with a book of Mormon, a couple ideas, and told her to pray. This past week we found out that she had given her the Book of Mormon. The Lord is preparing people to hear this message, and it's up to us to act. We can share this message that blesses families for eternity, or we can selfishly be missing in action (as Elder Perry talked about in conference) while others perish without the gospel. Jospeh Smith said, "After all that has been said, the greatst and most important work is to share the Gospel."
I hope everyone will keep their eyes open for missionary opportunities.
I love you all, and good luck this week.
Elder Hitchcock
Okay, Imagine you are on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you find you are sinking and there is a big hole in the boat (and there is to much water to bail out...) What do you do????
STOP IMAGINING!!!
Anyway, Dad your sense of humor is still very much a part of me. This week has been really good. I think Lund is my favorite place in the state of Nevada. We are still working towards baptism with our investigator there, and we were teach The Gospel of Jesus Christ on Monday and we were teaching her about baptism and the sacrament, how they are connected. Well, turns out she knew the whole time what we were talking about, and it really took me off guard. I asked her how she knew and she said she had read it in her "Converts guide to mormonism" My mind=blown. It was pretty crazy.
A quote that Sister B. (from Cookeville TN) shared this week has really stuck in my mind. "There is not faith or growth in convience, only in sacrafice." Over the past few days, I feel I have grown some and my mission is becoming more joy than sacrafice. I think, what am I giving up? All I am doing is gaining....
Another neat experience is one I want to share. In Lund and Preston (about 500 people between the two towns, seperated by a two lane highway) there are only a few nonmembers. Of course members try to work with most of them, but one member said, "I feel like I need to invite her to something." We challenged her to figure it out and take action, we left her with a book of Mormon, a couple ideas, and told her to pray. This past week we found out that she had given her the Book of Mormon. The Lord is preparing people to hear this message, and it's up to us to act. We can share this message that blesses families for eternity, or we can selfishly be missing in action (as Elder Perry talked about in conference) while others perish without the gospel. Jospeh Smith said, "After all that has been said, the greatst and most important work is to share the Gospel."
I hope everyone will keep their eyes open for missionary opportunities.
I love you all, and good luck this week.
Elder Hitchcock
Russell's Email 6-25-09
Well Well Well, another week has come and gone and the work continues to roll forth. I love the Standard of Truth by the Prophet Joseph. "The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from the standard of truth has been erected; No un hallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done."
My highlight of this week was a baptism that I got to take part of with Elder and Sister B. They are pretty much my heros in the mission field and I have grown to really love and respect them. Anyway, they had a 77 year old investigator who had made the decision to follow the Savior's example and be baptized, despite her huge fear of water. (she said she could hardly take a shower because of the water on her face, much less be baptized and be immersed in the water.) Anyway, she struggled to get herself to the font and Sister Beaty offered a prayer that gave her the courage to face her fears. Even though I was there and in the water, I didn't really do anything (except grab her towel really quick to get the water off her face) but it was truly a blessing to me to see a 77 year old woman overcome a fear like that. It's so great to be a missionary and to do this work. I really love it.
My highlight of this week was a baptism that I got to take part of with Elder and Sister B. They are pretty much my heros in the mission field and I have grown to really love and respect them. Anyway, they had a 77 year old investigator who had made the decision to follow the Savior's example and be baptized, despite her huge fear of water. (she said she could hardly take a shower because of the water on her face, much less be baptized and be immersed in the water.) Anyway, she struggled to get herself to the font and Sister Beaty offered a prayer that gave her the courage to face her fears. Even though I was there and in the water, I didn't really do anything (except grab her towel really quick to get the water off her face) but it was truly a blessing to me to see a 77 year old woman overcome a fear like that. It's so great to be a missionary and to do this work. I really love it.
Russell's Email 6-18-09
This week WAS BANGIN!
On Saturday we had a baptism of a 13 year old here in Ely NV! That was the 8th person that I have had the opportunity to be involved with that was baptized. It's so great to get to be one of the Lord's servants!
On Monday we had such an amazing lesson with one of our investigators down in Lund NV. That day was neat because we actually had dinner with her sister in law (H.) and H.'s husband. We knew that she had received her answer that the Book of Mormon was true. So we knew that she was ready to be set for baptism.
As we taught the Plan of Salvation, we taught about eternal families and how we can be with our families for forever, not "till death do us part." We read 2 Nephi 31:10-11 with her and then asked her to be baptized. Here's what makes this event better.
Her husband was baptized in Las Vegas while he was going to UNLV but fell away pretty quick because he didn't have much support. He never received the Priesthood so we challenged him to work to obtain that priesthood so that he could baptize his wife. He's going to work towards that as she works towards baptism.
Something they said has really stuck with me. She said, "Our marriage has been really good but as we have been reading the Book of Mormon together, we have grown closer and things are going even better." Truly, this Gospel is designed to bless the lives of families.
It's no secret about the time that I spent in GA and at home when I should have been on my mission. While this was a difficult time, I know that I am now better prepared to serve the Lord and testify of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We had a lesson with an amazing member of the Church who is working back to activity. As he was reading the Book of Mormon, he read something that just destoryed his hope and he allowed Satan to test the waters and make him believe that he couldn't progress. I felt so great to get to share my testimony of the power of the atonement and I know he felt the spirit. It was an amazing night as we shared these feelings and beliefs.
On Tuesday I had the opportunity to give a short training on using the Book of Mormon more in our teaching. As I understood the importance of using the Book of Mormon more, I gained a greater love. Everyone has access to the Bible and so many have a faith and testimony of it, but the Book of Mormon is another testament of the Savior. We teach more from it because it confirms their faith in the Bible and helps others grow even closer to the Savior. I also read a really cool paragraph in Preach My Gospel as I prepared this short teaching. It said, "You too should apply this promise regularly to strengthen and renew your testimony of the Book of Mormon."
The promise that is referred to is Moroni 10:4-5
"And when ye shall receive these things I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
I have reapplied this promise and I want to invite everyone to do the same. Moroni doesn't say, "the lord will only tell you once" and I know that applying it again really does strengthen that testimony.
My mission is awesome, I love it.
I hope all is well at home and that everyone is being blessed.
Elder Hitchcock
On Saturday we had a baptism of a 13 year old here in Ely NV! That was the 8th person that I have had the opportunity to be involved with that was baptized. It's so great to get to be one of the Lord's servants!
On Monday we had such an amazing lesson with one of our investigators down in Lund NV. That day was neat because we actually had dinner with her sister in law (H.) and H.'s husband. We knew that she had received her answer that the Book of Mormon was true. So we knew that she was ready to be set for baptism.
As we taught the Plan of Salvation, we taught about eternal families and how we can be with our families for forever, not "till death do us part." We read 2 Nephi 31:10-11 with her and then asked her to be baptized. Here's what makes this event better.
Her husband was baptized in Las Vegas while he was going to UNLV but fell away pretty quick because he didn't have much support. He never received the Priesthood so we challenged him to work to obtain that priesthood so that he could baptize his wife. He's going to work towards that as she works towards baptism.
Something they said has really stuck with me. She said, "Our marriage has been really good but as we have been reading the Book of Mormon together, we have grown closer and things are going even better." Truly, this Gospel is designed to bless the lives of families.
It's no secret about the time that I spent in GA and at home when I should have been on my mission. While this was a difficult time, I know that I am now better prepared to serve the Lord and testify of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We had a lesson with an amazing member of the Church who is working back to activity. As he was reading the Book of Mormon, he read something that just destoryed his hope and he allowed Satan to test the waters and make him believe that he couldn't progress. I felt so great to get to share my testimony of the power of the atonement and I know he felt the spirit. It was an amazing night as we shared these feelings and beliefs.
On Tuesday I had the opportunity to give a short training on using the Book of Mormon more in our teaching. As I understood the importance of using the Book of Mormon more, I gained a greater love. Everyone has access to the Bible and so many have a faith and testimony of it, but the Book of Mormon is another testament of the Savior. We teach more from it because it confirms their faith in the Bible and helps others grow even closer to the Savior. I also read a really cool paragraph in Preach My Gospel as I prepared this short teaching. It said, "You too should apply this promise regularly to strengthen and renew your testimony of the Book of Mormon."
The promise that is referred to is Moroni 10:4-5
"And when ye shall receive these things I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
I have reapplied this promise and I want to invite everyone to do the same. Moroni doesn't say, "the lord will only tell you once" and I know that applying it again really does strengthen that testimony.
My mission is awesome, I love it.
I hope all is well at home and that everyone is being blessed.
Elder Hitchcock
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