19 September 2016

So this week was pretty awesome. On Tuesday we got a phone call from a less active member, and she told us she had a friend over who wants to hear the gospel. So we get over there and the first thing that happens when we walk up is we hear the husband of the less active yelling and swearing at the son who lives there. And the son yelling and swearing back. So it was a weird start to things and we thought, "there's no way the spirit is going to be here."  But we get in there and things calm down.  We start talking and the first thing she says is she doesn't know how to pray and that she's really embarrassed about that.  But guess what the main focus throughout the whole mission was? It was prayer! It was crazy, I know how to teach prayer, but if we hadn't been focusing on it lately we would not have thought it so well. So after that we started teaching the restoration and half way through she and the less active said I think we are ready to take the next step. So we asked if she was ready and willing to change, and she said yes, I want to be baptized! So we set a goal for October 15! I'm so excited! She seems so sweet and sincere.  I really hope it all works out smoothly.

Things at home seem to be stressful, but I'm glad you're finding the blessing in things. I don't like cheesy

things, but the saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is 100% true. I don't think these problems are going to kill you. You'll be good mum.  One Elder who is home now told me to write a blessing or a miracle in your journal every night. I haven't been very good at that, but I'll try to be better because it seems like you are trying to be better finding blessings.

(Emma was in a car accident in the van.  She was T-boned and the van was knocked over onto its passenger side. It was a blessing that she was not hurt more than a bump on the head.  But the van was totaled)  

That would have be terrible if they had just junked the van without you letting them know. It makes me sad that the car is totaled, but I'm glad we got enough money out of it, that's a huge blessing. And that will be exciting to have a Camry and a Corolla. It's also very good to hear that Emma is going to start paying for the Corolla. That will be good for her and you. And the washing machine broke too??  Do we know what's wrong with the washer? Do you have to go to the laundromat or something for now? We don't have a washer at our place but we go to the Dry Creek Ward's apartment and they have a massive one.  I can do all my whites in one load! Which is saying something. Haha. I've been trying not to spend as much as I have been. Please don't feel the need to keep filling my card when I spend the money too quickly. I should be able to manage my money better anyway. And with the smaller car you said it would be a little bit cheaper? That's awesome. Maybe that's why the accident happened? In the end do you think it will help us have a little bit more money? This is a quote I use literally every day out here, it's in 2 Nephi 2:2 "he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy good."

Again another cheesy kinda pick me up, but I hope that helps. Each week we have a prayer roll so I put you and Emma's name on it. And of course I am praying for you guys. I miss you mum and I'm glad that you are finding all these blessings.

That's a very cute story about Riley and the missionary in primary.  He kept staring at him?  haha! He's a good boy going to church! I miss him. I was playing with a 5 year old the other day thinking "is this what it's going to be like when I get home?" It makes me sad I'm missing all these adorable moments. 

Grandpa and Nana look great in the picture. And that's fun that he got to see his brother and sister in law. That's a little bit scary that he lost so much weight from removing the fluid from his stomach! That's crazy how much they weighed I guess.

As far as the things I'm doing as a zone leader, it's honestly not too much different.  We do have one extra meeting every third Sunday called Stake missionary correlation meeting. So it's us, the stake presidency, and President Marston. It is supposed to be a meeting about the missionary work in the stake, but a lot of time it ends up being the stake presidency scolding us for not baptizing more people and then President Marston defending us and assuring the stake presidency that we are good missionaries and we are doing our best.  Then the stake presidency saying, ok we believe you. Haha, yeah it's brutal sometimes. But we really have nothing to worry about. We know we are working our hardest and so does President, even though it may not show in the numbers a lot of times.

I love and miss you guys.

-Elder Yule

Seminary

We got to go to a seminary class and do some practice teaching.  We were paired up with students as our companions.  And we helped them answer questions that they have been asked, and questions they had about the church.  It was so fun!  But we had to wake up at 5:00 a.m., which was brutal.  I don't know how anyone does early morning seminary!  

A Funny Story

This is all of us - Elder Stoddard, Elder Lamattina and I- the night we dropped Lamattina off.  the reason why we're laughing so hard is because we were a bit early to drop him off.  So we just pulled in a random parking lot and, you know, we needed a picture together before he left.  So we're taking the picture and then we look up and there are a bunch of people walking out of the building where we were parked.  It was a Catholic Church!  So we were trying to hurry and take a picture before these Catholic people see three Mormon missionaries taking selfies in their parking lot!

5 September 2016

Your Labor Day weekend in St. George sounds awesome! I miss Saint George and swimming haha! 

I did pick up the ukulele out here. I bought a little one at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop in Redding when I was volunteering there.  It didn't have a nut so I made a makeshift one out of a pencil. So it doesn't sound amazing but it's my baby, haha. Then President Marston kind of cracked down on no instruments, so I put it away in my closet and haven't played it. The little knowledge I have of the guitar made the ukulele a piece of cake.

So here's a quick run down of my week, we had MLC or Missionary Leadership Council. All the zone leaders get together and talk about numbers and what not.  That was awesome. I got to see a ton of my buddies from past zones and stuff. It was really cool. It is held in Gridley, which is about and hour and a half drive from Antelope. So the Citrus Heights, Roseville, and Lincoln zone leaders all drove up with us. As the Antelope zone leaders we are in charge of the mission van. This big white van that we take other missionaries around in. Really we mainly use it for MLC. So all those zone leaders get in and  Elder Stoddard and I have the responsibility to drive. Well he drove last time so I got to drive this big van an hour and a half up and back. It was so fun! We call it the party bus, haha. 

Another important think that happened this week was a missionary in our zone was going home due to medical reasons.  So what does President Marston do with his lone companion? He give him to us. So again I am in a trio with 2 companions. We have to cover his Ward too for 2 weeks, which is when the transfer ends. The Dry Creek
Ward is really pretty, so it's okay. Elder Ball is a good kid and I'm glad he's with us. Those are the main things that happened this week. I'll write more later. 

I love you mum. I am truly sorry I always said I was embarrassed of our house. Our house sounds like absolute
heaven on earth right now. I love and miss you guys.

                                                   If you drive it, you get to take a picture on the hood.

28 August 2016

Hello mum, this week was good. There were some crazy moments this week. Just mentally I felt incredibly low. There were just little periods of depression. We had zone conference.  Because I'm a zone leader in the hosting zone I had to conduct the meeting. Which wasn't too bad. I got to see some of my old companions, Elder Phelps and Elder Bean, who are actually now companions. So we talked all the time about the good old days. Haha. They've told me when one of them does something they learned from me they say "Thats a Yule thing!" Haha.  I love those guys! Also in this zone conference the Antelope Zone had to do a musical number, so we decided we'd sing "We'll Bring the World his Truth (Army of Helaman)".   I borrowed a member's ukulele and I played the song while we sang it. It was awesome! I was really nervous to play in front of all those missionaries, but it went great! And it was really fun. The main focus of the zone conference was obedience. That's where those depressed periods came from I think. Not that I have been disobedient, but I can always do better and I just got really down that I haven't been doing better. Other than that it was a great week.

(So we thought it was pretty funny that Calum played the ukulele for the zone conference, because he doesn't play the ukulele!!!!  At least he didn't when he left.)

Email sent by President Marston, Calum's Mission President, 23 August 2016

Dear Missionaries,

The Prophet Joseph Smith stated “Men and angels are to be co-workers in bringing to pass this great work.”

Psalms 91: 11

“For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Doctrine and Covenants 109:22

“And we ask thee, Holy Father, that they servants may go forth from this house armed with my power, and that thy name may be upon them,

And thy glory round about them, and thine angels have charge over them;

   

Doctrine and Covenant 84:88

“And whosoever receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit

Shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”

Over these past several days I have been blessed to know of the truth and reality of these scriptures as they relate to our missionaries and angels and prayers that protect us.

I would like to share with you these thoughts and experiences and impressions (as described by the missionaries involved and paraphrasing after my telephone conversations with them)

  

Angels lifted and gently and softly cared for a missionary

“We were biking down a very steep hill, heading to our next appointment. My companion was ahead of me and we were going close to 20 miles per hour. From a side road came a car that was going equally fast. However, the driver did not see me as she started her very swift turn. I tried to swerve and brake to slow down but alas, I didn't turn enough. My bike hit her car in the back corner. I did a disfigured swan dive over her fender and hit the ground, My bike had snapped in to 3 pieces. It was broken in such a way that it looked as if someone had actually sawed through the front fork. Which  caused my bike to move in such a way that protected me from major damage. Because of this amazing break in the bike I only got 2 small scrapes on my knee and palm. I got up immediately and felt no pain or pressure. One of the witnesses was a sports therapist. He said that when he saw me flip over the fender at the speed I was going, he thought I was dead or at least in a coma. Angels are ministering to those who are in the Lord's work. They protected me in a very real way.”

Angels surrounded and protected and kept safe a companionship

As I drove through an intersection, a truck hit our passenger side fender, causing the vehicle to spin 180 degrees, after which our passenger rear

quarter panel hit the truck. The truck tore through our engine block, completely mangling the front end of the vehicle. After spinning out,

the rear passenger quarter panel smashed into the truck, causing it to cave in.   The front and side air bags all deployed. 

The impact of the accident caused the     frame to crack on the other truck.  Both vehicles were undriveable following the accident.

My companion and I were able to open the doors, get out of our car, walk away without any physical injury.  We had follow-up medical evaluation that gave us each a clean bill of health.

Everyone who saw the accident exclaimed that it was a miracle there were NO injuries to anyone.  We were wearing our seat belts but know that angels were surrounding us and shielding us from injury.

Angels from on high attended and rejoiced with the creation of a new family unit in the Kingdom of God

          Wednesday was our daughters sealing in the Salt Lake Temple.  I had been up very early that morning taking a missionary to the Sacramento airport.  This missionary  is a loving and wonderful missionary who has been given the opportunity to continue on in his missionary service in the Alabama Birmingham Mission. After dropping him off at the airport  I had some time to just enjoy the early morning  so I drove to the Sacramento Temple grounds and found a private bench and watched as the sun rose.  I wanted to take a few moments to ponder about the covenant that would take place in just a couple of hours with Kristine and Joey.  I had made arrangements to attend an endowment session of the temple that would coincide with the sealing time so that we would all be in the Temples at the same time but far apart.  As I attended the Temple that morning additional insights were given to me regarding our relationship with a loving Father in Heaven and the need for a Savior and the joy of God’s plan for each of us.  There were only a few people on this session so as I stood in the Celestial Room it was as if I were there by myself.  I looked around at the beauty that surrounded me and the way the morning sunlight was coming through the stained and etched glass windows.  The sun was sending beams of light throughout the room as it reflected and bounced off the immense crystal chandelier in the center of the room.  It seemed I truly understood heaven a bit more and felt what heaven must be like.

The Temple President, President Papa, came into the room and saw me standing there.  We have grown close together in our callings and have great love for each other.  He asked me if I was there with missionaries.  I told him, no, that I was there by myself as my daughter was getting married and sealed in the Salt Lake Temple at that exact moment.  He remembered our daughter from a few weeks prior as she and Joey and his family had come to Sacramento so that I could be with Kristine and Joey as they received their Temple ordinances for the first time.  President Papa asked if I would like to sit in a sealing room while I thought about my daughter.  He offered to let me read the exact words of the temple sealing and marriage covenant while in that sacred room inserting the names of Kristine and Joey at the appropriate times.  He showed me where I would be sitting as witness to the sealing if I were in the sealing room with Kristine in Salt Lake City.  President Papa told me of the promptings he had had to come to the Celestial Room exactly at that time.  If he had come in a few minutes before or a few minutes after I would have not been in the Celestial Room and this special experience would have not happened.   While I was reading and re-reading the powerful words and promises of the sealing covenant my eyes were brimming and overflowing with the love that I felt from my Father in Heaven and my Savior.  I thought for an instant that I was alone in that sealing room, but the longer I sat there the fuller the room became until it was filled with all those I love the most in this world both here on the earth and those gone on to the heavens above.  My spiritual self then saw the ceremony as it was happening in Salt Lake City:  Kristine and her mother side by side and rows of my posterity gathered together.  And friends and other family sitting close to each other, peaceful and happy as they witnessed another family unit created under the power of the Priesthood of God. I “witnessed” Kristine and Joey kneel at the alter and make and keep sacred covenants.  I was with them and they were with me.  As mirrors on the walls reflected a visual representation of eternity they also reflected and brought to the Sacramento Temple those in the Salt Lake Temple.  My joy was complete.  I was with my daughter that morning.  Angels from beyond the veil attended the ceremony.  Promptings from the Spirit were received by President Papa and myself so that I could witness the marriage of my daughter.  Heavenly Father loves me and supplies for my every need and want.  I want to live my life such that I can always feel of God’s love for me.  Miracles happened that day, indeed. 

                                                                                        

I testify of a loving Father in Heaven and a merciful Savior.  I testify of the power of the Holy Ghost and of the existence of angels who assist us in our work.

Best regards,

President Michael F. Marston

21 August 2016

Antelope is a little bit boring so far. Not that we're not doing anything. The other missionaries rock though! That's always one of the best parts of an area.  Driving is much different than riding a bike, haha. I never thought I'd say this but sometimes I miss riding a bike. It's not as fun going around your area in a car. You don't get to see as much, you're not outside, you can't ride a little bit in front of your companion to have some alone time. Not that I want to get away from Stoddard.  But it's kind of fun to just feel like you're biking down the road by yourself! I've also found that in the car I haven't gained any weight (and I don't plan on it) but my weight is more consistent. On bike it would be all over the place. That doesn't happen as much in a car. 

As far as my seniority position I am kind of junior companion right now. My first time being a zone leader and I don't know the area. So he's showing me how to do the paper work and the forms and what not for a little bit. 

From my letter to Calum:  I had my opening faculty meetings on Friday.  I think they went well overall, but my opening went flat.  Haha!  My theme this year is centered around having a Growth Mindset rather than a Fixed Mindset.  It's based on a book called Mindset by Carol Dweck.  Basically a person with a fixed mindset says "I can't do that"  But a person with a growth mindset says "I can't do that, YET".  It's the YET that's the important part.  The fixed mindset person believes he is born with specific talents and you can't change who you are.  So a person might be an amazing violinist or tennis player because they were born with that talent.  The trouble with people with a fixed mindset is, they don't want to try new things because they might fail.  And if I fail, then I guess I wasn't a born tennis player after all.  But with a growth mindset, people believe that they can do anything if they work hard enough.  They are not afraid to try, because if they fail, that doesn't mean they are no longer a talented person.  They just hit a bump in the road and they will try again.  We want to help develop a growth mindset in our students.  So rather than telling a student 'you are a genius' implying they were born that way, we use words like 'you must have tried really hard to accomplish that.'  Anyway, that was a long explanation.  Because with a growth mindset, we should all be happy, because there's no such thing as failure, I bought all kinds of smiley face things for the teachers.  Like a smiley face emoji.  The library looked really cute all decorated with yellow smileys.  So to start the meeting I played Pharrell's Happy video, thinking everyone would start to dance in their chairs and clap their hands - like we all do every time it comes on.  Well, no one moved.  In fact, they didn't even stop talking to each other.  I was pretty disappointed in their reaction.  But the rest of the meetings went well.  Haha.

That sounds like a very cool theme! I agree with the whole "yet" thing. That would be a cool way to think. Always expecting and looking for growth. I'll give that a shot. That's too bad that the teachers didn't react haha! Maybe they just thought it was supposed to be background music while they waited for you? I dunno. I bet you'll enjoy this year especially with Riley there. 

That makes me sad to hear about granddaddy. I'm scared for him and Nana. Feeding through a tube never sounds appealing and I'm sure granddad isn't looking forward to it.

From my letter to Calum:  I love and miss you.  You have proven yourself as an amazing missionary and servant of our Heavenly Father.  Because of your dedication and hard work, you have been made senior companion, district leader, and now zone leader.  And you haven't even been out a year.  It brings a tear to my eye when I think of a comment you made right after high school.  You said, "I used to be a soccer player, but now I'm nothing".  My darling son, you are far from nothing.  You are a talented, loving man, who is sacrificing two years of your life to serve our Heavenly Father.  He is proud of you.  Your mission president is proud of you and trusts you with these advanced responsibilities.  You have shown that you are much more than a soccer player.  You will never be 'nothing'.

Thank you for the uplifting words mum. I do feel like I have more of a purpose while I'm out here. I'm proud that I can be trusted. I don't want to be prideful, I dread being prideful haha, but I also want to be confident. I love and miss you mom. I think about you and your work everyday! I hope you feel excited for this school year. I have kind of a signature quote that I'm known for out here, one of them is "Come on!!" (You know, like Andy Murray - Come On, Andy!) but the other one is "Have a good time all the time." But I always have to explain that when I say that I don't mean just mess around and do whatever you want. I mean have a good time no matter what you're doing, feeling the spirit is a good time to me, teaching a lesson is a good time to me! Weekly planning isn't... But that's why I say that quote. Try to make planning a good time.  When I feel like I've had a successful planning session, I have a good time. Haha.  So I hope you're having a good time all the time mum! Haha! I love you mum and I miss you so much. Send the girls my love too.