TRANSFERS! Dec 1, 2014
So I don't have very much time to e-mail this week but I am going to Big Rapids, Michigan. I will be serving with Elder Laing and we will be white washing it. I've heard that it's a college town, Ferris State University, so that should be fun. :)
This week was great but it was also really sad having to say goodbye to everyone.
For Thanksgiving we went to the Cormier's with the sister missionaries, sister Chisholm and Smith. It was a blast! We ate dinner, watched the Joseph Smith movie, and had a great time. I love Curt and Patti, they are amazing!
Saturday and Sunday were both pretty emotional for me. We had our last lesson with the Shocknesse's. I walked in and told them that I had gotten my phone call. And John said, "NO! You are going to hate it there." And Karolyn just stared at me, and said. "no." At the end of the lesson, I told them how much I love them and how thankful I am to be a part of their lives and conversion then John got choked up and said to me, "I wouldn't be sitting here right now, if it weren't for you." That is what makes a mission so special, being able to help people change their lives through the Gospel. Then we also said goodbye to the Marcou's which was really sad as well. I have come to really love them both. They are such great people and have so much charity.
Sunday was great. We sat next to the Shocknesse's in sacrament meeting and they were both really happy, and Karolyn was smiling and having a good time. Then Sister Bethea walked in late and we had her sit by us. She whispered to me, "I came because of you." Later on, before she left church, she pulled me out of class and told me that she would miss me and that I reminded her of her first missionaries, she also asked if she could hug me. ha. She's amazing. John was also ordained and given the Aaronic Priesthood today! It was awesome. I had my last coordination meeting after church and everyone went around the table and told me something nice, it was really cool, the ward missionaries here are the BEST! Then we went and said bye to Blake and Bro. Jones. That was sad. We had dinner with the Jameses, BFD! They are one of my favorite families here. They are great. Then we went to the Cormiers and talked with them and said goodbye to them. It was so sad. "I hate goodbyes" -Dumb and Dumber. It feels like I'm leaving home all over again. I loved getting to serve in Midland and the people here are wonderful. I can't wait to get to come back here!
My spiritual thought of the week actually comes out of a letter I recieved. It is Jarom 1:9, Omni 1:6, & Mosiah 1:7. They basically just say to us that if we keep the commandments, we WILL prosper. The promise is also the same in the negative. If you don't keep the commandments, you will NOT prosper. It really is that simple. Take time to examine your life, and the decisions you make. Strive to be obedient to the commandments, I know it will bless each one of you.
Love,
Elder Chalmers
Thanksgiving at the Cormier's
The Marcou's
Ward coordination
me and Blake
The Joneses
The Joneses part 2
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JOHN & KAROLYN......BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!! Nov. 24, 2014
Hey everybody!
This week was so awesome! The highlight of course was John and Karolyn Shocknesse getting baptized and confirmed, but we will get to that a little later.
Monday: We had a pretty uneventful P-Day. We ended up just talking in the Family History center for like 3 hours with the sisters about who we were back home, ha, then we had dinner with Sister Skaug. It was really cool. We talked about Mosiah 2:20-24 about how we need to be thankful to God and then afterward, she asked us for a blessing. It was a really cool experience. Having the priesthood to give blessings is such an amazing privilege and opportunity.
Tuesday: We had half-mission training in Mt. Pleasant today. We were supposed to have Elder Marcus B. Nash come, but he got another assignment, but it was still an amazing training. President Hoover, of the mission presidency spoke, and he is such a powerful speaker. He had us all read 3 Nephi 5:13. It was so powerful. Then as we drove home it was a blizzard and it was crazy! We went over to the Cormiers and that was great, as usual.
Wednesday: We raked leaves for the Glenn's with the other elders. It had snowed so we ended up shoveling the lawn, it was fun then we went and taught the Shocknesse's and finished the lessons with them. We talked about Eternal families and they loved it. Then we knocked for a while. We had dinner with the Pennocks. It was great. We talked about Polygamy and had a great discussion. We talked about how we really need to build our testimony on what's important then we had a dessert at the Joneses. Today some lady tried to tell us Joseph Smith was delusional so I shut that down. ha.
Thursday: Today was weekly planning and it was a struggle. But before that we taught the Shocknesse's about baptism and the sacrament and it was great. Later, we taught Ben and then we had to weekly plan. After that, we taught Dale Fultz. It was another great lesson and we talked about line upon line. We had dinner at the Carn's, monte cristo sandwiches and a peanut butter chocolate cake that was awesome. The way Bro. Carn said, "Babe, that cake is ridiculous, Imma hit that again." hah. He's the funniest guy.
Friday: Today we did a little trade-off and Elder McBride and I went to the Shocknesse's so he could do their interview. They both passed! John was being super funny. ha. Then we traded back. We went to Joe's and helped him put up his indoor Christmas lights and the whole time Tracey was telling Elder Rapp how she liked me more, she was being brutal. hah. They were happy to find out that it wasn't my last week, so that made me feel good :) then we knocked doors.
Saturday: Today was the best! This morning we walked in the Santa Parade. That was a ton of fun. We handed out Midland Nativity Exhibit flyers, it was a ton of fun even though it was cold. :) We got ready for the Baptism. It was awesome. I got to baptize John and Elder Rapp baptized Karolyn. It was the best. I was so happy to see them enter into a covenant with our Heavenly Father. It was such a special moment. After the baptism, I was talking to them and they asked me if I was leaving and I said probably. Karolyn said, "I don't want you to leave, we really like you." and John told me to not pick up the phone. hah. After that, we knocked doors for a while. Then we had a lesson with James Cannady, following that we had a lesson with Dani. It started off as a pretty bad lesson but then we asked her why she wanted to meet with us and then it got really good.
Sunday: Today was also great. I was able to confirm John and then Elder Rapp confirmed Karolyn. It was another super special moment for me. In coordination meeting, Sis. Henson asked me if I was leaving and I told her I probably was and since she is leaving town, she told me how she was able to see me from day one, until now, and how impressed she is with how much I've grown, it was really cool. :) Then after church we were talking to the Shocknesse's and they were telling all of us how they didn't want me to leave and they looked at me and said, that I saved his life, it was a really amazing moment. Being a missionary is the best decision I have ever made. You really can make a difference in other lives. We had a lesson with a new investigator named Dean. He is a little less-accountable, but is a super cool guy. He showed me his 4,000 card collection of Yu-gi-oh. He wants to get to know God better and be forgiven of his sins and guilt so we are really excited about him. Then we stopped by to see Sis. Bethea. We talked about being thankful, it was great. We had dinner at the Tufts and I spilled my salad into my lap... spaztic. hah.
My spiritual thought of the week comes from our conversation with the Pennock family. Take the time to reflect on your testimony and think about what it's based on. Make sure that it's based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon.
Love,
Elder Chalmers
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| THE BAPTISM! |
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| Teaching Ben how to tie a tie |
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