Gooooooooooooood Morning San Diego!
This last week has been way good! Last Sunday when we taught Elay and his
family we forgot to set a baptismal date with them. We met with them again
on Wednesday and were adamant on setting a baptismal date with them. We
reviewed the Restoration, taught Elay about the Priesthood and watched *The
Restoration*. Afterwards I was left to extend the baptismal dates. I
started with Elay and committed him to be baptized. He accepted rather
hesitantly because he did not understand the Priesthood and why he would
need to be baptized again. I then asked 3 of the kids that were present and
they all accepted. They are set to be baptized on February 9th!!!!! Funny
thing happened though....while I was extended the commitments to the
children I got two of their names mixed up and said one name but was
looking at another. Apparently it looked like I was staring into her
soul....Elder Wynn was on the ball though and understood what was happening
haha picked up where I left off. Because of Elay's job he usually is not
able to come to church. We were only expecting to see the kids at church
but lo and behold he came!!! Although he has been to church the necessary
amount of times now (3), President Killpack would like to see him at church
at least one more time before he gets baptized because his church
attendance has been sporatic. I am praying real hard this week
that something will happen whether a change in work schedule or I dont know
what else that will allow Elay to come to church. It would be so great to
see he and his 4 kids get baptized on the same day! I am really starting to
enjoy going out every day to do missionary work! On P-Day we played
football, soccer, ultimate frisbee and basketball. I cannot remember if I
mentioned this last week but we have been challenged to give 20 lessons
every week. Whether it be investigators, less actives, recent converts, or
fully active members. I see this as a way to help better and fine tune my
teaching. It has been a wonderful experience talking about the Atonement
with people. The Atonement is such a special gift that our loving Heavenly
Father has given us and I have seen the infinite blessings that have come
from applying the infinite atonement in my life. We are going to start
teaching Elay separate from his children so we can more better address
their individual concerns. I love missionary work! I was so excited to hear
about the stake temple project that is going on. Words cannot express the
multiple experiences that I have done in family history work and taking
those names to the temple and allowing my ancestors the opportunity to be
spiritually freed and progress eternally.
Well...in the words of *The Best Two Years*...
Tot ziens
Love,
Elder Urry
LiveStrong
John 3:3-5
Family:
So much to write about! I have found my groove in missionary work. I have
gotten more comfortable and able to act like myself and I am seeing how fun
missionary work actually is! This update is going to be on the more funny
side. I just have to tell you some funny stories. We went to give a old
lady a blessing because she was feeling sick. We did and thought nothing of
it. She called us the next morning and said, "Elders, I have a miracle for
you! Thanks to your blessing I was able to put my dentures in and I did not
gag on the denture cream!" After we got off the phone we could not stop
laughing. The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways. Before sports we did
our shopping at wal mart. I did not really have to buy anything until we
went down the sporting goods isle. I saw bicep bands and eye black. I could
not resist. I looked like an NFL player with those bicep bands on and Bryce
Harper with smeared eyeblack down my face. Elder Wynn and I were on the
same team and I was chosen to be the play caller. I went all Peyton Manning
and did all these weird names and hand signals. Elder Wynn told me that the
best play I called was, "Double pit to chesty! Double pit to chesty!" while
tapping my head with both hands. These last couple Pdays have really
allowed me to really destress and get much needed exercise since I am in a
truck every day. A week has only gone by this transfer but this is by far
the most unified district I have been in on my mission. We all get to
together real well and now I know why the constantly encourage activities
that will help unify a district. It makes us want to go out and work even
harder not to necessarily get high numbers but to not let the rest of the
district down. I feel that missionary work is really starting to turn for
the better in the Picture Rocks ward. Hopefully, more members will get
involved once Elay and his kids are baptized.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Tucson--#18
Hey everyone!
I will be staying in the Picture Rocks ward for another 5 weeks. So you can
start sending mail back to my Anthony Dr. address. Yep..I said 5 weeks and
not 6 weeks. This transfer is going to be only 5 weeks because of the
shortened MTC time. The last couple days have been funny and weird.
Transfer calls were Sunday night. The other area in our district got
"pink-washed" (replaced with sisters). So we were expecting a call because
we thought either one of us was going to be the new district leader or one
of us was going to get transferred and a district leader would be brought
into the area. We didn't get a call. We woke up in the morning and said,
"That's weird. I wonder if they forgot to call us." We called the Zone
leaders and asked what was going on. They said, "one of the sisters is your
new district leader. President is trying a new idea before the influx of
missionaries start coming in. Please support him in this decision." We were
a little confused because neither of us had heard of that happening. Later
on yesterday we found out the truth. The zone leaders were yanking our
chains and actually President's new idea is to have them be zone leaders
AND our district leader's. Weird, eh? We have started to teach Elay Edris
and his 4 children. It is a part member family that we have been trying to
schedule appointments for awhile now. Elay is amazing! He is a refugee from
Sudan. Yes, the Sudan that is in Africa. He was telling us stories of him
going on hunts with his tribe. They would go and hunt gazelles,
wildebeests, etc. The tribe would surround the animals in large circle and
trap them in. Apparently they do not kill lions, they leave them alone.
Sometimes when walking back to his tribal camp there would be lions in the
middle of the road. I asked about cheetahs and if they were really as fast
as we have all been taught from our childhood. He said YES and they run
away the very moment that they see a human. The four children are ready for
baptism. Elay is going to take a little bit of time. Elay's mother-in-law
told us that he watched general conference with his wife, Rachael and he
was excited about the announcement of the Tucson Temple. He doesn't even
know what a temple is but he was still excited. He told Rachael, "Can I go
to the temple?" Rachael replied "Sure, I will take you to the open house."
Elay then said, "No. Can I GO there?" Rachael told him "First you have to
be baptized and a member of the church in order to go." Elay's final reply
was, "I want to take you there." Elay has been prepared to hear the Gospel.
Next transfer, the incoming missionaries are going to go from about 13 to a
little over 30 missionaries! The field is white!
Love,
Elder Urry
LiveStrong
John 14:26-27
Family:
Real cool story. We were meeting with a recent convert and she asked us to
give her a blessing for her back. She asked me to seal the anointing and
give the blessing. During the blessing I had the impression to say
something like this, "You will be instrumental in bringing many people into
the church." I brushed the impression of at first because I thought that
was too direct and was afraid to make such a direct promise. The impression
came again so I said it. It is the first time that I have felt like I was
acting as the mouthpiece of God while giving a blessing and I know that it
will come to pass. Bryant would be happy to hear these two stories. Last
week while we were role-playing at Zone Meeting I was partnered up with a
spanish missionary. She was a greenie and asked if she could speak in
Spanish. I agreed and we carried on. I did not understand it all but I got
the point that she was getting across. Saturday we were out tracting and a
family drove up next to us and said, "Hey! You guys are missionaries
right?" we replied in the affirmative and then they asked where the nearest
church was. They had researched where the nearest buildings were but wanted
to make sure. They then asked if there was a spanish ward that they could
go to. We again replied in the affirmative but not knowing the time they
have church we got their phone number and would call and let them know when
we found out. I called the spanish sisters and had to leave a message. I
left it in spanish telling them we had a referral for them. They called
back and both complimented me on how good my spanish was. Hermano mayor,
hablo espanol muy bien. jajaja. Thanks again for "The Inevitable Apostasy"!
I have started to read it and it is an amazing book. It is going to come in
handy real soon. Because we were told that Elay knows the Bible very well
and will understand a lot better because he is about a 6th grader in
english if we explain the need for the priesthood, prophets and the
apostasy using the Bible. I am so happy to be staying in Picture Rocks for
another 5 weeks! I was tempted to (but didnt) pay $10 to get Yoda's voice
on my G.P.S. just so I could hear him say, "Take you to your destination I will".
>
I will be staying in the Picture Rocks ward for another 5 weeks. So you can
start sending mail back to my Anthony Dr. address. Yep..I said 5 weeks and
not 6 weeks. This transfer is going to be only 5 weeks because of the
shortened MTC time. The last couple days have been funny and weird.
Transfer calls were Sunday night. The other area in our district got
"pink-washed" (replaced with sisters). So we were expecting a call because
we thought either one of us was going to be the new district leader or one
of us was going to get transferred and a district leader would be brought
into the area. We didn't get a call. We woke up in the morning and said,
"That's weird. I wonder if they forgot to call us." We called the Zone
leaders and asked what was going on. They said, "one of the sisters is your
new district leader. President is trying a new idea before the influx of
missionaries start coming in. Please support him in this decision." We were
a little confused because neither of us had heard of that happening. Later
on yesterday we found out the truth. The zone leaders were yanking our
chains and actually President's new idea is to have them be zone leaders
AND our district leader's. Weird, eh? We have started to teach Elay Edris
and his 4 children. It is a part member family that we have been trying to
schedule appointments for awhile now. Elay is amazing! He is a refugee from
Sudan. Yes, the Sudan that is in Africa. He was telling us stories of him
going on hunts with his tribe. They would go and hunt gazelles,
wildebeests, etc. The tribe would surround the animals in large circle and
trap them in. Apparently they do not kill lions, they leave them alone.
Sometimes when walking back to his tribal camp there would be lions in the
middle of the road. I asked about cheetahs and if they were really as fast
as we have all been taught from our childhood. He said YES and they run
away the very moment that they see a human. The four children are ready for
baptism. Elay is going to take a little bit of time. Elay's mother-in-law
told us that he watched general conference with his wife, Rachael and he
was excited about the announcement of the Tucson Temple. He doesn't even
know what a temple is but he was still excited. He told Rachael, "Can I go
to the temple?" Rachael replied "Sure, I will take you to the open house."
Elay then said, "No. Can I GO there?" Rachael told him "First you have to
be baptized and a member of the church in order to go." Elay's final reply
was, "I want to take you there." Elay has been prepared to hear the Gospel.
Next transfer, the incoming missionaries are going to go from about 13 to a
little over 30 missionaries! The field is white!
Love,
Elder Urry
LiveStrong
John 14:26-27
Family:
Real cool story. We were meeting with a recent convert and she asked us to
give her a blessing for her back. She asked me to seal the anointing and
give the blessing. During the blessing I had the impression to say
something like this, "You will be instrumental in bringing many people into
the church." I brushed the impression of at first because I thought that
was too direct and was afraid to make such a direct promise. The impression
came again so I said it. It is the first time that I have felt like I was
acting as the mouthpiece of God while giving a blessing and I know that it
will come to pass. Bryant would be happy to hear these two stories. Last
week while we were role-playing at Zone Meeting I was partnered up with a
spanish missionary. She was a greenie and asked if she could speak in
Spanish. I agreed and we carried on. I did not understand it all but I got
the point that she was getting across. Saturday we were out tracting and a
family drove up next to us and said, "Hey! You guys are missionaries
right?" we replied in the affirmative and then they asked where the nearest
church was. They had researched where the nearest buildings were but wanted
to make sure. They then asked if there was a spanish ward that they could
go to. We again replied in the affirmative but not knowing the time they
have church we got their phone number and would call and let them know when
we found out. I called the spanish sisters and had to leave a message. I
left it in spanish telling them we had a referral for them. They called
back and both complimented me on how good my spanish was. Hermano mayor,
hablo espanol muy bien. jajaja. Thanks again for "The Inevitable Apostasy"!
I have started to read it and it is an amazing book. It is going to come in
handy real soon. Because we were told that Elay knows the Bible very well
and will understand a lot better because he is about a 6th grader in
english if we explain the need for the priesthood, prophets and the
apostasy using the Bible. I am so happy to be staying in Picture Rocks for
another 5 weeks! I was tempted to (but didnt) pay $10 to get Yoda's voice
on my G.P.S. just so I could hear him say, "Take you to your destination I will".
>
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Tucson--#17
Hey Everyone!
We got five new investigators this week! We were finally able to meet with a part-member family who has four unbaptized kids. They are completely stoked to meet with us and have been going to church (the kids at least) pretty consistently for the last couple months. With yesterday being fast sunday, I fasted that Elder Wynn and I would be able to see the fruits of our labors as we work hard. We had barely gotten to church when we got a phone call from a ward member whom we had given her 3 copies of The Book of Mormon to hand out. She mentioned that she was bringing her neighbor to church. His name is Marco Moreno and by talking with him we found out that his mom is a member in Hermasillo, Mexico. He just stayed for sacrament meeting but mentioned that he would like us to come over sometime this week. Hard work, fasting and prayer pays off! Clark is giving me an unnecessary headache! He keeps going to Three Points which he admits is not somewhere he needs to go. We had to drop his baptismal date because he has not been to church yet. Debbie kept cancelling every appointment that we had with her. So we decided to just show up at her place. We talked for a little bit and she keeps reiterrating "Well...I know God would not have kept me through 5 deaths unless there was a reason. I know that God has placed you guys in my path. I just need to find out why." Those are words that missionaries love to hear! God wants all of His children to hear the beautiful message of the Plan of Salvation and why knowing where we came from, why we are here will help us understand where we will go after this life. She bought a planner so we have a set in stone appointment with her on Tuesday which according to her she will not cancel for anything. Today we are going to have a long day. A ward member is a chiropractor and invites us to come to his work for a free experience (I dont know that you would call it). We then are going to go play football, soccer, basketball, and dodgeball. We met with the youth at mutual and showed the mormon message "Invite All To Come Unto Christ" and emphasized the importance of giving an invitation to a church activity. The youth are a missionary powder keg about to blow. There is a lot in store for this next week!
Con amor,
Elder Urry
LiveStrong
1 Peter 4:6
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Tucson--#16
Hey Everyone!
Hope you all had a great Christmas and will have a Happy New Year! Elder
Wynn and I have done lots of tracting...lots of it. Which is making the
work here in Picture Rocks start to pick up. We found a new investigator
this week and a handful of potential investigators. Most of the potentials
are high school age youth. The youth in my ward are absolutely amazing!
They set amazing examples and their peers take notice. Our new
investigators name is Debbie and she also helps take care of the horses
that we feed twice a week. She has previously met with missionaries before
when she lived in New York. She is battling cancer and being close to her
love, horses, have helped her to cope. We are going to try and set up an
appointment this week to meet with her. Clark has been out of town for the
holidays which is not a good thing. He has started drinking again. Satan is
stupid! We might have to pass him of to the singles ward because he is 20
but we will see. He sees how the Gospel blesses his life and how much
better he feels when we talk with him and he reads from The Book of Mormon
but he just is not taking that extra step. We are trying to get the ward
more involved in missionary work. Yesterday the ward set a goal to place at
least 1 Book of Mormon for this upcoming year. We are going to start
helping ward member see one of the ways that we as missionaries have seen
to share the gospel. I like sharing Lehi's vision of the tree of life and
how his family did not come to the tree and partake of the fruit until
AFTER he invited them to do so. I love being a missionary and talking about
the gospel with all those I meet! Today we are going to go play football
and soccer against the neighboring zone and then maybe take some clothes to
the dry cleaners. Missionaries get FREE dry cleaning at all Tucson
Cleaners. It is awesome!! Bro. Hughes is trying to get together an
up-to-date 15 names list for Elder Wynn and I to use in reactivating and
finding new people to teach. The field truly is white. I have learned that
although the field is white the Lord is not just going to place the harvest
in your hands, you have to show you want the harvest and will sweat and
work hard to gain that harvest. I always think of a quote that I
think Brigham Young said that I remember from Mission Prep: "No blessing
comes unless there is an equal and opposite temptation (or trial)." It is
awesome hearing from all of you!
Love,
Elder Urry
LiveStrong
2 Thes. 2:2-3
>
Hope you all had a great Christmas and will have a Happy New Year! Elder
Wynn and I have done lots of tracting...lots of it. Which is making the
work here in Picture Rocks start to pick up. We found a new investigator
this week and a handful of potential investigators. Most of the potentials
are high school age youth. The youth in my ward are absolutely amazing!
They set amazing examples and their peers take notice. Our new
investigators name is Debbie and she also helps take care of the horses
that we feed twice a week. She has previously met with missionaries before
when she lived in New York. She is battling cancer and being close to her
love, horses, have helped her to cope. We are going to try and set up an
appointment this week to meet with her. Clark has been out of town for the
holidays which is not a good thing. He has started drinking again. Satan is
stupid! We might have to pass him of to the singles ward because he is 20
but we will see. He sees how the Gospel blesses his life and how much
better he feels when we talk with him and he reads from The Book of Mormon
but he just is not taking that extra step. We are trying to get the ward
more involved in missionary work. Yesterday the ward set a goal to place at
least 1 Book of Mormon for this upcoming year. We are going to start
helping ward member see one of the ways that we as missionaries have seen
to share the gospel. I like sharing Lehi's vision of the tree of life and
how his family did not come to the tree and partake of the fruit until
AFTER he invited them to do so. I love being a missionary and talking about
the gospel with all those I meet! Today we are going to go play football
and soccer against the neighboring zone and then maybe take some clothes to
the dry cleaners. Missionaries get FREE dry cleaning at all Tucson
Cleaners. It is awesome!! Bro. Hughes is trying to get together an
up-to-date 15 names list for Elder Wynn and I to use in reactivating and
finding new people to teach. The field truly is white. I have learned that
although the field is white the Lord is not just going to place the harvest
in your hands, you have to show you want the harvest and will sweat and
work hard to gain that harvest. I always think of a quote that I
think Brigham Young said that I remember from Mission Prep: "No blessing
comes unless there is an equal and opposite temptation (or trial)." It is
awesome hearing from all of you!
Love,
Elder Urry
LiveStrong
2 Thes. 2:2-3
>
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tucson--#15
Buenas tardes!
This last week has been very good! We found a very good potential, Mark, while tracting our street. We will be stopping by later this week to see how he is doing. We left him with a Book of Mormon and challenged him to read it. It was very difficult to meet with Clark this week. Our schedules were just working out with each other. We were able to talk with him on Saturday. We invited him to a baptism Saturday night and join us for our Ward Christmas Party. He said that he would think about it. He decided to go with us to the baptism but unfortunately we were late and missed the baptismal ordinance. I was a little frustrated and then I thought to myself, "OK Elder Urry, why else would the Lord have wanted Clark to come to the baptism?" We gave him a church tour and clarified his concern about baptism. He said that he was told that the Bible does not talk about baptism being needed to get to "heaven". We addressed that concern with John 3:5-6 and reading parts of 2 Nephi 31. We ended up in the chapel and the spirit was so strong! We talked more about baptism and some of the plan of salvation. He opened up more to us and how he wants to change his life and start living a better life. We committed him to being baptized on 1/26/13 and he accepted! He did not think that he would be ready but we assured him that Heavenly Father would make sure that he would be ready by that date. That the Holy Ghost will testify to him about the truth of our message. One thing that he mentioned to us is that he believes that this is the way God wants him to go because we are persistent and are sincere about our message. That is so wonderful that he is able to recognize the need for the Gospel in his life! Elder Wynn and I are working hard trying to meet with members, visit people on the ward's 15 name list and finding people to teach. The temple trip was so amazing!!! The Gila (Heela) Valley Temple is such a beautiful temple! It is amazing the spirit that is felt when you are in the House of the Lord. I feel spiritually rejuvenated and ready to get back to work and bring souls closer to their Savior, Jesus Christ. Christmas Eve we are having a full mission conference. I am looking forward to seeing missionaries that I have not seen it a while I am going to have to cut this email short, we have lots to get done today. Thank you for all of your love and support! I truly feel it here in Tucson!
Love,
Elder Urry
LiveStrong
Moroni 10:32
This last week has been very good! We found a very good potential, Mark, while tracting our street. We will be stopping by later this week to see how he is doing. We left him with a Book of Mormon and challenged him to read it. It was very difficult to meet with Clark this week. Our schedules were just working out with each other. We were able to talk with him on Saturday. We invited him to a baptism Saturday night and join us for our Ward Christmas Party. He said that he would think about it. He decided to go with us to the baptism but unfortunately we were late and missed the baptismal ordinance. I was a little frustrated and then I thought to myself, "OK Elder Urry, why else would the Lord have wanted Clark to come to the baptism?" We gave him a church tour and clarified his concern about baptism. He said that he was told that the Bible does not talk about baptism being needed to get to "heaven". We addressed that concern with John 3:5-6 and reading parts of 2 Nephi 31. We ended up in the chapel and the spirit was so strong! We talked more about baptism and some of the plan of salvation. He opened up more to us and how he wants to change his life and start living a better life. We committed him to being baptized on 1/26/13 and he accepted! He did not think that he would be ready but we assured him that Heavenly Father would make sure that he would be ready by that date. That the Holy Ghost will testify to him about the truth of our message. One thing that he mentioned to us is that he believes that this is the way God wants him to go because we are persistent and are sincere about our message. That is so wonderful that he is able to recognize the need for the Gospel in his life! Elder Wynn and I are working hard trying to meet with members, visit people on the ward's 15 name list and finding people to teach. The temple trip was so amazing!!! The Gila (Heela) Valley Temple is such a beautiful temple! It is amazing the spirit that is felt when you are in the House of the Lord. I feel spiritually rejuvenated and ready to get back to work and bring souls closer to their Savior, Jesus Christ. Christmas Eve we are having a full mission conference. I am looking forward to seeing missionaries that I have not seen it a while I am going to have to cut this email short, we have lots to get done today. Thank you for all of your love and support! I truly feel it here in Tucson!
Love,
Elder Urry
LiveStrong
Moroni 10:32
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Tucson--#14
Hey Everyone!
This last week has been a little bit crazy! The last missionaries did not
leave us much to go by but that does not matter because the Lord knows what
is going on and He will guide us in the work. We traveled to the mission
office to make an area map. It took us over an hour of photocopying and
taping together but it is the "Mona Lisa" of area maps! The Picture Rocks
ward is pretty large and thank goodness that Elder Wynn has a GPS! The
weather has been pretty nice out here in Marana. It gets pretty cold at
night and during the summer it is the hottest part of the mission. We have
been cleaning up our trailer a lot this past week given two missionaries
died there. We took five trash bags of stuff to the church dumpster
yesterday and there is still more for us to clean! Every Wednesday we go
over to the ward mission leader, Bro. Hughes' house for dinner. Bro.
Hughes' sister I think is married to the youngest Owsley. Small world eh?
There is a lot of potential in my area. There is a part-member family, the
Boughan's where the husband and four kids are not members! They have been
going to church consistently but have never been taught the lessons. We are
going to meet with them this week. According to a ward member who is good
friends with the Boughans, the children will get baptized IF asked, it is
the husband that we need to focus on. We will have a white Christmas! There
is a guy who runs a horse rescue farm that we help feed his 27 horses twice
a week. To be honest, I was not looking forward to doing this until I asked
if there were any race horses that he takes care of. He said, "well as a
matter of fact, over here are my only two thorough bred." And guess what
triple-crown winner is their grandpa? Yep! Secretariat. Elder Wynn is an
awesome missionary. We both have recognized that we need to gain back the
member's trust. We have been visiting a lot of the members this last week
and just getting to know them. We coincidentally happened to have dinner
with the Bishop on Friday. We told him that we are here to serve and ready
to put our shoulders to the wheel. We asked him what would be the best way
to serve the ward. He told us, "Just show them that you are willing to work
hard. They will notice and help you with missionary work." He conducted
Sacrament meeting and when he introduced us to the ward he told them that
we are here to work hard. Bro. Hughes tells everyone that he comes in
contact with the same thing, that we are here to work hard. That is an
answer to prayers because I have been praying to find the easiest way to
get all of the members' trust and Bishop and Bro Hughes are doing just
that! I had a mini fast yesterday that we would be able to have success in
this area. We were tried to contact a former investigator who happened to
not be home at the time. There was a young man, Clark, who happened to be
there though. We introduced ourselves and he invited us to come in.
Apparently we hesitated a little bit and he said, "Don't worry I am not
going to shoot you guys. I'm not THAT crazy." haha Clark is apathetic
towards religions but believes in God. We taught him the Restoration and he
seemed to like the idea of the Priesthood and the importance of having the
priesthood on the earth. He asked us, "How can you know if someone has that
Priesthood?" We explained how Joseph Smith received the priesthood and it
has been passed down ever since. He committed to read, ponder and pray
about the Book of Mormon so he can get an answer and also to get the extra
strength he needs to quit smoking. We have a return appointment with him
tomorrow. This Thursday is our temple trip! I am so stoked to go to the
Gila Valley Temple! One thing I have learned on my mission is: If you work
hard missionary work is easy and if you work easy missionary work is hard.
We are going to work hard and I know that the Lord will open doors for us
because He already has with Clark!
Love,
Elder Urry
Livestrong
This last week has been a little bit crazy! The last missionaries did not
leave us much to go by but that does not matter because the Lord knows what
is going on and He will guide us in the work. We traveled to the mission
office to make an area map. It took us over an hour of photocopying and
taping together but it is the "Mona Lisa" of area maps! The Picture Rocks
ward is pretty large and thank goodness that Elder Wynn has a GPS! The
weather has been pretty nice out here in Marana. It gets pretty cold at
night and during the summer it is the hottest part of the mission. We have
been cleaning up our trailer a lot this past week given two missionaries
died there. We took five trash bags of stuff to the church dumpster
yesterday and there is still more for us to clean! Every Wednesday we go
over to the ward mission leader, Bro. Hughes' house for dinner. Bro.
Hughes' sister I think is married to the youngest Owsley. Small world eh?
There is a lot of potential in my area. There is a part-member family, the
Boughan's where the husband and four kids are not members! They have been
going to church consistently but have never been taught the lessons. We are
going to meet with them this week. According to a ward member who is good
friends with the Boughans, the children will get baptized IF asked, it is
the husband that we need to focus on. We will have a white Christmas! There
is a guy who runs a horse rescue farm that we help feed his 27 horses twice
a week. To be honest, I was not looking forward to doing this until I asked
if there were any race horses that he takes care of. He said, "well as a
matter of fact, over here are my only two thorough bred." And guess what
triple-crown winner is their grandpa? Yep! Secretariat. Elder Wynn is an
awesome missionary. We both have recognized that we need to gain back the
member's trust. We have been visiting a lot of the members this last week
and just getting to know them. We coincidentally happened to have dinner
with the Bishop on Friday. We told him that we are here to serve and ready
to put our shoulders to the wheel. We asked him what would be the best way
to serve the ward. He told us, "Just show them that you are willing to work
hard. They will notice and help you with missionary work." He conducted
Sacrament meeting and when he introduced us to the ward he told them that
we are here to work hard. Bro. Hughes tells everyone that he comes in
contact with the same thing, that we are here to work hard. That is an
answer to prayers because I have been praying to find the easiest way to
get all of the members' trust and Bishop and Bro Hughes are doing just
that! I had a mini fast yesterday that we would be able to have success in
this area. We were tried to contact a former investigator who happened to
not be home at the time. There was a young man, Clark, who happened to be
there though. We introduced ourselves and he invited us to come in.
Apparently we hesitated a little bit and he said, "Don't worry I am not
going to shoot you guys. I'm not THAT crazy." haha Clark is apathetic
towards religions but believes in God. We taught him the Restoration and he
seemed to like the idea of the Priesthood and the importance of having the
priesthood on the earth. He asked us, "How can you know if someone has that
Priesthood?" We explained how Joseph Smith received the priesthood and it
has been passed down ever since. He committed to read, ponder and pray
about the Book of Mormon so he can get an answer and also to get the extra
strength he needs to quit smoking. We have a return appointment with him
tomorrow. This Thursday is our temple trip! I am so stoked to go to the
Gila Valley Temple! One thing I have learned on my mission is: If you work
hard missionary work is easy and if you work easy missionary work is hard.
We are going to work hard and I know that the Lord will open doors for us
because He already has with Clark!
Love,
Elder Urry
Livestrong
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Tucson--#13
Hey Everyone!
I have been transferred! I am going to the Picture Rocks ward in the Tucson
West Stake which is actually in Marana, AZ. It is pretty much the farthest
west part of the entire mission. My companion is going to be Elder Wynn
whom I have not yet met because he is coming from Wilcox, AZ. So...yes we
will be "white-washing" the area! I am both excited and nervous. It is
weird leaving my first area even though I was only there for 3 months, I
met some amazing people and was blessed to have multiple baptisms. From
what I have heard, I am going to live in a trailor owned by a member.
Apparently there is a "zoo" in my front yard. There are some desert
tortoises, rattlesnakes, havelinas (wild pig like creatures). It will be
fun! And...we will have a truck! I always look forward to visiting the
Otero family because they are planning something new every single time.
Yvonne who has been a member for 12 years is preparing to go to the temple
in 3 months and Chris is preparing for a year from now. We were finally
able to get Patricia Vespoli to church! It was like pulling teeth but she
came. She mentioned that she was not getting an answer to her prayers. As
we talked we discovered that she was having trouble feeling the spirit.
Mary Bennett, the Relief Society President was at the appointment and
helped encourage her to come to church. We were a little nervous because
Sunday was fast and testimony meeting and those are always toss-ups and who
participates. We promised her that she would feel the Spirit if she came to
church. We prayed that she would be able to feel the spirits and listen to
the meaningful testimonies that would be given. My goodness were our
prayers answered! There were some amazing testimonies and each one I would
say to myself, "I hope Pat is listening because this is really good!" After
Sacrament meeting Sis Bennett told us that Pat enjoyed the meeting and was
crying during the testimonies and asked, "I do not even know why I am
crying" Sis Bennett explained to her that she was feeling the spirit just
like we had promised would happen not even 24 hours later. We met with the
YW president and one of her counselors and discussed how we could help the
youth get involved in missionary work. We decided on showing them the
Mormon Message "Invite All To Come Unto Christ" and just brainstorm ideas
on how to do missionary work. We have been meeting with lots of families in
the ward and explaining to them that missionary work does not start or end
with baptism. They do not need to shove the gospel down people's throats.
All they have to do is invite. We read part of Lehi's dream with them and
explain that Lehi's family did not come to the tree of life until AFTER
Lehi invited them to come. I am looking forward to what is in store for me
and Elder Wynn this next transfer! There will be a "white Christmas" in the
Picture Rocks ward.
Elder Urry
Livestrong
I have been transferred! I am going to the Picture Rocks ward in the Tucson
West Stake which is actually in Marana, AZ. It is pretty much the farthest
west part of the entire mission. My companion is going to be Elder Wynn
whom I have not yet met because he is coming from Wilcox, AZ. So...yes we
will be "white-washing" the area! I am both excited and nervous. It is
weird leaving my first area even though I was only there for 3 months, I
met some amazing people and was blessed to have multiple baptisms. From
what I have heard, I am going to live in a trailor owned by a member.
Apparently there is a "zoo" in my front yard. There are some desert
tortoises, rattlesnakes, havelinas (wild pig like creatures). It will be
fun! And...we will have a truck! I always look forward to visiting the
Otero family because they are planning something new every single time.
Yvonne who has been a member for 12 years is preparing to go to the temple
in 3 months and Chris is preparing for a year from now. We were finally
able to get Patricia Vespoli to church! It was like pulling teeth but she
came. She mentioned that she was not getting an answer to her prayers. As
we talked we discovered that she was having trouble feeling the spirit.
Mary Bennett, the Relief Society President was at the appointment and
helped encourage her to come to church. We were a little nervous because
Sunday was fast and testimony meeting and those are always toss-ups and who
participates. We promised her that she would feel the Spirit if she came to
church. We prayed that she would be able to feel the spirits and listen to
the meaningful testimonies that would be given. My goodness were our
prayers answered! There were some amazing testimonies and each one I would
say to myself, "I hope Pat is listening because this is really good!" After
Sacrament meeting Sis Bennett told us that Pat enjoyed the meeting and was
crying during the testimonies and asked, "I do not even know why I am
crying" Sis Bennett explained to her that she was feeling the spirit just
like we had promised would happen not even 24 hours later. We met with the
YW president and one of her counselors and discussed how we could help the
youth get involved in missionary work. We decided on showing them the
Mormon Message "Invite All To Come Unto Christ" and just brainstorm ideas
on how to do missionary work. We have been meeting with lots of families in
the ward and explaining to them that missionary work does not start or end
with baptism. They do not need to shove the gospel down people's throats.
All they have to do is invite. We read part of Lehi's dream with them and
explain that Lehi's family did not come to the tree of life until AFTER
Lehi invited them to come. I am looking forward to what is in store for me
and Elder Wynn this next transfer! There will be a "white Christmas" in the
Picture Rocks ward.
Elder Urry
Livestrong
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