New area-New experiences

What is up all you fine males and females! I hope you all are crushing at life and I hope y’all are doing good! So much has happened this week so let's get right into it…

Scripture of the week:

2 NEPHI 28:30 For behold, thus saith the lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there little; and blessed are those who harken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto the council, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth i will give more; and from them that shall be taken away even that which they have.

I am going to try to fit a spiritual thought every week because I have been lacking on those.. 

Spiritual thought of the week:

One thing I have been thinking about this week is how the Holy Ghost speaks to me and it's truly something we should all stop and think about. How do you feel the Holy Ghost? How does He speak to you? What feeling do you get when you feel the Holy Ghost? 

For me, I have found the best way that helps me is when I pray before I read the Book of Mormon and then after I read, to go into a room alone and say a prayer out loud and ask for guidance and to feel the Spirit. And then I sit there and listen and  feel for anything and once I have a good feeling or thought I write it down in a journal and remember that good feeling because that is the Holy Ghost speaking. It's not something you do only once. I have found myself doing this process a lot on my mission to remember how the Holy Ghost speaks to me and it's something we should do all time. 

More times than not we find ourselves comfortable and feel like we got everything figured out and we lose site of how the Holy Ghost speaks to us and we need to retune ourselves back with the Spirit and how he communicates to us. I will continue to pray when I feel like I have lost site of how the Holy Ghost speaks to me so that I can keep myself spiritual in tune with Him 

The biggest thing I want ya’ll go get out of this email is to go read the Book of Mormon! Before you read, say a prayer ask God to help you find out how the Holy Ghost speaks to you and read the scriptures and once you have finished reading, go into a room alone, somewhere private and say a prayer out loud and ask to find out how the Holy Ghost speaks to you. Before you end your prayer, sit and listen and once you find that feeling say thank you and go write down how you felt so you remember how the Holy Ghost speaks to you. And it may take more than once to find how the Holy Ghost speaks to you. The Lord may want to see how much you are willing to stay steadfast fast to  Him  so keep it up until you find how the Holy Ghost speaks to you. 

March 17

 I packed all day and we also went around and said goodbye to some ward members. It was sad but the Lord had called me to a different area. The Lord does everything for a reason in our lives, even if its hard trial, it all happens for a reason.

March 18

Moving day and man it was so cool! To start the day off we drove back to Oklahoma City which is a 2 hour drive from Muskogee. As we got closer to our destination we saw (what my gramps calls a convoy) of Toyota rav4s because those are the cars all the missionaries use. It looks like an army of cars with bikes on them all following each other, pretty sure some locals were wondering what the heck was going on. 

Then we got to the church which we call the pen building, there i was able to watch the “ring of fire” but instead of being new and getting a trainer I got to watch all the new missionaries (greenies) come into the mission and get their companions. It was so cool to see everyone!  I got to see two sisters from my MTC District and it was fun to say hi. I also got to see a friend I made in the MTC.  It was fun to say hi to everyone and catch up.  Once we got our keys and car, me and my new companion, Elder Siddoway headed out for another hour drive to Lawton, Oklahoma. Fun fact, it is the second largest town in Oklahoma. It also has a military base, one for the U.S. Airforce and the other side had an Army boot camp training for new soldiers.  After driving for so long we finally made it.  We had to stop at a military post and get visitor passes because we teach on the Army base here in Lawton which will be so fun. After we went there after for a bible study but unfortunately we have to go through training before we can teach the soldiers but it's only a 2 day training so it will be fast. It will be so fun to share our love of God to the men and women who fight for our country. After that we came back to the apartment and slept good. 

March 19 

Well I hear artillery guns firing all day long 

Today was so cool. We made three new friends whose names are Chuck, Makayla and David. All of them are so cool and we are so excited to teach them. All are wanting to understand our church and learn more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  And we also got to volunteer at a food pantry. I am basically in a dudestrict- in short , my District is all elders. There are our Zone leaders, Elder Tyler and Elder Domen plus the trio, Elder Hogge, Bullock and Ross. We all got to work at the food pantry. It was good to help those who needed food and who are going through a hard time. Me and Elder Siddoway are getting along well and our goal is to help at least one person in Lawton come closer to Christ though the covenant of baptism so let's see what happens this transfer. Afterwards Elder Domen and Elder Taylor came to our house during dinner. Some members here got us burgers which was so nice and it was so good and then we went back out to walk around and try to find people to teach and help. 

March 20th Well today was so awesome! We got our missionary app aka pmg for Preach My Gospel, to work so we were able to go knock on some members' doors and talk to some referrals and we made 3 friends. It was so cool to talk to them, we also had a random moment at Golden Corral where we went for dinner with some members. While we were there, this guy came up to us and asked to get a picture with us, so we got one with him and then he just left without a trace, so random. Outside of that, we just had a fun day walking and meeting members. We talked to a guy whose wife had a prom dress rental business and had 400+ dresses and we got to see the room of them all which was crazy.

March 21 

Day three here in Lawton and we have made two new friends who are so cool and we also have taught some lessons. Our first lesson was with a lady named Carol who is on date to be baptized but after talking to her and learning about her I  don't think she fully understands some of the commitments required for baptism so we went over them and just asked her a simple questions (when you go to church what do want out of it and what are you looking for at church and why do you come)  

I believe it's important to know why you go to church. If you go to church with the wrong mindset  it's not going to help you and you will not receive all the blessings you can gain from church. It's only 2 hours of our Sabbath day that we are asked to go to church, to give of our time to the Ones who created us and gave us this amazing life here on earth- Who have placed us where we need to be. 

After our time with Carol we walked around and went to a member's house where I got to work on a car and completely take out and replace a radiator and it was so much fun to work on cars again! Sorry mom, my white shirt is a little dirty now but its not too bad, a quick wash and it will be good to go and the guy was so happy I fixed his car. He said “I don't think I have ever seen a Mormon work on their own car before.” He then proceeded  to take a picture of me to send to his wife 😆   after all that, we had a lesson with a cool guy named Chuck we are teaching who we met 2 days ago, super cool guy. Then we went to the church to play corn hole with some of the members and some guy called me out on my boots saying it was probably not the best to wear on a mission and that because Lawton was a military town many people would look down on my unpolished boots. I kindly just said thanks for letting me know. Even though I got approval from my mission presidents to wear them for proselyting ( walking out in public) and  I have a better pair of shoes I wear for church and my boots have been used for 4 years without polish and they are meant to be work boots so of course I'm going to wear them when walking out all day.  And they can get worn and dirty so it's ok.  I wore them all day in my last area and no one had a problem with them. After that it was a chill rest of the day 

March 22 

Today was such a cool day. To start it all off we left the apartment at 7:20am and went to the Army post, Fort Sill.  It serves as the headquarters of the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence. We drove over to where the basic training happens and walked into a building where we met a couple missionaries who were assigned there and we set up church for all those who were in basic training to come and have church or as we call it BCT.  We got to speak for a couple of them before we had to go over to a different area where we had church service for those in AIT or in short, a more specific training like heavy artillery, aircraft, tanks, officers etc and we were able to bless and pass the sacrament of the Lord’s supper to them.  It was cool to meet and talk to the men who are serving our country and it's just such a cool feeling to be a part of. That feeling that you get to go on base and teach soldiers and help them find and strengthen their relationship with God and how He can bless all our lives when we put Him first is incredible. After that we headed to our home ward where we met the members in the Lawton 1st ward and it was such a fun experience! After church we headed quickly to the hospital and I got to give my first priesthood blessing on my mission to someone. Her name was Shirley Brady and she was such a kind lady who sadly had a really bad health problem and so we gave here a blessing and man, it's so cool to be set apart as a missionary and see all this happen and see the blessings that come from it. I’m grateful God gives us His power through His priesthood to bless others. After her blessing we gave her the sacrament  and we wished her luck on getting better. I also had to get all dressed in a hospital outfit 😆  so now I have a funny picture of me in  hospital clothes hahah 

Outside of that I had a chill rest of the day and got to meet some more members and I’m looking forward to the new week.

March 23 

Well today was a sigma day,  We had a lot happen this morning. We had a Zone meeting over zoom since we are District leaders and so we had to talk with the other set of District leaders and the Zone leaders. Then we had zl training which is a zoom with the mission president, President Huffaker with all the District leaders and Zone leaders in the mission and we had a training that happens once a month. After that we went and visited some friends and some referrals. We also stopped at a family member's house where I role played sharing the gospel to them. We biked a lot today. I can't feel my legs but it’s ok, pain is sometimes the best teacher. Overall, a good day. 

March 24  

Today was pretty chill and busy. We started the day biking for 3 hours to visit people and we made 2 more friends who are super cool and we are so excited to teach them we are giving out Book of Mormons so fast we are going to have to put in an order for more.  For lunch we went with the other elders to Sam's club for lunch  with another elder who recently had a really hard night- long story short, an elder in our district sadly had to get sent home due to some mental health problems so they had to ET (emergency transfer) the other elder to the Zone leaders 

Pls pray for the elder who had to go home his family. The elder still here is Elder Gold who  is super cool and fun to talk to. He is from Idaho falls.  After lunch we went and met a young boy named Robert, he is so fun to talk to. He is 11 and his grandma recently got baptized and she wants Robert to be baptized if its what he wants so we are teaching him.  it's a little tough, he has really bad ADHD and some other things so its hard for him to stay focused for long but we made it work but we are so excited to teach him! After all our teaching we went over to the church and played volleyball ball for 2 hours with youth and other members of the Church which we do every Tuesday at the end of the day over all, a good day!  

Well everyone time for me to close this long email but hope yall have a good day and I got my address so if you all want to send anything,  whether its cards or package here is my address  

Elder Saul Saunders 

ROSE BROOK apartment

3132 NW Cache Rd, #115 

Lawton, OK 73505. 

Shout out to my friend Madi Miner, she got called to serve in the Mesa Arizona mission! 

Moving right along to...

Good morning and what is up all my fine males and females!  I hope you have had a sigma week and if you are new normally I email on Wednesdays but since this past Sunday was T-Doc my P day is today. I will explain what T-Doc is later in my email but let's get right into it 

March 11 

well p day was a chill day we just played board games and went to the store and got more games we also went to like 7 pawn shops and found some really cool treasures but over all just a laid back day

 

March 12 

We had an exchange with our District Leaders, and Elder Cook and Elder Bauder, down in their area in a town called Salisaw near the Arkansas border and I was with Elder Bauder and we had a great day! We taught some lessons to some of their friends and we made them a new friend named Larry and he is super chill.  Later that day we played Settlers of Catan, my family's favorite, and I lost by 1 point sadly, but I was cooking pretty good! 

March 13 

District Conference and it was a good and a spiritual day. At the beginning we talked about how all our friends are doing and all together our district has 8 baptisms in the next 2 months which is so cool.  It's amazing to see the commitment the people are making to make that first covenant with Christ by choosing to follow in his footsteps and be baptized.  They are willing to repent and ask for forgiveness when they make mistakes. God is so merciful to us and so many people feel like they can never find forgiveness but that is far from the truth. Heavenly  Father and Jesus Christ are always stretching  their hands out and asking us to pray and repent of our sins. They don't ask for perfection but they ask for effort to make a change and to take small steps and by doing so we grow closer to Them each day. We came back from District Conference and I got super nauseous so I had to lay down for 30 minutes and after I took a Tums I was good but nothing else crazy for Friday.  

March 14 

Friday was good, to start off me and Elder Douglas had to take a trip to Tulsa because our car is 4,000 miles over its oil change. I’m sure you all know that when you go past your oil change date its a big no-no so folks do your oil changes! If anything, do them earlier than suggested.  It will let your car/truck last way longer! It was cool to come to Tulsa, my favorite city so far, and after we dropped off the car we walked over to a Scheels and walked around for a while and it was fun to look at legos and other fun stores.  There were some interesting people  there, we also saw some protests going into town. After we got our car back we drove over to the biggest Boot Barn I have ever seen in my life– it dwarfs the ones I have been to in Utah and they had an entire wall dedicated to hat brands which was super cool! After we got back to Muskogee we biked around looking for people to teach and serve for the remainder of the night. 

March 15 

Well ladies and gentlemen today has been so exciting! To start off we had an amazing Sunday. We had a baptism! Elder Cox and Elder Phenomena were able to see their friend Caleb  get baptized so congratulations to him!  Back at our apartment, we did our weekly planning and then walked in the cold for a long time, had dinner at a ward member's house and it was chill.

Now the moment we all have been waiting for its  T-Doc  day everyone. What is T-Doc  you are asking? Well let me tell you! Every 5 to 6 weeks we have transfers where we find out if we stay in our current area we are assigned to or if we  move somewhere else in Oklahoma. It's also where you find out if you get a different companion or train a new missionary that enters the mission.  So what is happening to Elder Saunders?? 

Elder Saunders is leaving Muskogee and is heading to Lawton, Oklahoma! I am going to start a new area with our former Zone Leader Elder Siddoway where he will finish my training.  Lawton is located clear on the west side of Oklahoma and borders northern Texas  sadly, our area does not go into Texas but I was not expecting that to happen.  The funny thing about this transfer is both me and Elder Sidooway requested to be with each other at some point in the future, so talk about a surprise! We will also get to see all the new missionaries coming into the mission but we won't train any, just seeing who comes so everyone! I can't wait to soon be in a new area and Im so excited that next time I will be in Lawton 

Well folks this week has been a short email but I am so excited to go and work hard and share my love of Christ with everyone in Lawton,  till Next time 

No shout outs this week sadly  

Maybe next time. 

Tordado watch and teaching those willing

Good morning and what is up all my fine males and females? I hope you are having a Sigma day today but let's get straight into the email

March 4th 

Today was another p day and it was super fun! We started off the day slow, none of us wanted to get out of bed but eventually we did and after we did our personal study we just messed around the apartment. One the elders got two bikes and hid in the bath tub because we had a big storm come in with dime size pieces of hail! We may or may not have turned on the shower with him in there lol, he was a little soaked. Later we went to Walmart to get groceries for the week and after we came back to the apartment to change. We had a District p day in a town called Taliquah and there we went bowling and I did ok. I was no big shot but one of the elders, Elder Boder  got a 190, almost a perfect game in bowling that happened 3 times. After that, we came home and played Clue before heading to bed. 

March 5th 

Nothing crazy to write about, we did a lot of member work and walked around. Sometimes to pass the time, me and Elder Douglas talk about the future and what kind of wives were looking for when we get home 😆 and where we want to live and how much land we want and our dream trucks– of course we have to talk about that! 

March 6th 

Well we are on tornado watch so that should be fun 😁  but today we had a small miracle happen. Today we first had a District council and we forgot to get a key for the church so we ended up going to a park to have a District Council but it was fun. We went over all our friends here in Muskogee and what we can do to best help them and it was a good council. After we got back to Muskogee we went biking for 4 hours looking for people to help and teach about our Savior and visited  members.  We got a referral address but when we got there found out it was just a street address so we were about to turn and go back but I felt impressed to say we are in this area for a reason and suggested we say a prayer. So I said a prayer and I asked that we could find those who are ready and willing to hear our message of Christ and no less than 20 seconds after the prayer we saw this lady standing in her driveway and rode our bikes over to her. We then asked how she was doing and  if we could share a message and she was a little shocked at first but said yes. And we taught her about how reading the Book of Mormon and praying to know the truth can help her and she agreed to continue meeting with us which was awesome and it shows how the Spirit can guide you if you are willing to listen to His still small voice.

March 7th  

Well  we were on tornado watch all day and night!!!

Saturday was a good day. We were able to teach a new friend, Colby. He recently got out of jail and wants to change. He explained how he had a bad drug problem before, and after he was released from jail he now volunteers at a recovery facility to help other people with his same struggles get over their addictions. It was so cool to hear him speak!  He explained that before we came to his house he was drinking with family and after talking to us he said he does not want to drink anymore. He said that because he saw how happy and successful our lives have been from obeying the commandments of the Lord, he wants to come to church and start changing for the better and give back by helping others after being in jail. The lord can work mighty miracles!  Even if someone who had been in jail and had a drug addiction can come to find a loving and merciful God! Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father will always stretch out their hand towards us, pointing us in the right direction and wanting us to live with Them again one day. The Holy Ghost can always enter into your heart if you allow it to and once you let it in, your love and understanding for Jesus Christ will increase drastically but you must put forth the effort to make the change and stick to it. After visiting with Colby we walked around the rest of the day and then later came back to the apartment and we were at the Spanish speaking Elders house for a little while. When we left it started pouring down rain and it was hailing so we had to run back to our apartment, we were soaking wet but it was a fun memory.

March 8th 

Sunday was a crazy day, we went to church and sadly Colby and none of our friends came to church but it was OK, hopefully they will come next time. After church we did our weekly planning and then headed out to walk around looking for new friends to teach about our Savior. We met an interesting lady but I won't explain what happened because I'm not sure fully what is going on but overall it was an amazing week and I'm excited to start another week and work hard as always. 

March 9th 

Man what a day! to start off we had exchanges with other missionaries. I was with the Zone leader, Elder Sidoway and their trainee Elder Lowe and it was an awesome day. We did a lot of walking and biking around and we also went and talked to some members who aren’t actively attending church right now , but what was really awesome was we got to meet our new friend Carly who we met on her porch.  She was sitting there and we asked if we could share a message with her and right away she was super happy and said yes.  We talked to her about the Book of Mormon and how it has blessed our lives and how it can bless her life too. She told us how she had been to our church once before and had stopped going to church and had not  been in five years. She immediately asked if she could have a Book of Mormon. She said she used to have one a long time ago , but lost it so we gave her one, as always we carry them around. We asked if we could meet with her again and she said yes. It's amazing that God  knows each of us, who we need and when we need them at just the right time. And that was when we needed to be in Carly's life and we are so excited to continue teaching her and her willingness to want to learn more.  After that we had an awesome rest of the day, came to the apartment at night and passed out! 

March 10th 

Man what a day, it's been so amazing how God has helped me and Elder Douglas here in Muskogee. To start off the day, we met at a campsite to end our exchanges and we came back and had our usual personal study after we planned out our day and we went up to a small town called Fort Gibson and there we knocked on some members' doors to say hello. We did not find much success but the last house we went to was a lady named Victoria who is an older woman and we found out she was a member of our church and had been trying to attend church for awhile now and so we talked with her and told her we are going to make sure we can get her a ride to church on Sunday and she was so happy to hear that. Then we headed back to the apartment and we got a referral from a guy named DJ and he was so happy that we responded to his referral so fast and we met with him and he explained how he has been upset with God and wants to know why he is going through hard times. We did not get to share much because he was on a rant to us but he he was so happy we came and let him talk to us and we gave him a Book of Mormon but unfortunately he is leaving his apartment on Thursday so we are going to his place again tomorrow to talk more with him. After DJ we went back to our friend Carly who we had scheduled a lesson with at 6:00 but we got there later than we wanted by about 29 minutes unfortunately but she was outside waiting for us which was so amazing! She even said she thought we were not coming back but was so happy we did. We shared the restoration of the Book of Mormon  and how it came to be and she was super engaged the whole time and it was awesome to see how well she understood everything  After the lesson we invited her to be at church this Sunday, she was so happy and said yes because she loved the one time she came to our church and wants to come back and she was so thankful God had put us in Muskogee for her. We also extended the invite to keep reading the Book of Mormon daily and shared how it can bless her life dramatically and she was so happy and willing to do what we were asking. Before we left she asked if someone could give her a ride to church. And we told her we would get her one and as we walked away she you better get me a ride, I will be waiting,  To see her drive and willingness to want to come to church is so amazing, she has a blessed heart and I hope maybe just maybe we can invite her to be baptized so keep Carly in your prayers.  

Well that's all this week my friends, keep going forward, endure to the end even when you feel like giving up.  Pray for strength and keep pushing each day. God sees your efforts and will bless you dramatically and you will see the blessing in return. 

Let me know of any cool things that are happening in your life! 

That closes my email until the next one 

PS Next week my p day will be on Monday. We have transfers this Sunday so Monday you will find out if I will stay in Muskogee or go somewhere else. I know no matter what, it is where God needs me to be. 

Pray

February  25th 

Greetings and what is up all my fine males and females, how are you all doing? email me!!! Tell me what is up in the hood with yall I want to hear how you are doing but it's been an emotional week so far. Emotions of joy though so let's get right into it.

Starting off p-day was an interesting day. We went to Walmart and got into a small argument when we got back to the apartment. Nothing too crazy, just  some built up energy released with some of us.  Some things were said that we all did not mean and after that, me and my companion left to go to the church.  We called our family to say hi and I counseled with mom and dad for advice and asked them to pray that we could work things out. After we all went over to the Spanish speaking elders apartment and played a 3 and a half hour game of Risk and I thought I was losing, it turns out I was winning! I won my first time playing Risk! I achieved peak unc status that moment but I probably won't be so lucky next time lol but after we had a talk at the apartment that night and we let all our emotions out.  Let's just say three of us were crying our eyes out but the spirit was strong in all of us.  If there is one thing we are taught to do, it's never bottle up your emotions. I’ve learned this lesson before but needed to learn it again, just ask my dad. Last time I did that I put a hole in the wall with my fist and every time I saw the patch up job it was a reminder not to let anger in,  the root is all about communication. These are good lessons for when I’m older and get married…especially when we make our covenants and get sealed in the temple.  Communication is key to a happy and successful marriage and if there is no communication then you can kiss your attractive wife good bye because she is not going to wait for you to erupt your emotions at her in rage. It's a valuable lesson to have throughout your life and on a mission it helps a lot too.  Trust me, living with 4 dudes has its challenges but we are all working together and when we add the Lord in the equation we can accomplish anything.   

After all that, we hugged each other as brothers because we are all in this together and brothers in God’s family and I'm so happy to call my quad my brothers! 

After that we had a good night's rest. 

February  26th  

We had a District check-up today where we role-played with the AP missionaries and we got a private interview with President Huffaker and he asks how we are doing, if we have any struggles and other questions. We talked about trucks and what some of my hobbies were before I came out on my mission and also talked to him with some advice on how to deal with some questions I had. I am not going through any hardships yet but just in case I want to know how other missionaries find peace and comfort. Afterwards we had to role play and I spoke more than I ever have. Looking back at when I was in the MTC, if there is one thing I'm good at it is picking through someone's brain to get a specific answer so I can share a scripture to help them. After we went and talked with our friend Taylor. Unfortunately he is having some road blocks on the Book of Mormon and is having a hard time so pray for him that as he reads and prays about it he can come to see the truth it carries with it. When  we got back to the apartment we did more canvas work. 

February 27th 

Today was so fun, we had another exchange so we walked around in a quad.I was with Elder Cox, Elder Cook and Elder Buck today and it was so great. We made 3 friends- first was a man named Johnny who we met at his apartment and he was taking his daughter to the doctor but we were able to share a small message and tell him about the Book of Mormon and are going to go talk to him again and share more. Our next friend was a girl named Milsa and she was super nice. She has two special needs kids who are so fun to talk to and we shared how the Book of Mormon can help her with stress and give guidance in her life. She is also committed to come to church so let's go! After that, no less than 4 minutes after talking to her we saw a man and his daughter at a job site and I went and talked to them.  We did not find out the daughter's name but the dad's name is Antonio. He goes to a church but he is open to wanting to learn more if it brings him the truth. What was so fun about today is when we work hard consistently we see gains and see that the work we put in pays off. Some days we end up empty handed but it makes it worth it to see a new friend or see current friends making and keeping commitments and speaking of consistent  I entered the mission February 3 at 200lbs now I am at a solid 190lbs, in the end the small work pays off and it feel so good knowing I can see small changes and as I keep working hard I can keep losing more and feel better.  I'm so excited I also found out some  sneak peeks for Muskogee. There will soon be 6 English speaking missionaries here and sadly the Spanish elders will move out, we will miss them. 4 missionaries will stay in Muskogee and the other 2 will go to a small town called Wagner which is crazy!! but also so cool. I also found out I will more than likely be getting a different companion but idk, you never know but its what our mission president thinks is needed after praying.  

February 28th 

Not much happened on Saturday just a casual day 

February March 1 

Fast Sunday!!!!! What a day! it was good to talk to everyone at church.  Unfortunately we had no one show up but it's ok we shared some amazing testimonies from others at church.. I went up and bore my testimony that a mission can change your life for the better and no one can tell you otherwise.  I have seen my mission make me a better person who has matured a whole lot.  My friends would not even recognize me, both because I have dropped some weight and the knowledge and learning to leave behind drama. It truly blesses your life! The late Elder Jeffery R Holland said that a mission is the greatest thing you can ever do to take 2 years or 18 months of your life and leave behind all personal wants, desires and affairs and work non-stop for your Savior, after He gave his whole life for us all. A mission is a small sacrifice on our part to give back to him. I truly love it so much out here and it will make it even more worth it when I get to come home and see my family and friends again. Words can't describe the joy you feel on a mission. 

March 2nd 

Was another good day!  I’ve heard of other missionaries getting doors slammed in their faces, today, we got a door slammed in our face. It’s not very nice and can really hurt some missionaries but I just laughed  - like it's so hard just to tell someone you are not interested you had to slam the door in someone's face? it's just comical, but after we have a possible new friend who we will see on Wednesday so im excited for that.  The other elders in our apartment have 3 people on date to be baptized!  Even though I didn't get to help teach them,  it's still cool to see someone want to grow closer to their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and make commitments to Them and to know what blessings they will receive when they receive the Holy Ghost.. 

To everyone who reads this message and is looking for directions and is having stress, anxiety, depression or any struggles, I invite you to read the Book of Mormon!  Read it for 20 or 30 minutes or as much as you can and do it with an open mind, let the Spirit guide you and enter into your heart. Your heavenly father loves you and wants nothing but the best for you. To some the church and God’s commandments  look like a restriction and won't let you make fun life decisions but it actually makes them better.  It makes everything better. It helps you make decisions that will grow you closer to your Heavenly Father and you will see the change in your everyday life. After you read the Book of Mormon,  I WANT YOU TO PRAY!!! Pray to ask for truth and guidance.  Moroni 10:4-5 “and when ye shall receive these things I would exhort you that you 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 you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”  I can testify that I found my way to my Savior and found my way back to light! Even after being in the lowest of lows in my life I still saw God's love as He reached his hand out to me and wanted to help me– He can do the same for you if you decide to follow Him and pray for truth and guidance. 

 

March 3rd 

Well today is officially 1 month since I left the MTC for Oklahoma City and it's been 2 months since I was set apart as a missionary. Man I have seen so much happen here and have been blessed deeply and am so happy for all God has given me today and honestly the trials, struggles and hardships I have had in my life have made me who I am today.  If any of my friends saw me it would be a completely different person but today was a good day. We did a lot of member work today. We checked in on some members who have been gone for a while and they welcomed us with open arms and even gave us water, which I needed haha. We also made a new friend. His name is Brett and he loves to fish for bass and we are going to meet with him next week so I'm happy about that. After we walked and biked for a long time and talked about what we wanted to accomplish here in Muskogee. BTW the end of my transfer is almost here. What is a transfer you might ask? 

 Well,  me and my companion (and all missionaries) are put in an area drawn on a map where we teach people about Christ.  There are big and small areas and every 6 weeks or so we all move or stay in the same area. We transfer.  In total we can stay as long as 4  transfers or 6 months and we get shuffled all over Oklahoma.  Our mission even covers a little bit of Texas and Kansas so it will be fun to see if I stay or move somewhere else. Even more news weighed myself today and if the scale was correct I am 184lbs and for any new people to my emails I was 200lbs at the start of my mission so major drop in size. I’m more careful about what I eat and I'm biking and walking a lot every day plus other exercise in our apartment. Good health helps us help others.  Overall I am loving my mission so much and every day is a blessing but that was my Tuesday. 

Sadly no shout outs of the week but pls email me with fun life updates let me know what amazing things you are doing so you can be put on the shout outs or if you want to share but don't want to be on my email that’s okay too.  I just like to hear how everyone is.  If you need prayers, let me know and I can pray for you too. 

Also last minute pls keep my sister in your prayers. She went to the hospital last night for an emergency of which I can't share all the details. She is doing OK but let's just say she could have had two sets of twins back to back. 

Well that's all for this email, I love all of you but you know who loves you more? Jesus Christ and your Heavenly Father! Keep doing things to have Them in your life! 

Talk to you all next week, Elder Saunders