Coming Home

I don't know if anyone followed this blog but in the last letter Cory seemed to be doing so well and was upbeat and making progress dealing with the changes a mission brings. Friday we got a call that said he was having trouble coping. His stress level was extremely high and he felt emotionally beaten by his companion and didn't really have the skills to deal with it. He had gained 40 lbs. in dealing with stress in his way. Anyway, after talking to him we all decided he had had enough and would come home. 25 hours later we picked him up at the airport. He and another missionary from the same mission came home together. Hmmm
It's been less than two weeks but...well, I better keep my opinions to myself. Cory is going to counseling to deal with stress and a group at LDS social services for early returned missionaries. There were 5 guys there but none of them really opened up and I don't see these guys relating to each other so I don't know how helpful that will be. It's frustrating and sad as a parent.

Transfer time

Hey y'all,

    So i apologize, this is going to be a short letter. Things have been crazy as of late with trying to get rid of......i mean trying to move......i mean trying to transfer elder Allen. that could've been taken wrong. 

    Anyway, The main news, transfers, obviously. I'm staying here in Smyrna and Elder Allen is moving out to Smithville, tn. about an hour east of Smyrna. so a lot of yesterday was elder Allen saying good bye to a lot of the members in the area and also a few golden investigators. he's barely done any packing so this should be interesting. Interesting thing is, one of our zone leaders, Elder Fore (the one i went on exchanges with), is now an assistant to the president. we have three assistants.

    Got an email from Toni, she said that my cousin is her STL. (sister training Leader) That would be Brittany wouldn't it?

    oh, sorry, my new comp is going to be elder Parkinson. Don't know anything about him, just know he is one of the brightest gingers I've seen. 

    New record for investigators at church this past week, we had Ty, Anna, two of her friends, and a members husband. (5)

  Did you get your transfer letter?

Yes/no. We get a voice mail message from the zone leaders telling us where everyone is going.

Are you staying in Smyrna?

yes.

Is Elder Allen going?

yes.

Do you know who your new companion is?

yes.

Have you heard horror stories about him already?

Haven't heard a thing about him. except he's ginger. does that count for horror stories?

Who have you heard from?

that sounded like an F.B.I. question. Toni, Todd, Hannah from camp, Auntie Shirley (everybody says auntie. no aunts out here. besides the bugs) you, braden, Annie, dad, malayna, Risa, Eisley, Emi, I don't remember if Anthony wrote a note with hand tracing, president, Rachel D., merissa, sister edgecomb (Carlsbad).

Got to get going, we're meeting Ty again before elder Allen leaves and it's almost time to end p-day.

love you all, thank you for the letters I’ve been receiving, I’m so sorry I haven't responded to most of them, we never have time to sit down and write. I’ve also been lacking in my journal which I’m not too proud of. But I love y'all, hope all's well, and gesundheit.

                                                     -Elder Felix. 

The "Relief Society District"

He describes this man as "Best cook in Smyrna, full blood Tennessean, mean, Mormon, funny and an absolute loon. He's cool"

Random Little Caesar statue

The "Giant" and spacious building" AKA a rock and roll church.

New Awesome People

 Elder Felix here for another installment of.....ELDER FELIX!!!!!!!!!!
sorry.
Wait.........transfer calls are this Saturday........wow. where has the time gone? that tickles me. (southern for "I find this bit of information funny")

 

    so, I, in fact, did hear that robin Williams died. we were talking to someone on their door step when we get a text from an investigator telling us that robin Williams had died. And by suicide no less. Depression stinks. it's so odd to see others who are struggling so much and then see someone who has seen the gospel influence their lives so much. kind of a funny/depressing thought. the day before, my mind was being weird again and running the same 10 second clip in my head over and over again. here's the funny/depressing part. it was of the genie in Aladdin flying off into the sky shouting "he's free".  

   So, met some super awesome people this week. first off we met these teen age girls hanging out in their cul-de-sac. we started talking to them and one of them asked, "are you guys the Mormons, Jehovah's witness, or church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints?" we replied, we're not Jehovah's witness, but the other two, yes. we then explained how those two were the same and how we'd just adopted the name Mormon from the book of Mormon. we then offered them copies of the book of Mormon to which two of the three girls were ecstatic to get their own copy. one of them was then called into the house by their grandma and came out a minute later and told her sister that they had to give the books back. their grandma told them to and to go inside. the elder sister then gave the book back and asked if we could come back when her grandmother wasn't there. We agreed and left them with our number. We then went back last night and gave them both another copy of the book of Mormon as well as met their mother, who, in her senior year of high school, did a thesis on different denominations. she said she did it on Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Mormons. and she was getting good information from her friend who is a Mormon. She also said she personally wasn't interested in our message but encourages her daughters to look into other faiths to try and find the religion that fits them best. they then asked if they could ask us a couple question. we agreed and they began to ask us about the different rumors. 

"What do y'all believe about Jesus Christ? Prophet? Really good man? Teacher? Savior?"

"We believe that Jesus Christ is the son of god and the savior and redeemer of all mankind."

"good. Do you believe in the king James version of the bible? why the book of Mormon?"

"Yes. We believe that the king James version of the bible is the most correct translation of the bible. And the book of Mormon is a second witness." we then proceed to use the analogy of one dot being the bible and how many different lines you can draw through that one dot and also two dots being the bible and book of Mormon and how you can only draw one line through those two dots.

"ok, makes sense. probably one you've heard a lot, polygamy?"

"not anymore."

"ok."

"we actually share a message that answers a lot of those questions that you just had. would it be ok if we shared that message with you?"

"sure."

(Insert restoration lesson here)

They liked what they heard and we have a return appointment for them next Sunday.

    Felix: (ya I like his name)

    We met Felix while tracting around town and we just started talking to him on his door step. he is super awesome. he has been wondering why there have been so many churches and he practically taught the whole plan of salvation to us. he believes that we all lived with God and that he's our father, believes that we're here to get a body face trials, and learn all we can. believes that Jesus Christ came down to earth to atone for our sins so we can be clean and live with God forever. believes that there is more to the after life than one heaven and one hell. but doesn't know what. He says he's super busy with his new job but we'll keep trying.

     Casi:

    We got a referral from the Hermana's one day and we were going to go contact them one night but ran out of time after talking to a less active for.....a...long time. so we were about to go over and try to set up a return appointment, then it hits me. "i need a restroom." "you couldn't have gone at (members) house?" "Didn't have to go then." we pull into a taco bell, i run in, do my business, and as we're walking out, this woman in her truck yells to us, "you two the elders? Alex and Felix?" "ya. I'm Elder Allen," "And I’m Elder Felix."

Woman: "Gentlemen, god has sent you here!"

At this moment we're thinking, "SHE HAD A DREAM?!?!?!?!?!?"           sadly, no.

"I'm Casi."

"Oh! We were actually just about to over to your house."

"Wouldn't have been a good thing. My husband is more drunk than a skunk. he's had half a bottle of whiskey and I dumped out the other half and got outta there cause you do not want to be around after you've just dumped out a drunk mans whiskey." 

We then talked with her for a good half hour and asked if we could come back the next day. she agreed and when we go to her house (trailer) the next day, there was a domino's delivery woman that came to the trailer just as we knocked. she let us in, signed for the pizza, offered us a slice, and we talked with her and her husband for a good long while. Their daughter is actually a convert and they've fed missionaries before up in Ohio.

    Dad was talking about the movie, heaven is for real. There have actually been a lot of people out here that as soon as we start talking about after life stuffs, they ask, "have you seen the movie, heaven is for real?" "no, but we've heard a lot about it." 

"are you looking forward to transfers?"

yes. very yes.

That's all for now. Love you all, Elder F.

A Muppet?

Hello Sam Sparks!! I'm America!                                                             Aug. 11, 2014

    There is a guy in town running for state representative for Tennessee who's name is mike sparks. and every time we see one of his campaign signs Elder A and i just say in our reporter voices, "Hello Sam Sparks, I'm America." which is a quote from cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Well one day we were tracting down some random road and we meet this really nice baptist woman who says she isn't interested but says she knows some members in our ward. when elder Allen asks her name she says, "Felicia Sparks. Mike is my husband." and points to the "mike sparks for representative" sign. 

    So, lets see, what's new going on out here......

    Our church building is fixed!!!! it felt so good to be in our building again.

    Tyron was able to make it to church again this week. still only for an hour, but we're working on it. he actually was only able to make it to the 1 o'clock session which is technically rock springs ward but, good enough for jazz. (i wonder how that saying came to be) We're actually almost done teaching tyron. we only have about 2 more principles in laws and ordinances to teach him and he's done. we keep trying to get a baptismal date for him but he still doesn't feel like he's ready. (proceed to pull out hair) 

    He's actually started calling me king Felix. Which at first, i thought was a reference to the bible, Acts 23:26. but no. Apparently, there is a baseball player with the nick name king Felix. so, i'm a baseball player.
    One thing i've noticed about black people including tyron, they could be big anything and they will still have the limp fish hand shake. anytime we shake a black persons hand, it's basically me holding their lifeless hand.
    We have a new/old investigator. I think I've talked about brook. Brook is a investigator that i met when i first got out here. she has two children, is fighting for custody of one of them, lives with her sister and is currently working at McDonalds. well, we had a baptismal date for her on the 5th of July, but we could never get through her lessons cause her 7 year old daughter, kaylie, is rather hyper and is always begging for attention. right now we are actually still trying to complete the commandments with her. we'll sometimes just stop by and see how she's doing and see if we can read a quick chapter of the book of Mormon with her. well, lately her sister, Savannah, has been sitting in on the scripture reading and originally, she was not interested at all. well, since coming and reading the scriptures with us, she has now attended a child's baptism in our ward, and she came to church on Sunday. And minus the swearing, she's practically a dry Mormon. now we need to share the restoration, plan of salvation, and gospel of Jesus Christ with her and she'll be caught up with her sister.
    We got a new bishopric yesterday. When we both got out here, the bishopric was Bishop lifferth, Brother Warren and Brother Tigert. And just like the ward back home, the two councilors are a bit older than the bishop and they still have more hair. Bishop L was excited to be out of the bishopric but the other two were kind of emotional about it. Well, the new Bishopric consists of Bishop Denise, Brother Vines, and Brother Whitaker. Brother Vines and Brother Whitaker are both some what aged men and Bishop Denise Is probably let 30's or early 40's and the councilors still have more hair.

    The funny thing is, Elder A and i where at the vines a couple of weeks ago, talking about brother vines son and daughter in law and their situation, when brother vines gets a call. he doesn't know the number but says he should take the call. he answers it and the next thing he says is, "Hello President." The stake president had called him while we were at his house and at first we're thinking, "Ha, he's going to get called to either young men's presidency or high council." after the stake president called out the new bishopric, it all made sense.

    It'll be an interesting bishopric cause brother vines is a man that doesn't mince words. he lets you know what he's thinking. as well as uses a colorful vocabulary. and brother Whitaker barely ever has a smile. when ever i go shake his hand and ask how he's doing, he always says, "fine" and asks how i'm doing and i say, "Fantastic" or "doing well" to which he replies, "Oh cheer up." or "don't worry, it'll get better". Now i know he's joking but at the same time, he needs to take his own advice. And Bishop Denise is one of those guys that tries to blend in with the crowd. this bishopric is going to be a school of fish out of water.

    And now a list of people I've been compared to now.

1. My Dad (never heard that one before)

2. My Brother (what? nooo)

3. A Muppet (ya. a Muppet)

4. Julian Smith

5. A ward member that I've never met and i don't remember his name.

    The Muppet story is, Elder A and i went to zone conference is murfreesboro, and sister king comes up to me and says, "Has anyone ever told you you look like a Muppet?" (insert awkward silence here) "uh what?" "ya you totally look like a Muppet. like you have the facial features of a Muppet and i could totally just see you running around flailing your arms about your head." (insert second awkward silence) "umm thank you?" "you are so welcome." she then goes and tells her companion, sister Richardson (the same sister Richardson that came out with me) and so she starts laughing and starts spreading that around. i am now known as the mission Muppet.

    I then decided to roll with it so when we are about to leave, i throw my hands in the air, give a muppetish scream, and run. that got quite a laugh out of the sisters.

    It seems there is always something that you say, "we'll never get a ____" but then as soon as one of your kids leaves on a mission, let's get a wii, i don't know if you got anything for malayna, let's get a dog. :)

              Miss y'all. Love,

                                 -Elder Felix

Birthday!

Hallo!!! 

    So, real quick, thank you to all that sent me letters and packages. they are greatly appreciated. as well as the written testimonies and inside jokes from friends and family.

    Absolutely loving my new bike, Riley. yes, I named her Riley. Riley the Raleigh bike. She's fantastic! My knees are still warming up to her though. They were pretty negative towards titan. (sister daybells old trek bike). Elder allens bike, Ceaser, had a tire that ripped a little bit, the other day and we didn't have time to go to the sports store so he had to ride titan. it was funny seeing 6'6" elder allen riding a bike that was too small for me. he threw the chain on titan 5 times in the short distance from our apartment to the library.

    There have been many casualties in the trouser department. y'all know about my first rip in my suit pants last transfer, well, since then there have been three other rips. the second was in the other pair of suit pant that went with the suit coat. not a big tear but a good quarter sized hole near the bottom of the right pocket. we hadn't left the apartment yet so i went and changed. 

    third, my black trousers that i got at Holmes clothing, i was getting on my bike again after we'd just tried a family and there was pop and a breeze. top of the behind to about an inch below the zipper. we called the closest member which happened to be the same family as before. sister w fixed my pants the last time they ripped. she wasn't home this time so brother w came and picked us up, threw our bikes in the back of his truck and drove us to our apartment. i changed to another pair of pants and gave the ripped pair to brother w to see if sister w could fix them. he offered. a couple days later, we were going to meet brother w at the library and he was going to take us to see a less active. this was the day that elder a had to ride titan, and his knees where burning so we just went to brother w's house since it was closer and while there, sister w told me that she tried to fix my pants but said that she did a "bad job". it was probably better than what i could have done. she then told me she'd taken them to a taylor so it'd be a little while before i got them back. 

    fourth, the brown pair i got from Holmes clothing. i was just sitting, doing the morning scripture study and i look down and there is a rip about 2 inches long right in the middle of the crotch.

    So, pant check. i have one pair that i can wear with my striped suit coat, and then my gray pair and my brown pair. then this morning we went to Ross and i bought 2 new pairs and a new belt.

    also, i think i left my sewing kit in my blue bag that came with my luggage. i was going to mention that before my birthday but i forgot. sorry.

    well, that was interesting. while writing this e-mail, a woman just came up to elder a and told him he looks like her brother who she can't see anymore cause he made some bad life choices and is now in prison for 10 years. she then told him to have a blessed day. and she was about to leave and we're just like WAIT!!! we can help with that!!!! we then tried to see if we could come share a message that helps with grief and forgiveness. she then said she was just visiting and she's actually from Michigan. i may be emailing Elder Ecton a referral.

    I actually got an email from him last week. we were about to leave the library and i got an email from him that just asked if this was the correct Elder Felix and asked how things were going. 

 
Now to answer questions:
Did you celebrate your birthdays together?

no. we celebrated his on his day and the next day, he asked when my birthday was so i told him in 2 days. so we celebrated mine on the 1st.

Did you both get a birthday package?

yes. i actually got 2. one from you and one from rachel and katelyn. it just got here this morning.

Did you open all of yours the day it came or wait till your birthday?

i opened the actual box but the presents that were wrapped, i waited till the 1st. the second package i opened up right away.

Did you like your package?

yes. very yes. :) thank you.

How is it going with the investigators?

well, ups and downs. tyron is so close to baptism. he was willing to make it to murfreesboro for church yesterday but still only for an hour. our church here in Smyrna is out of commission for a little bit, i'll go more into that later. we have a whole family who wants to attend church. but still, building is closed. 

Has anyone progressed to baptism?

no.....so close.

That’s a tough commitment in the south. It is anywhere but there is a little more anti Mormonism there. They don’t see us as Christians because they think we blaspheme when we say that God was once mortal and that we can be like God. That’s putting us on the same level as God and They can’t believe that. They also have a hard time believing that Heavenly Father and Jesus each have bodies and aren't just spirits. Have you run into any of these things?

Actually, when we challenge people to baptism, the most common response is that they've already been baptized. even though we just said that you need the proper priesthood authority to baptize. also the biggest problem people have out here is that it is impossible for there to be another prophet on the earth today. FALSE!!! there is for sure with out a doubt, a prophet on the earth today. AND HIS NAME IS THOMAS SPENCER MONSON!!!!

What seems to be the biggest misconception people have?

multiple wives.......still.....also we get confused a lot for jw's. (Jehovah witnesses) also when we say church of Jesus Christ of later day saints they say, you mean the one that doesn't believe in music? no that would be the church of Christ. close in the name but no. we then ask if they've heard of Mormons. you mean the multiple wives people? (sigh) yes, but not anymore.

    So, our church building. i don't know if i mentioned this last week, but our church is closed currently. there was a church in colorado that had their speaker sytem fall out of the cieling. well, our building is set up the same way, so we need to get an inspector out here to look at it and see if it'll fall. unfortunately, that was 2 weeks ago and no one has come to check it out. which is really unfortunate, because we had a family that wanted to come to church to see what it was like.

    There are some weird churches out here. 

    Such as the church of Christ that i mentioned earlier that don't believe in music, meaning no instruments, just A'capella. 

    And the southern Pentecostals who take the following scriptures in a different meaning.

Acts 28:3-6

 3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

 4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

 5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

 6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

    Also many churches out hear believe in speaking in tongues. which i don't know how to type what it sounds like so i shall use spongebob squarepants as an example. during the episode with the flying Dutchman, Patrick tries to make scary noises but sounds ridiculous. ya. that sounds about right. LADLE LADLE LADLE LADLE LADLE!!!!!!! Well i'm saved.

    That's another thing, there're a lot of people that tell us we need to go get saved and then tell us to have a blessed day. thanks, i guess.

Thats's all for now.

                                           -Elder F

 My Birthday cake. This apartment didn't have a rectangular cake pan but it has a bundt pan.???
There's a hole in this cake.



Elder F, Elder A and TD investigator.

 

 

Birthday week!

 

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ALL OF US TO YOU, WE WISH IT WAS OUR BIRTHDAY SO WE COULD PARTY TOO HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!! So many birthday this month and coming week. Elder Allen's birthday is the 29th, Moms on the 13th, Braden's on the 31st, and mine on the 1^st.

 

So, this past week.....

    We went on exchanges with the zone leaders again. they go on exchanges with every companionship during a transfer and since it's second transfer, yes. last transfer I went to the murf, (people really call it the boro, even though it's murfreesboro) with elder Fore. so I was thinking/hoping that this time I'd be with elder L. (gotta love those pollies) But alas, nay. Elder Fo came and stayed in Smyrna with me. We got the car from the sisters and went up to la Vergne. We met a couple of interesting folks, got to read a chapter of the book of Mormon with Brooke, still have yet to get through the commandments with her since her 7 year old daughter keeps running in and out and slapping us for her attention, but we're trying to get her to the church or somewhere where she can feel the spirit and not where her 2 year old nephew keeps yelling at her and drooling Doritos cheese saliva on my pants, 3 times if you would like to know....sorry. I don't intend to complain but it comes out sometimes. Missions are stressful.

    Anyway, we also have a new "investigator". Taylor is a non member in a less active part member family who is starting to come back to church. The fun part, she's 10 so we have to simplify the lesson even more than necessary. It was hard enough getting through the restoration with her yesterday, It's going to be fun teaching the plan of salvation tonight. she's really excited though to get baptized. when ever we ask if she has any questions, she asks, "When can I get baptized?" to which we reply, "we don't know it's up to your parents and the Lord." It's really unfortunate that the parents make the whole family sit through the lessons and they don't want to be there. and they keep chastising her for asking questions. But I digress. we taught the restoration to the best of our abilities yesterday and she was getting most of the lesson. so onwards and upwards. At the end of the lesson, we were about to leave and we're shaking the families hand and Taylor comes up to us and gives us both hugs. at which point, my mind was being torn in half. "Awwwww that's cute" and AWWWWW SHE'S HUGGING ME!!!!! I'M BREAKING THE RULES!!!!!!

    that was actually the second time I've broken that rule this past week. during exchanges, we went to see a less active family in la Vergne and at the end of the lesson, (reading a chapter of the book of Mormon with them as well) I shook the mans hand and I face the woman's hand who is a non member and she says, "oh honey I don't bite" pulls me in for a hug. After she steps back, she sees the surprise on my face and say's, "oh I'm sorry, I'm hard southern and we hug everyone." It was at this point that I explained the mission rules to her to which she just bust up laughing. I then shook her hand and we left.

    Yesterday, we met an old guy who was the husband of a referral. we started talking to him and he kept saying he wasn't interested but then asked us even more questions. he then starts going off about how he goes bowling with a preacher and other friends on Monday's, he then invites us to come and we think, well we didn't have anything else planned. So this morning we went to Smyrna bowling alley and bowled with a bunch of 80 year old men. He actually had his brother there as well and his brother was just getting strike after strike after strike. We asked him what his secret was. He reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol. We think ok make sure your ball is clean? Nope, he takes off the top and starts drinking. southerners. gotta love em.

    That reminds me, people live forever out here. I don't know the average age of death out in Utah, but out here it seems like most people live well into their 90's. We have about 3 or 4 people from our ward in their 90's but they don't come to church often. We also go out and meet people tracting and when we see an old guy cutting his grass, (it's cutting grass out here and not mowing the lawn) we offer to help them. to which they reply, "No, no, no, I've been doing this for 65 years and if I stop, then I stop for good." they just keep working even though they are retired for the millennium.

 

that's all the stories I’ve got for now, so question answering time:

What do you usually eat?

Chicken. lots of chicken. 

Do you eat at members houses much?

almost every day. that's how I get so much chicken.

Are you careful what you eat?

I try to be. I eat the salad when they have it. and I bought a bag of salad for lunches.

Are you loving your bike?

Yes. Very yes. I named her Riley. Riley the Raleigh. 

Why were you making a goofy face in the picture Sis A sent?

I don't remember. I made it on accident and her daughter thought it was funny.

and why did you go out for dinner?

She lives with her parents who are Jehovah's witness and they try not to bring up religion so she just takes us out to dinner.
Are you doing better with your comp?

a little

Are you serving and complimenting him?

I try.

Did you get anyone to church this week?

Our church building was actually closed on Sunday. Apparently there was a building in Colorado that had its speaker system fall from the ceiling. and our building is the same design so we need to get ours inspected before we can use it again.

Have you gotten any letters from friends?

many. have I replied to them? no. I have almost no time.

What do you think of all the trees in Tennessee?

not that different from some parts of Utah. definitely green.

Where did you get your hair cut and how did it go?

Our district has the sisters, the hermanas, and us. Hermana McN is a beautician. So on P-days we go over and get our hair cut. she's leaving soon though so we'll see where we go from there.

Do you dream of winter?

oh only 10 times a week. you wonder how when there is only 7 days? I day dream while sticking my head in the freezer.

 

one quick story then I'll be off.

    

    On Friday, we had to bike to our dinner appointment in la Vergne. 5 miles straight up hill. which was a long way for me being a out of shape 210 lb guy. I felt the burn after 1 mile. by mile 3 I was in pain. at mile 4, I was ready to get off and walk the rest of the way. but then I heard in my head a line from a Mormon message we'd watched earlier that week. Keep going Utah!!! You can make it Utah!!!! don't stop Utah!!!!!. It was a line from a talk by Elaine S. Dalton. At first I thought it was kinda cheesy and funny that it'd popped into my head cause those lines were yelled at her when she was running the Boston marathon. but then I thought about it more and applied it to my mission. there's a lot of times I just think, I want to go home, I'm done. but then I also hear the voice of my sister who told me that if I quit, whenever I hear "Nashville" I would feel so low. And now I believe it. Thanks Malayna.

 

That's all for now. love you all, apologies for not writing y'all individually yet. working on it.

                                                    -Elder Felix