The weather this week has been crazy. Its rained almost everyday and we
have received four severe alerts and two extreme alerts for flash
flooding and tornado's. Craziness! We only needed to get in the shelter
once and the tornado rotation dissipated just south of Duncan so we were
safe. Duncan is no longer in a drought so that's good. We have seen a
couple of signs saying please stop praying for rain.
They almost
had to reschedule zone p-day because highway 7 was covered in a foot of
water from Beaver Creek overflowing. We took a picture of it from off of
the front page of Lawton's newspaper. I'll send it to you.
Our
whole mission is focusing on using the Book of Mormon to its fullest.
The Lord is flooding the earth more than one way. It was funny that our
elders quorum lesson this week was reading Ezra Taft Bensen's talk
entitled: Flood the Earth with the Book of Mormon. A very good talk BTW.
We
taught C~ and Bd~ (Recent Convert) twice last week. The first
visit we went over the plan of salvation and answered a lot of their
questions about the spirit world. At our second visit they still had
more questions so we read Alma chapter 40. They loved the chapter, it
was cool how they would ask a question and the the next few verses would
answer their question. It's amazing the answers that Book of Mormon
contains. We are blessed with so much knowledge. That was a cool visit
because Bd~'s friend K~ was over who was also sitting in on the
lessons when Bd~ was first investigating. She also had a ton of
questions that were similar to Bd~'s about the plan of salvation.
That's one of the most important things preach my gospel talks about is
teaching people not lessons. We have to adjust the messages we share to
what the person or family needs. Listening to the spirit is key for
teaching effectively.
We went over the 17 points of the true
church with B~. It was a good discussion, we went through the
scriptures and talked about the organization of Jesus Christ's church
and taught him the restoration. He is awesome. He is so honest and
sincere about finding the truth. He loves the messages we leave with
him. His desire to read and study grows every time. Keep his family in
your prayers.
Oh after we had our specialized training meeting in
Lawton with the zone leaders. They informed us that we were getting a
car. So our area has a car now, which means we can work with the members
in Marlow, Empire City, and Central more. We were excited to get that
news. :)
Sorry I have to wrap up. I love you all. Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015
Storm Chasers (Week 87)
This week has been great! Me and Elder Mierau are basically brothers,
both of us are very similar. He is from California, orange county. I
can tell this is going to be a great transfer full of spiritual
experiences and fun times.
We had a very spiritual weekend. First, we went to the Stake President's future daughter in law's baptism in the afternoon and then afterwards we were very privileged and blessed to attend the Stephen's baptism in Ponca City. It was a long drive (3 hours) but me and Elder Mierau were able to talk and get to know each other. The baptism went great. There were four kids and three missionaries dressed in white. Haha the kids all picked different missionaries to baptized them, they are so funny. After I brought Xander (The youngest) out from under the water he jumped in the air with his hands held high splashing water all over the font! He was so happy to be baptized. It was amazing to see their whole family together at the service. You could see a difference in their eyes. The first step to an eternal family.
No we didn't chase a storm, but it chased us! After the Stephen's baptism we decided that we would drive home so we could make it to church in the morning. President called us and advised us to be safe and keep in contact with our weather contacts because there were some big storms moving NE across Oklahoma. We decided to drive south through Stillwater to avoid the city and the major roads because that is where the storm was hitting and we would have to drive through Moore (Which is famous for getting hit with big storms and tornadoes). As we drove south towards Stillwater the weather began to get worse. With our wipers on full and our brights on it was really hard to see the road. We drove slow and offered a silent prayer to know which direction to take. We both had a feeling to get on the 35 and go through the city. We were both a little hesitant to the prompting. Then 5 minutes later we got a text from our Stake President to take the 35 and that the storm was beginning to pass the city. We got on the 64 and hopped onto the 35. We didn't get hit with a drop of rain the whole way into the city and we got to watch a sweet electric storm over Stillwater to the east. We learned two things follow the promptings of the spirit and follow the guidance of your priesthood leaders. Your faith will increase, you will be protected, and you might get to watch a beautiful light show.
We taught B~ again! He is awesome! We went over some of the 17 points of the true church with him and we taught him about the sacrament. He is planning on coming to church this week! Keep him in your prayers.
Thank you for all of your letters and emails! I'm glad things are going well for "yall"! You are in my prayers!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
We had a very spiritual weekend. First, we went to the Stake President's future daughter in law's baptism in the afternoon and then afterwards we were very privileged and blessed to attend the Stephen's baptism in Ponca City. It was a long drive (3 hours) but me and Elder Mierau were able to talk and get to know each other. The baptism went great. There were four kids and three missionaries dressed in white. Haha the kids all picked different missionaries to baptized them, they are so funny. After I brought Xander (The youngest) out from under the water he jumped in the air with his hands held high splashing water all over the font! He was so happy to be baptized. It was amazing to see their whole family together at the service. You could see a difference in their eyes. The first step to an eternal family.
No we didn't chase a storm, but it chased us! After the Stephen's baptism we decided that we would drive home so we could make it to church in the morning. President called us and advised us to be safe and keep in contact with our weather contacts because there were some big storms moving NE across Oklahoma. We decided to drive south through Stillwater to avoid the city and the major roads because that is where the storm was hitting and we would have to drive through Moore (Which is famous for getting hit with big storms and tornadoes). As we drove south towards Stillwater the weather began to get worse. With our wipers on full and our brights on it was really hard to see the road. We drove slow and offered a silent prayer to know which direction to take. We both had a feeling to get on the 35 and go through the city. We were both a little hesitant to the prompting. Then 5 minutes later we got a text from our Stake President to take the 35 and that the storm was beginning to pass the city. We got on the 64 and hopped onto the 35. We didn't get hit with a drop of rain the whole way into the city and we got to watch a sweet electric storm over Stillwater to the east. We learned two things follow the promptings of the spirit and follow the guidance of your priesthood leaders. Your faith will increase, you will be protected, and you might get to watch a beautiful light show.
We taught B~ again! He is awesome! We went over some of the 17 points of the true church with him and we taught him about the sacrament. He is planning on coming to church this week! Keep him in your prayers.
Thank you for all of your letters and emails! I'm glad things are going well for "yall"! You are in my prayers!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
Xander, Josiah, Isaiah, Adreanna
The first time on my mission that I've seen a bike lane
The Seal of Melchizedek
Tracting Adventures
Monday, May 11, 2015
Tornadoes and Floods (Week 86)
This week we have had some pretty crazy weather. We heard from
several people that just within the past few days Oklahoma and Kansas
had over 58 tornadoes touch down. CRAZINESS! No worries Duncan wasn't
hit with any of them, but one of them got really close to us. It
actually went through the south elders area in Waurika but only
destroyed a few trees and an old barn. I guess the tornadoes weren't
really the intense part. The big problem for our area was flooding. We
were in a flash flood warning for three days in a row (good thing our
apartment is on the second floor). My weather radio was going off every
five minutes. We were driving during one of the really big storms and
the water in the street was 6-12 inches high (I have some videos I'll
try to send). The storms were a huge answer to prayers because of the
drought Duncan is in.
Last Tuesday we had Mission conference where we got to hear training from Elder and Sister Corbrige. He gave the missionary talk "The 4th Missionary". All of you who are preparing to serve a mission or are on a mission it's a must read. His training was called "The Most Important Thing" (The Atonement). He really focused on teaching to the understanding of those we teach: the What, Why, and How of the gospel. It was a very inspired training.
This week we had a really good lesson with B~ (recent convert) and her non-member husband C~. We taught them the restoration with the Jenga blocks, it was a lot of fun because their toddlers wanted to help, haha you can imagine how that went. Thankfully we were able to distract them until the great apostasy haha. C~ really enjoyed the message and is really receptive, we are hoping to see him at church in a couple of weeks when his work schedule lines up. He enjoys church he has been two times already. It was really cool to watch B~ teach a lot of the lesson from her observations. It's amazing how strong of a testimony she has developed.
Mother's day was great! I love you Mom! It's a blessing that we get to skype, I enjoyed seeing "yall". I just realized earlier that was the last call I will make to you guys before I come home... that's weird.
My new companion is Elder Mierau who was just serving with the other Elder Watkins (not related) in our mission. I will be serving with him for one transfer and then he will be finished with his mission. Then I will only have two transfers left which leaves me with a chance to train a new missionary! :D Who knows it might happen!
Duncan is doing well! Please keep our stake presidents wife in your prayers she was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer :(. As with all things faith brings miracles, everything will work out!
I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
Last Tuesday we had Mission conference where we got to hear training from Elder and Sister Corbrige. He gave the missionary talk "The 4th Missionary". All of you who are preparing to serve a mission or are on a mission it's a must read. His training was called "The Most Important Thing" (The Atonement). He really focused on teaching to the understanding of those we teach: the What, Why, and How of the gospel. It was a very inspired training.
This week we had a really good lesson with B~ (recent convert) and her non-member husband C~. We taught them the restoration with the Jenga blocks, it was a lot of fun because their toddlers wanted to help, haha you can imagine how that went. Thankfully we were able to distract them until the great apostasy haha. C~ really enjoyed the message and is really receptive, we are hoping to see him at church in a couple of weeks when his work schedule lines up. He enjoys church he has been two times already. It was really cool to watch B~ teach a lot of the lesson from her observations. It's amazing how strong of a testimony she has developed.
Mother's day was great! I love you Mom! It's a blessing that we get to skype, I enjoyed seeing "yall". I just realized earlier that was the last call I will make to you guys before I come home... that's weird.
My new companion is Elder Mierau who was just serving with the other Elder Watkins (not related) in our mission. I will be serving with him for one transfer and then he will be finished with his mission. Then I will only have two transfers left which leaves me with a chance to train a new missionary! :D Who knows it might happen!
Duncan is doing well! Please keep our stake presidents wife in your prayers she was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer :(. As with all things faith brings miracles, everything will work out!
I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
Monday, May 4, 2015
YEEHAA (Week 85)
This past week has been good. Elder Hoopes goes home next week so we are getting things ready but working hard. Ain't no one getting trunky serving with me. :) All joking aside he is doing really well!
This past week we have been doing service for Mrs. B~'s Brother T~ on a house that he is painting/remodeling. Our first impressions of T~ was that he was a pretty rough guy always in a
hurry. Mr. B~ was telling us about the project and we asked if we could help. He asked T~ and he said sure. We went with Mr. B~ the first time out into the far country in Velma. The next time we went to help, T~ picked us up. While we were in the car he started to ask us questions about what we did as missionaries and what we believed. His interest grew and we had a really good conversation. About the time we were pulling in he asked if he could study with us sometime. Why of course! On the third day we helped him he picked us up and took us to Taco Bell for breakfast (good stuff), and offered to buy us something that would help us with our missionary work... he offered to buy us new bikes. He's a very nice guy, we politely told him that we weren't serving him for any reward. He was persistent, we told him the gift we would enjoy most is if we could share the message that we love with him. He said: "okay, but also I'd like to take you guys to the rodeo with my family this weekend if that's okay." We asked president for permission and got to go to the rodeo with him! I'll send pictures! We are hoping to teach him sometime this week.
We had another great lesson with Br~ this week, he has already read to 2 Nephi! We taught him the plan of salvation and he really enjoyed it. It made complete sense to him. He is still on his spiritual search for the unity of faith. He says some of the most profound prayers I've heard on my mission. We are just helping to ask those specific questions so he can get those specific answers the Lord has prepared for him. He is going out of town next week for a political meeting so we won't see him for a while, but it will give him more time to study and pray. We are hoping he can come to church soon.
We are finding new investigators and things are starting to pick up here in Duncan. Keep us in your prayers. Love you all!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
This past week we have been doing service for Mrs. B~'s Brother T~ on a house that he is painting/remodeling. Our first impressions of T~ was that he was a pretty rough guy always in a
hurry. Mr. B~ was telling us about the project and we asked if we could help. He asked T~ and he said sure. We went with Mr. B~ the first time out into the far country in Velma. The next time we went to help, T~ picked us up. While we were in the car he started to ask us questions about what we did as missionaries and what we believed. His interest grew and we had a really good conversation. About the time we were pulling in he asked if he could study with us sometime. Why of course! On the third day we helped him he picked us up and took us to Taco Bell for breakfast (good stuff), and offered to buy us something that would help us with our missionary work... he offered to buy us new bikes. He's a very nice guy, we politely told him that we weren't serving him for any reward. He was persistent, we told him the gift we would enjoy most is if we could share the message that we love with him. He said: "okay, but also I'd like to take you guys to the rodeo with my family this weekend if that's okay." We asked president for permission and got to go to the rodeo with him! I'll send pictures! We are hoping to teach him sometime this week.
We had another great lesson with Br~ this week, he has already read to 2 Nephi! We taught him the plan of salvation and he really enjoyed it. It made complete sense to him. He is still on his spiritual search for the unity of faith. He says some of the most profound prayers I've heard on my mission. We are just helping to ask those specific questions so he can get those specific answers the Lord has prepared for him. He is going out of town next week for a political meeting so we won't see him for a while, but it will give him more time to study and pray. We are hoping he can come to church soon.
We are finding new investigators and things are starting to pick up here in Duncan. Keep us in your prayers. Love you all!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
The rodeo with T~
Getting the horses ready
Sunsets. They never get old.
Axis and Allies for a rainy p-day. Lol
Service before...
... and after
Monday, April 27, 2015
Ponca-Shawnee-Davis (Week 84)
These last few days have been crazy.
On Sunday (the 19th) I was fasting because I didn't get (forgot..) to fast the week before (Having general conference got me all mixed up) I know I'm dumb, but I feel that it was inspired because later that morning before church I got an alarming text message from the Ponca City Elders that Carri was super depressed and didn't want her baptism to be announced for Saturday at church. My heart sank, but I realized I was fasting so I dedicated my fast to Carri.
Later on Wednesday I got a phone call with Elder Matthew on the other line, "Hey Elder Watkins Carri wants to ask you something..." Then Carri, "Elder Watkins I want to invite you to my baptism this Saturday, can you come?" You have no idea how happy I was at that moment, off the walls, off the charts, my response: "Of course I would love to!"
Everything worked out perfect because Elder Quinney had a baptism the next day in Shawnee. So we got it approved with president to go on exchanges and go to Carri's baptism in Ponca City on Saturday and then go to the Shawnee baptism on Sunday. President Walkenhorst is awesome!
It was a 3 hour drive from Duncan to Ponca City. We got there and the service was great. There were so many people there we had to have the service in the chapel. Sister Weatherly (One of Carri's close member friends) gave a talk on baptism, and the relief society president gave the talk of the gift of the holy ghost. When I got into the water for the baptism, you can probably guess, the water was freezing... Nope it was scolding hot. At first I just walked right on in like it was no big deal, but then my eyes widened a bit. Yeah, it was hot. Elder Matthews turned on some cold water to cool it down. We had a lot of extra water in the font, but it was still pretty warm haha. Carri was baptized and everything was great. You could see her countenance change as she was filled with a new desire to follow Christ and endure to the end. I'm so excited for her to begin this new life fresh and clean.
The baptism in Shawnee was also great! we had to use the chapel there at well. I got to spend the night at Elder Corbin's apartment (one of my best friend from home), so it was fun to visit with him. This is his last transfer so he goes home May 13th.
As we were traveling back to Duncan from Shawnee I realized how close Davis was in our trip and I kept thinking about the Fultz family (recent converts from last year). I called president and asked him if I could have permission to visit with Jennie Fultz on our way back to Duncan. The Fultz family have been going through some complicated and difficult trials. President gave me permission and I was able to visit with Jennie and the boys. I love their family and miss them so much. Me and Elder Quinney left Jennie with the commitment to prayerfully study 1 Nephi chapter 8 and look for answers. The whole trip was a huge blessing and I know that God has his hand in all of it.
We had a really good lesson with Brett (really smart Bible-Constitution guy) this week. We answered a lot of his questions and talked a lot about the organization of Jesus Christ's original church. We taught him the restoration with the Jenga Blocks and he and his kids really enjoyed it. He is awesome and is studying a ton!
Well I'm out of time! I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
On Sunday (the 19th) I was fasting because I didn't get (forgot..) to fast the week before (Having general conference got me all mixed up) I know I'm dumb, but I feel that it was inspired because later that morning before church I got an alarming text message from the Ponca City Elders that Carri was super depressed and didn't want her baptism to be announced for Saturday at church. My heart sank, but I realized I was fasting so I dedicated my fast to Carri.
Later on Wednesday I got a phone call with Elder Matthew on the other line, "Hey Elder Watkins Carri wants to ask you something..." Then Carri, "Elder Watkins I want to invite you to my baptism this Saturday, can you come?" You have no idea how happy I was at that moment, off the walls, off the charts, my response: "Of course I would love to!"
Everything worked out perfect because Elder Quinney had a baptism the next day in Shawnee. So we got it approved with president to go on exchanges and go to Carri's baptism in Ponca City on Saturday and then go to the Shawnee baptism on Sunday. President Walkenhorst is awesome!
It was a 3 hour drive from Duncan to Ponca City. We got there and the service was great. There were so many people there we had to have the service in the chapel. Sister Weatherly (One of Carri's close member friends) gave a talk on baptism, and the relief society president gave the talk of the gift of the holy ghost. When I got into the water for the baptism, you can probably guess, the water was freezing... Nope it was scolding hot. At first I just walked right on in like it was no big deal, but then my eyes widened a bit. Yeah, it was hot. Elder Matthews turned on some cold water to cool it down. We had a lot of extra water in the font, but it was still pretty warm haha. Carri was baptized and everything was great. You could see her countenance change as she was filled with a new desire to follow Christ and endure to the end. I'm so excited for her to begin this new life fresh and clean.
The baptism in Shawnee was also great! we had to use the chapel there at well. I got to spend the night at Elder Corbin's apartment (one of my best friend from home), so it was fun to visit with him. This is his last transfer so he goes home May 13th.
As we were traveling back to Duncan from Shawnee I realized how close Davis was in our trip and I kept thinking about the Fultz family (recent converts from last year). I called president and asked him if I could have permission to visit with Jennie Fultz on our way back to Duncan. The Fultz family have been going through some complicated and difficult trials. President gave me permission and I was able to visit with Jennie and the boys. I love their family and miss them so much. Me and Elder Quinney left Jennie with the commitment to prayerfully study 1 Nephi chapter 8 and look for answers. The whole trip was a huge blessing and I know that God has his hand in all of it.
We had a really good lesson with Brett (really smart Bible-Constitution guy) this week. We answered a lot of his questions and talked a lot about the organization of Jesus Christ's original church. We taught him the restoration with the Jenga Blocks and he and his kids really enjoyed it. He is awesome and is studying a ton!
Well I'm out of time! I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
Me, Elder Matthews, Carri, and Elder Quinney
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Elk Mountain (Week 83)
Sorry that this email didn't arrive yesterday. We did a big service
project down in Waurika for a member and then we had zone p-day in
Lawton and then a STM (Specialized Training Meeting) at the stake
center. So we are emailing today instead. Yesterday for p-day we hiked
Elk Mountain as a zone. Even though they were smaller mountains, we had
tons of fun. I'll send some pictures.
This week has been really good. We had two really good lessons with the B~ family, one with the Bishop and the other with Sister Mikesell. Lately we have been really focusing on the sacrament and the importance of church attendance. Sister B~ can be nervous around groups of people she doesn't know so we are helping her build friendships with some of the sisters in the ward. They were planning on coming to church last Sunday and they were so close, but everything piled up on them and they couldn't come. They want to come to church so bad though. they are one of the busiest families I have met. Keep them in your prayers.
We got a new investigator this week. Br~ is the father of a small family that he and his wife home school. He is very spiritual and loves the constitution of our country. I have met a lot of people who
know the Bible like the back of their hand, and he is definitely one of them. He loves the church and knows a lot of members from living in St. George. He's also close friends with an active member family that home schools their children as well. During our first visit he did most of the talking but we taught him a lot of restored truths. He is really interested in learning more about our faith (has already read half of the Book of Mormon). He is sincere and honest in wanting to visit with us in finding the truth, which is making us super excited to teach him again. He is super super smart. So we will have to listen very carefully to the spirit so we teach simply and powerfully, and study hard so we can answer some of his deep questions. We are excited to teach him again this week.
Sorry for the short email we are running out of time. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
This week has been really good. We had two really good lessons with the B~ family, one with the Bishop and the other with Sister Mikesell. Lately we have been really focusing on the sacrament and the importance of church attendance. Sister B~ can be nervous around groups of people she doesn't know so we are helping her build friendships with some of the sisters in the ward. They were planning on coming to church last Sunday and they were so close, but everything piled up on them and they couldn't come. They want to come to church so bad though. they are one of the busiest families I have met. Keep them in your prayers.
We got a new investigator this week. Br~ is the father of a small family that he and his wife home school. He is very spiritual and loves the constitution of our country. I have met a lot of people who
know the Bible like the back of their hand, and he is definitely one of them. He loves the church and knows a lot of members from living in St. George. He's also close friends with an active member family that home schools their children as well. During our first visit he did most of the talking but we taught him a lot of restored truths. He is really interested in learning more about our faith (has already read half of the Book of Mormon). He is sincere and honest in wanting to visit with us in finding the truth, which is making us super excited to teach him again. He is super super smart. So we will have to listen very carefully to the spirit so we teach simply and powerfully, and study hard so we can answer some of his deep questions. We are excited to teach him again this week.
Sorry for the short email we are running out of time. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
Elk Mountain Hike
Trailhead
Buffalo
Cool Lizard
Along the trail
Boulder Hopping
Summit
--------
Jenga Restoration
I had seen other ways missionaries taught object lessons using jenga blocks, so
me and Elder Matthew's put together a restoration lesson.
me and Elder Matthew's put together a restoration lesson.
Me and Elder Hoops have perfected our jenga restoration lesson.
This is what the investigator has to end with removing all the
Apostles and the two foundation pieces Apostles and Prophets. It's
basically impossible without knocking it over. If they get there then
you read the wind of doctrine scripture from Ephesians and blow it over. :)
basically impossible without knocking it over. If they get there then
you read the wind of doctrine scripture from Ephesians and blow it over. :)
While they are trying to rebuild it exactly as it was made you branch
off and start building other churches with some of these blocks.
off and start building other churches with some of these blocks.
Once they give up from all of the chaos you teach the Joseph Smith
story and the restoration. Next you walk them through the construction of
Christ's church flipping the Apostle blocks to show the modern day Apostles.
story and the restoration. Next you walk them through the construction of
Christ's church flipping the Apostle blocks to show the modern day Apostles.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Rattlesnakes (Week 82)
We have had a great week here in Duncan. We had some great lessons with investigators, visited tons of less-active members, and we stumbled into tons of rattlesnakes... at the Waurika's Rattlesnake Festival. We were at a members home for dinner and we got to walk through Waurika's lil' downtown and see a lot of rattlesnakes. I'm not usually big on snakes but it was pretty cool. I'll send some pictures.
Me and Elder Hoopes got to go to a baptism in Mustang for M~, the father of a part-member family I taught about 7 months ago with Elder Staheli. It was amazing to witness his baptism and see the great faith that he has developed over the past several months when I was in Ponca City. Their family has grown so much. It was amazing to see how the gospel strengthened their family through the trial of their young son's suicide. The Mustang ward has been amazing with their love and fellowship for their family. There were so many people at the baptism we had to have part of the service in the chapel. Next week M~ will be receiving the Aaronic Priesthood so he can eventually baptize his daughter when she is ready. Man I just got goosebumps, so awesome!
Yesterday we had a pretty cool miracle. Earlier in the week (Tuesday) we got pulled over and asked if we were Mormon. We respond with a "yes", and joy filled his face. "I'm a member from OKC and I've been looking for the church, what's its address?" We started talking to him and he told us his story. He joined the church * years ago but after moving to Duncan a year later he quickly went inactive and felt guilty for living with his girlfriend, and 7 years later on a random street he ran into us. Well we set up a time to meet with him and we were on our way.
Well Thursday rolls around and we show up for our appointment but no one was home, We heard music from the garage and walked around the house. It was his now married wife working in the garage. We struck up a good conversation with her and we told her we would try to come back later when he was home, well are plans got crazy that night and so we couldn't see them.
So, yesterday night we were biking down their street to see some of our other less actives. Elder Hoopes was biking ahead of me, I noticed both of their cars were home and his wife working in the
garage again. We turned around and visited with her, her husband and their 8 year old daughter. We asked if there would be a good time to come back and share a message with their family and his wife said one of the greatest things in the world, "we can listen to one right now, I think." We sat down and shared a powerful message on the atonement of Jesus Christ and what it means that He lives today (check out helives.mormon.org). We taught her about the Book of Mormon and its divine witness of Jesus Christ. She had so many questions, she was fascinated by the Book of Mormon. When we gave her one she thanked us and told us that she would read the whole thing. Those were sweet words to our ears. She even asked where our church was. After we said the closing prayer I could see a few tears in her husband's eyes. The spirit was really strong the rest of that night. There is nothing better then following the spirit and being guided to the right place at the right time. Being a missionary is awesome.
Thank you for all your emails! I love you all! Have a great spiritually uplifting week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
Me and Elder Hoopes got to go to a baptism in Mustang for M~, the father of a part-member family I taught about 7 months ago with Elder Staheli. It was amazing to witness his baptism and see the great faith that he has developed over the past several months when I was in Ponca City. Their family has grown so much. It was amazing to see how the gospel strengthened their family through the trial of their young son's suicide. The Mustang ward has been amazing with their love and fellowship for their family. There were so many people at the baptism we had to have part of the service in the chapel. Next week M~ will be receiving the Aaronic Priesthood so he can eventually baptize his daughter when she is ready. Man I just got goosebumps, so awesome!
Yesterday we had a pretty cool miracle. Earlier in the week (Tuesday) we got pulled over and asked if we were Mormon. We respond with a "yes", and joy filled his face. "I'm a member from OKC and I've been looking for the church, what's its address?" We started talking to him and he told us his story. He joined the church * years ago but after moving to Duncan a year later he quickly went inactive and felt guilty for living with his girlfriend, and 7 years later on a random street he ran into us. Well we set up a time to meet with him and we were on our way.
Well Thursday rolls around and we show up for our appointment but no one was home, We heard music from the garage and walked around the house. It was his now married wife working in the garage. We struck up a good conversation with her and we told her we would try to come back later when he was home, well are plans got crazy that night and so we couldn't see them.
So, yesterday night we were biking down their street to see some of our other less actives. Elder Hoopes was biking ahead of me, I noticed both of their cars were home and his wife working in the
garage again. We turned around and visited with her, her husband and their 8 year old daughter. We asked if there would be a good time to come back and share a message with their family and his wife said one of the greatest things in the world, "we can listen to one right now, I think." We sat down and shared a powerful message on the atonement of Jesus Christ and what it means that He lives today (check out helives.mormon.org). We taught her about the Book of Mormon and its divine witness of Jesus Christ. She had so many questions, she was fascinated by the Book of Mormon. When we gave her one she thanked us and told us that she would read the whole thing. Those were sweet words to our ears. She even asked where our church was. After we said the closing prayer I could see a few tears in her husband's eyes. The spirit was really strong the rest of that night. There is nothing better then following the spirit and being guided to the right place at the right time. Being a missionary is awesome.
Thank you for all your emails! I love you all! Have a great spiritually uplifting week!
Sincerely, Elder Watkins
Me and Elder Hoops got matching rattlesnake head necklaces. "We real cool."
The snake pit...
The Menu
Duncan is a forest
Paul Simon lives here
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