Independence Day! (Week 42)

Happy 4th of July! This week has been great and we have seen a ton of miracles!

For the Fourth of July our mission president gave us permission to stay out until 11pm. We went to 2 BBQs back to back, I've never been so full of food in my life haha. The first BBQ we got invited to by a less-active member at her mother’s house. She ended up being an hour late so we showed up and ended up being the only members there haha. It was a little awkward at first but the people opened up to us and we socialized with everyone. It was awesome. Later we went to the 2nd BBQ at a member’s house. We visited and launched fireworks. Oklahoma is crazy about their freedom and country, it’s awesome and a little dangerous. People literally run around with roman candles in their hands and throwing firecrackers at each other. It’s crazy.

Later that night around 10pm we went with a family in the ward to Mustang to watch the fireworks at the park (one of the three cities in OKC where fireworks are legal). To give you an idea of what it was like imagine one third of all the people in salt lake valley all gathered within 12 square miles all of them launching aerial fireworks add in alcohol and rednecks to the equation and you have Mustang on the Fourth of July. We walked through the park with fireworks going off every which way. It was nuts! I don't think I’ve seen that many fireworks in my whole life. Don't worry no one died... that we know of.

A couple of weeks ago we knocked into an older Vietnamese gentleman. He spoke very little English but he invited us right into his home. He gave us some Hawaiian Punch to drink while we sat with him on his couch and listened to him as he struggled to speak English. Eventually I asked him if he had an iPad, he left and came back with two. We used Google translate to talk to him. We told him our purpose and he expressed his struggles with learning English and adjusting to the country. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and that Jesus Christ's pure gospel has been restored in it fullness. We used YouTube and showed him Mormon Messages about the family and the gospel and turned the Vietnamese captions on. He watched intently and we could tell he felt the spirit.

We came back a week later and gave him a Vietnamese Book of Mormon and the idea sparked in my mind to also give him an English Book of Mormon. We promised him that if he read the Vietnamese Book of Mormon side by side with the English Book of Mormon he would learn to read and speak English. After we handed him the Book of Mormon he looked up and quietly thanked God. My heart swelled with joy as I watched him smile with his eyes closed. He thanked us and we left.

On Friday me and Elder Bues went over and visited him on exchanges. Surprisingly he was speaking better English. He showed us all of the progress he had made in learning the language by showing us his notebook. We helped him pronounce the words he struggled with. Then he showed us the two Book of Mormon’s that he had been bouncing between and reading scriptures. I may be on a state side mission, but I can still serve the foreign.

AH I’m running out of time! One more thing we are having a baptism this Saturday for R~. He is so excited and ready. Even though I have only been here half of the time he has met with the missionaries, I've still seen him change so much. He has such a big heart and is going to make an amazing disciple of Jesus Christ. I'll tell you how it goes next week. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Sincerely, Elder Watkins

Me during fireworks

Me, Elder Garner, R~ and Sister Bennet

Firecrackers!

The Plan of Salvation (unfinished)

Mustang 1st Missionaries
Me, Elder Garner, Sister Young and Sister Chevalier

Slow motion video of Roman Candles

Endurance and Perseveran​ce (Week 41)

This week has been good but it's still been a huge struggle for me. I'm feeling much better temporally, I'm no longer sick and I love food again, ha ha.

Even though it's been a long hard week, we have still seen the miracles.

First, B got baptized in Paul's Valley! President gave us permission to leave after sacrament to go to it. It was a pretty stressful day (we gave talks in sacrament meeting and had to leave right after so we could make it to the baptism on time and we couldn't be late because I had to give a talk on baptism, and on top of it all I was fasting) but it all worked out and I saw the blessings from it.

We got to the baptism a little late but it went well. B was the investigator me, Elder Memmott and Elder Durham taught in Sulphur. She is 80 years old and lives with her daughter who is a convert of 14 years. B has been investigating the church ever since her daughter was baptized in New York. She has come a long way. It was quite a spiritual experience and a unique one at that. It really made me ponder deeply about faith. I don't think anyone knew that B was scared of water until she stepped into the font. It took her 3 minutes to get down the steps into the font. She was terrified of the water. Elder Durham got her to the floor but could not get her to lean back. Eventually, it took Elder Memmott to get in to help, and even then it wasn't enough to overcome her fear. They tried different ideas, but she still wouldn't go down. All of the primary children leaned forward in suspense. Finally, after comfort and the elders reassuring their hold, she had the trust to fall and the elders raised her up and she came out of the water a new person. It was quite amazing and the spirit taught me how much we need to trust the Lord to overcome our fears. It's just what my eyes needed to see.

Later that same day, after I had broken my fast, we went out teaching with a member of the bishopric. The first potential investigator we tried let us right in and we taught the amazing message of the restoration. She listened intently, it was probably one of the best restorations I've taught in a long time. My tongue was loosed and my heart testified. She accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and accepted the invitation to be baptized. We walked away from that lesson with joy in our hearts. After that we went over and watched the prophet of the restoration with our African American investigator.  He told us that "he had his first testimony today." HUH? What happened? I finally found my keys (they had been missing for a week and a half) Ten minutes after I read from the Book of Mormon. WHA?! Yeah it was nuts. It was the first time that he read since he last saw us. It was pretty cool. He said he just randomly found them in the weirdest spot, and he wasn't even looking for them. Crazy stuff! After we watched the video he said to us, "You know the date we set for me to get baptized?" me and my companion glance at each other and said, "Yeah?" He smiled and nodded his head, "It's happening".

THE POWER OF THE FAST IS REAL!

Anyways that's enough for this week. Thank you for all the emails and love! I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week. Look at all the small blessings and there you will find joy.

Sincerely, Elder Watkins

The Baptism of B~

Everything looks the same in Sulphur

A Hard Week Makes A Stronger Missionary (Week 40)

This week has been a rough one but I've learned so much from it.

This whole week individual stress has piled up on me and my companion, and on Thursday around 4 am we got super sick with food poisoning. It was terrible. This whole week Satan has been kicking us and trying to get us to fail and Its been a struggle, but the Lord is on our side and we are staying strong! Not today Satan!

We had an awesome lesson with R~ this week. It was crazy - a member called us to go out teaching with us. Haha this ward is on fire. We taught him the commandment follow the prophet. We read 1st Nephi chapter 1 with him and helped him better understand the Book of Mormon and that by reading the words of the ancient prophets we can learn and grow in the gospel. Is was awesome, brother Rc~ (The member that called to come out with us) bore the most powerful testimony, that touched all of us. I am starting to notice a spark in R~ and he is starting to really recognize the spirit. Him and his wife are going to be working on praying together as a couple every night.

On Saturday we helped R~ with remodeling his bathroom. Haha it was pretty fun. We tore out the toilet and broke up all of the remaining tile. After we had scraped the cement clean we mortared the ground and started to lay the tile. It was pretty tricky because we all had to work as a team. We had to offset the tiles (6 x 18 inch plank tiles), so we had to cut the end tiles in half and make exact
measurements so that there wouldn't be any awkward spaces. I wish I took a picture of the finished floor, but I'll get one next week and send it to you.

Me and my companion are super pumped to go to Bv and Em's baptism in Paul's Valley on Sunday (hopefully it doesn't get pushed back). Super excited!

Sorry this letter is so short this week. Thank you so much for your love and encouragement! It has helped me a lot this week!

Sincerely, Elder Watkins

Mustang (Week 39)

Last Wednesday was transfers and I met my new companion Elder Garner. He's from South Jordan Utah and came out on his mission after a semester at BYU. He's awesome! Also at transfers I talked to Elder Jenkins (my second companion in Shawnee, who is still there), and he told me that one of our old investigators is getting baptized, C.S!

First let me tell you about my new area it's amazing! Paradise I tell you. So blessed.

1. Our dinner calender is full for the whole week 
2. Our Ward is full of young active families (Vivint Technicians/Salesmen) that are eager to do missionary work. four of our investigators are member referrals.
3. A week before transfers the area got a brand new apartment, in Elder Garners words: "A five star hotel."
4. We are in a bike area but members give us rides and go out teaching with us.
5. We have a ward mission leader that is active, and very good with involving the ward members in the work.

This area is awesome!

Friday night we called the mission president about the baptism in Shawnee for C.S and we got approved to go!

C.S's story is pretty cool. On a Sunday before church during my first transfer we were outside greeting members as they walked into the church, when we notice a young man sitting in his van that we didn't recognize. We went up and talked to him and he introduce himself as C.S. He told us that he was a non-member and he was interested in our church (he knew a cute Mormon girl). We invited him in and he joined us for Sacrament meeting. After that we didn't see him for two months until we ran into him at Braum's (restaurant). Me and Elder Jenkins asked him if he would like us to share a message with him about the restoration of the Jesus Christ's gospel. He told us he could after he got off work. We met him at the church and shared the message of the restoration with him. He expressed to us his sincere desire to investigate the church. His parents were hostile Pentecostals so he wanted our visits to be in private. We met with him one more time and shared with him the plan of salvation, but after that things got busy for him and we didn't meet again.

Elder Jenkins hadn't heard from him since then until about a 2 weeks ago when C.S called and said he went on trek with the Edmond ward (his girl friends ward) and wanted to be baptized. WHA?! Elder Jenkins and his companion taught him the rest of the missionary discussions and he was baptized on Saturday! Me, Elder Garner, and the new Mustang East Sisters got approved to go to it! It was amazing to see him enter into the waters of baptism. He might even go on a mission! Such an amazing conversion. (click here to go to Week 17 when Elder Watkins first met and taught C.S.)

The investigators that we are working with right now are awesome! The ward is fellow-shipping all of them really well. One of our investigators R~, an African-American part-member is shooting for a baptism date on July 12th. He is awesome.

This coming week is going to be amazing!

My new mailing address:
501 Pointe Parkway Blvd. Apt. 3206
Yukon, OK 73099

Sincerely, Elder Watkins

C.S.'s Baptism

The Kitchen

 The Crib

Me and my new companion Elder Garner

 Suburbia - this is what 90% of my area looks like

THIS WEEK HAS BEEN NUTS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE ABOUT IT! (Week 38)

Where do I even Start....

I'll just go through the week.

Monday: We had an amazing Lesson with Sister Caster's mother B~. It was very spiritual, we taught the plan of salvation and really focused on faith and baptism. Towards the end of the lesson it was getting really late, out of time we asked B~ if she would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized on June 29th and she said, "Alright." Haha I love her, she's so meek and humble. Her and E~ (the 10 year old girl) are both getting baptized on the 29th.

Tuesday: I saw a dead guy least I say more...

Wednesday: We found out from our Zone Leaders that our area is getting shotgunned and sisters are being put in Sulphur (right now there are more Sisters coming out than Elders, so President is having to switch Elder areas for Sister areas, and because we are a the only trio in the mission we are one of the areas to be swapped). We knew it was going to happen eventually, but we definitely didn't expect it to happen this transfer. To be honest it was hard to believe, right now our area is on fire. We have 7 baptism dates set, but it will be good for B~, E~, and all of the single ladies we are teaching.

Thursday: Said good bye to all of our investigators and members. We also wrote down tons and Tons and TONS of notes for the coming sister missionaries.

Friday: ^Diddo^

We also taught an amazing lesson with our new investigators B~, C~ and kids. We finally got to teach a full restoration. it was awesome you could just see the sincerity in their eyes. We set a baptism date for them in July to work towards.

Saturday: We had Stake Conference and had it broadcast to our branch building. All of it was focused on member missionary work! Missionary work can't be done properly with out the members. It was awesome they even had a recent convert give a talk on his conversion (that I talked with at the Norman Stake Fair). His story is amazing, and it all started because of one girl in high school that was able to share her faith and testimony with him. He is the only member in his family and is leaving on a mission to New York on Wednesday. Member Missionary work miracle!

After we got out of stake conference at 9pm, I witness the biggest lightning storm of my life. There was a massive thunderhead that approached from the west that pulsed with constant lightning. During
the whole 30 minute drive home we were surrounded with lightning. I have included a picture.

Sunday: We found out where we are getting transferred.

I'm going to Mustang 1 West with Elder Garner (The Elder I replaced when I came to Sulphur). Elder Memmott is becoming the new Zone Leader in Yukon. He will be one of my new Zone Leaders. Awe Yeah! Elder Durham is going to Quail Creek.

We are all going to be serving in different parts of Oklahoma City!

Its been a crazy I don't know what else to write.

Love you all.

Sincerely, Elder Watkins

Alien Starship...

Lightening

Good Bye Fz~ :(

Good Bye D~ and C~

The Paul's Valley Missionaries

Sketches

Good Bye B~

Week 37

Dang I don't really know where to start with this week. Its been amazing! So many miracles have happened in such a small amount of time.

Wednesday is really where it all started picking up like crazy. On Wednesday we taught 3 new investigators. The first one was a part member teaching situation. Ca~ was one of the finding miracles we had a couple of weeks ago. She is a long lost member of the church that we found from knocking on her door. It's a miracle that we even found her. She survived a brain aneurysm that caused a lot of damage. We have been over to teach her a couple of times but we had never met her husband before. 

On Wednesday we went over with plans to teach her about prayer, but it turned out her husband Dn~ was there. He was really kind and sat in the lesson with us. We all telepathically changed our lesson plan to teaching the Restoration. We said the opening prayer and he got really emotional and left the room. We waited but he didn't come back. So we decided to put in the short restoration movie and watch it with Ca~. Dn~ came back into the room right in the middle of Joseph's prayer, haha it was pretty awesome. After the movie we formally taught Dn~ how the gospel has been restored to the Earth once again. It was a very spiritual lesson and he told us that he would read the Book of Mormon in two days, he's awesome. We are going to teach him again this Wednesday.

Later that same day we finally got to teach one of our potential investigators, Ta~. She is a single mom with 3 young kids. We taught her the restoration and it went really well. She was listening intently the whole time. She loves her children and wants everything for them. The only problem is that she works in the city on Sunday and her Ex has her kids then and he takes them to the Assembly of God Church. She really enjoyed the discussion and so did her 10 year old son T~. Ta~ lives only a block away from Brother and Sister Fz~ in Davis, so we are are going to start to fellowship them with her soon.

Yesterday on Sunday we had an amazing fast and testimony meeting. Probably the greatest one I've had on my mission. The biggest miracle this week was that M~ (the less active member we helped build the ramp for who has been inactive since she was 16) came to church and bore her testimony in her wheelchair. Her whole reactivation has been amazing! She is so humble and willing to change. I really wish I could put her testimony into words, but I can't it was amazing. She has felt Christ's love and is overcoming her trials through him. A couple of testimonies later her mom came up and bore her's too. It was amazing. My testimony has been strengthened so much just during this week and I'm grateful I have been blessed to witness such great miracles.

This week has been full of productive work and open doors. We are getting close to starting a monthly service in Sulphur.

Thank you for your prayers and letters! See you next week.

Sincerely, Elder Watkins

103 years old Sister Watts is the oldest member in the Paul's
 Valley Branch. Awesome!

Xavier the turtle. He was trying to get into our apartment.

Our investigators backyard (out by the lake of the Arbuckles)

Synthesis

Lawns, Ramps, and Flat Tires (Week 36)

We have done a ton of service this week, its been great. Three days out of the week we were blessed to do service for others.

We built a wheel chair ramp for one of the less active members in Sulphur, M~. She is the Aunt of Th~ a 13 year old recent convert in our branch. She lives in a smaller house behind Th~'s house. Last week M~ fell for the third time this year, and had to go to the hospital. The doctors told her that she will be paralyzed in her left leg until they can give her surgery. She has been living in Th~'s house for the pass week because she been unable to get in and out of her house in the back yard due to the steps from off the back porch of Th~'s house and the porch steps into her's. We talked to the Branch President and Brother Fultz about building a ramp to M~'s house, and this week we got to help build it. The church payed for the wood and Brother Fultz (who has a background with building ramps for hospice work) helped us cut it up and assemble the ramp. The Fultz are amazing, they are on fire!

After we finished the ramp and we were getting ready to leave Brother and Sister Fultz notice the neighbors and they turned out to be good friends of theirs that they use to live next to. The couple were deaf (There are a lot of deaf people in our area because the Oklahoma School For the Deaf is in Sulphur). We greeted them and asked them if we could mow their lawn and help with their yard (we have been learning a little bit of sign language from members in the Branch that learned sign to teach the deaf members in the branch, I also borrowed a sign language book that I've been studying during Language study.) We used the little signing we knew and they said we could. We picked up all of the dead tree limbs and mowed their front yard and back yard. It was awesome to get to meet them through service, such a miracle. They were so humble and kind and we are hoping to go back sometime with a member that signs so we can teach them.

During the week we had to make a quick trip to Walmart during exchanges. As we were walking in to the store we saw that a car had a completely flat tire. Not seeing the owner of the car any where in
sight we couldn't do to much about it. After we had gone in, bought what we needed we walked out of the store. To the Left of the exit of Walmart there was a table where we heard someone say "Hey Elder do you want help support our ministry by donating?" We told them "no thank you" and then we heard "well do you want to hear what we are about?" Elder Durham said "helping people I hope." They then said "of course" we acknowledged their response with "awesome" and walked on. As we were moving towards our car we saw the owner of the car with a flat tire, a hurried young mother with her daughter on the phone assessing the damage. We approached her and asked if we could help. As we were helping many people walked bye not caring, but then others stopped to help. We soon had two other people helping us take off the flat tire and put on the spare. After we were done she thanked us. We then told her what we did as missionaries and asked if we could come by and share a message about Jesus Christ sometime. She said yes and we are going to teach her next Sunday. Miracle! Its been a huge blessing from the lord to find so many people to teach through service.

Its been a good week, and the Lord is blessing Sulphur.

Sincerely, Elder Watkins

Pocket size puppy

The Ramp

Stuck in the car during rain storm

Oklahoma Skies

We caught a tarantula

Epic Puppy yawn w/ bro H~ in the background

Some Film Photographs

Around the bend

Grandpa Hill

Artesian

Oklahoma Skies

Davis

Cool Ponds

Chickasaw Woods

Trails

Sulphur Water

Bromite Hill