Mitchell Hill's Mission Blog: September 26, 2016

Hey Y'all!

This past week was crazy busy!!! It was a very memorable week and I'm gonna tell you all about it!

This past week was one to remember!

On Monday night we had dinner with the Rivera family who live in Augusta. They made us some really good tamales and I always enjoy going over to their home because it's a very happy environment and we laugh alot! I'm not sure if you heard about the gas rupture in the Alabama oil line, but because of the rupture there were lines of 5-6 cars at every pump in the Evans/Augusta area and we were worried about not being able to fuel up, we had a half tank left and it was about 9:30 and we decided to go home and wait in the morning to see what we should do. We ended up finding a gas station on Tuesday morning but at least 4-5 gas stations were out of gas. We believe that the shortage is over now, but the gas prices here are just a little bit more expensive than they normally are.

On Tuesday, we planned on going on exchanges with the Stevens Creek Elders and we picked up a member to come with who is waiting for his mission call. We exchanged with them and I was with Elder Hooley on a bike for the day. Elder Hooley is fresh out of the MTC so I felt like I was training again haha. In the Stevens Creek area there is lots of construction and cars are literally on your hip the whole road. We stopped on a side road to check where we were going and this guy rolled down his window, reached over and yelled to us "GOD BLESS YOU!" We were caught off guard and looked up and he went off the road and hit 4-5 orange construction cones. It all just kind of happened really fast and we were like... alright. We went to our street we were going to knock and had some really good success. We found at least 4-5 new investigators and had a really solid lesson with a lady named Valerie. The lesson really hit home with them and they have alot of potential. A lot of fear of talking to people on your mission or to people in general, can be alleviated if you're just bold and courageous. The worst thing that someone can say to you is no thanks, I'm good. Satan wants you to think that its not the right moment or it will be awkward when really the moment is then and now to share the gospel. Sometimes you just got to do it and trust yourself:) We returned home as two really sweaty missionaries and we went back on that same road after dinner to talk to a few more people. We visited with a less active that night where we got talking about p-90x and he said he'd order me one and I'd reimburse him. It was only 20$ and I had some money sent to me from a member in Lanett, Alabama that I was holding onto. So he got me the DVD's and I'm excited to use them haha:)

On Wednesday, we helped Sister Morris with some service and helped her with a trial she was going through where she is selling her home in Big Canoe, GA and she is nervous about the future. The answers and scriptures we shared with her really seemed to help her cope with the time she is having in her life. The best highlight of the day though was later that night. We have an investigator named Madison Boswell, who isnt a member yet of the church because her parents told her she has to wait til she is 18, but in the meantime she has been going around to local churches sharing an Article of Faith presentation to local pastors. She has been getting alot of attention and was asked by a HUGE Methodist church right next door to our church to present this to a class of 60-70 people. Madison had asked us to come and help her answer any questions the people may have had. Madison did a great job presenting and answered multiple questions the audience had. We were watching from the back and were invited to come forward to answer more questions about missionary work and the message we have. So we stoof up on the stage in front of 60-70 people and preached about the church!! Many people came up and wanted to know more and appreciated the information. Many seeds were planted and it was quite the experience:) We were so proud of her and the Spirit definitely bore witness to everyone there. Whether they act on it is their choice, but the only thing we can do is invite. It was a really awesome experience!

On Thursday, we had a meeting with our whole zone called ZTM. In every meeting that we have as missionaries its cool to see how the spirit directs people comments and usually there are 2-3 topics that are pretty common throughout the meeting. One of them this time was the Book of Mormon and the importance of it. My training went really well and I had a pretty cool idea for my training. So there were these mexican fruits that we had at a dinner and they gave them to us to try. They look like they are something from the sea and doesnt look like anything you'd want to eat, but on the inside is a really sweet fruit that tastes like a pear. I used this as how people view the Book of Mormon where it look like they want to have nothing to do with it, but when they are shown how to eat it they enjoy it. The fruit is called a leach and instead of useing the words "Book of Mormon" I used the word leach. So it sounded pretty funny when I would say 'This leach has blessed my life so much and its meant so much to me" It was a n interesting excersise in how we introduce the Book of Mormon and how people view it at first. You have to show people why its important and the only way they can know is through the Spirit. It was a great meeting and I really learned alot! We had a great dinner with a member that night and met with a part member family where theDad just had his 10th surgery on his knee and it was great getting to know him:)

On Friday, we planned, BUT we had a really memorable move with all the Elders here. We were helping move a less active to Aiken. They had a TON of stuff and not that big of a trailer. You know how Georgia has like 100% himidty all the time... well in this truck it was about 200% and I was in it lifting havy boxes for 3 hours so you could guess how sweaty we all were haha. It's funny what little tips and tricks you learn on your mission from moving people so much like. You cant pick up a washer without a dolly but a dryer is light enough to where you can. But we helped them out and it was great to provide some service for people. Later that night we hada child of record baptism for a young lady named Lizabeth. Elder Monsen baptized her and it was a really cool experience and it definitely prepped my mind for Dans baptism on Saturday.

On Saturday, it was my 15 month mark and both Elder Weston and I had a seniority moment and were like were becoming old guys and it was exciting but also you're like where did all that time go! We played frisbee at Lady A park and got my competitiveness out of me for the week. It was alot of fun! We tried to go visit people before prepping Dans baptism , but no one answered their door. Dans baptism was such a great experience. So many family and friends of the Urbanawiz family came and supported her and the Spirit was so strong because you knew how much she believes in the gospel. The whole process has strengthened my own testimony o f acting on those small and simple propmtings. If I wouldnt have asked her if she wanted to know more about the church she probably wouldnt have been baptized this fast, but because I acted she wanted to know and with the help of many members we were able to see her enter the waters of baptism! Dans was so excited and she expressed so much thanks towards us and to everyone that supported her through her investigation! We are sooo excited for her! She is going to do baptisms for the dead in a few weeks for her grandma which is what this gospel is all about! Later that night we had dinner with the Murphys and had a good dinner and shared good company:)

Sunday, we were able to be apart of the confirmation of Dan. After Sacrament meeting Dan seemed so happy and she wanted to share her testimony with everone she saw! She is going to be a great benefit to the Lords team! Sacrament was a really good meeting where we talked about how to prepare for General Conference and it got me all ready and excited for that time:) We helped out in Primary watch over the kids and sang a song called Gethsemane and it was a really spiritual moment and I havent heard that song before but it was really cool! We had alot of zone things to figure out that day and we sent alot of texts that day too! We ate lunch with the Gomez and answered some questions of what missionaries like in their packages from home as her son just left to California on his mission. Later that afternoon we had to drop off a bag to Willie Render and when we were there this homeless lady came up to us and talked to us about her situation. She didnt have anywhere to go, no hope, no faith, and she was just very beaten down. As missionaries its not our place to provide anything for her besides spiritual strength after reading some scriptures with her she felt better but she was still worried about her physical needs. We told her that there really isnt anything we can do because we are just missionaries, but a local church might be able to help you with that. Dealing with that situation was so hard because I wanted to help her really bad but I had my hands tied around my back and couldn't do much. It was a really cool and spiritual Sunday and I am soo happy for Dan and everything that she will do for the world!

The church is true and I know that acting on those small and simple things it will bring about great miracles!! I LOVE Y"ALL

-Elder Hill

#15months #DansBAPTISM #GeneralConf.coming