Mitchell Hill's Mission Blog: November 7, 2016

Hey Y'all!

It sounds like it was an eventful for y'all and for me!

As for me it was a very busy week, but it was DEFINITELY one to remember, I think I say that every week haha but every week is a memorable week haha!

On Tuesday, we had district meeting and we learned a lot about prayer and how we can make it a more personal experience. I've always reflected on a question made by Elder Uceda from conference about prayer. He said" Are we really praying, or just saying prayers?" It's easy to fall into the habit of repeating prayers, but the more we can focus on having a real conversation with Heavenly Father the more personal the prayers will become because we will be more receptive to revelation from the Holy Ghost. After district meeting we went on exchanges with the AP's in Macon. I went to Macon with Elder Ray and it was a memorable exchange! The drive to Macon is very pretty and there is a lot of farm land that you drive through with fall colors on the trees. We got to Macon and started by visiting some referrals. The first referral we tried had this house with a chain link fence all the way around with big German Shepard and boxer dogs. They didn't look like they were going to attack us so we entered into the gate and were very friendly, but really unclean dogs and after a quick 10 minute lesson about the restoration with dogs licking your pants and arms we left the gated home. After the lesson my pants were soaked in dog slobber and it was really gross. We had to find a bathroom to cleanup haha. We met this lady named KK who we taught the Plan of Salvation to her. She is loving learning more about the gospel and it was a great experience teaching her. For dinner we met at the Peacocks home where Brother Peacock owns a recycling company and owns his own swamp. Brother and Sister Peacock invited two people who weren't members to dinner and we had a great chat with them. Funny story we were eating dinner and after I was through eating I stood up to go throw my plate and cup away and forgot that there was a hanging light above me and when I stood up really fast I hit my head on the light really hard and because I didn't want to make a scene I just played it off, but I hit the light pretty hard and I was surprised I didnt break the light haha. After that we visited an elderly lady in a nursing home and read from the Book of Mormon with her and she is such a sweet old lady and it was pleasure meeting her.

On Wednesday, Elder Ray and I wrapped up our exchange by doing P-90x3 and going on a 3 mile run and having great studies! There were two quotes that I saw in their apartment that I love and it said" Don't count the days, make the days count!" The second one is"No lions are ever caught in mousetraps. To catch lions you must think in terms of lions, not in terms of mice. Your mind is always creating traps of one kind or another, and what you catch depends on the thinking you do. It is your thinking that attracts what you receive." I love both of them because your attitude towards things can change the outcome of your trial or situation so by thinking about things that are righteous and wholesome those are the things that will come your way. Which brings a whole new meaning to keeping your eye singe to the glory of God and if we seek the glory of God then we will receive the Glory of God in God's time. We went to the mission office and picked up a few things and said hi to the office staff! We made the drive back and met up with Elder Weston and Elder Elliot. Later that day we had a very intense lesson with a lady named Jennifer Brumfield and Kelly. Jennifer invited her friend Kelly to meet with us because she said that their testimonies were so strong and Kelly wanted to meet us. We invited a member with us that became great friends with both of them! We started by bearing testimonies of how we came to know that Christ lives and our conversion story. The Spirit was very strong during all of our testimonies and I was grateful for all of the amazing spiritual experiences I've had in my life. The member we brought with us had to leave early but we had a bit more time so we talked with them a bit more. Kelly had lots of questions about our church and what we believe "saved" means and about the Book of Mormon. We read in Ezekiel 37 and also 2 Nephi 29:7-10. She understood that the Book of Mormon could be true but had an issue with no archaeological evidence of the Book of Mormon when they have found confirming evidence of the Bible and Jesus Christ. We explained that they have found many different artifacts and buildings that could confirm the ancient Americans described in the Book of Mormon but ultimately you wont be converted to the Book of Mormon based on things you see but its the things you dont see but feel that will make the biggest difference. We walk by faith not by sight and it sure was that way for alot of stories in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible. There was alot more to the conversation and they brought up concerns that were rumors they have heard. We were very careful to answer those because if you give them those answers before the basics then they dont understand the logic behind it. You gotta start with the foundation before you build the walls and roof and you gotta start with the fundamentals before you bring in Euro and hop steps.

On Thursday, we went and did RMT and after RMT we had some Turkish food at a restaurant that was really good! Later that afternoon we taught Rosemary about the Plan of Salvation. Rosemary is such a sweet lady and she cut out coupons from stores to give to us because she knew we were on a budget and it was a nice gesture. Because she was so impressed at the job we did with her backyard she told her friend across the street about us and her friend wants us to come cut down some trees and do some yard work for her. We are excited to help her out and we will see what comes of that!We had to go and get a oil change for our van and that took a longer time than was expected , but later that night we talked to Brother Meggins and watched Elder Uceda's talk from Conference. He loved it and because of the Spirit he felt he committed to come to church this Sunday which we were very excited about!

On Friday, we woke up early to get ready to head to Macon for MLC. We had to take the Grovetown's car to Macon to exchange with a new car. MLC is always a fun and a great opportunity to learn about the gospel. Crazy news though that Sisters in this mission are getting bikes and that was something that President Cottle did not want to do and the Sisters are OVERJOYED with getting bikes. We will see if that joy sticks with them when they bike up and down them hills in Georgia's humid, hot summer haha. We talked alot about attitude and obedience. Lots of cool things learned and new perspectives that I now have. After MLC we had to go to the Mission Office to pick up Grovetowns new car. They have the new 2017 Chevy Malibu and it is SOOOO NICE!!! I got to drive it back to Grove town and it drives soooo nice! They have this feature where it can turn the car for you and it pretty much drives itself. It might be a car I might consider looking into when I get back. No idea how expensive they are, but it was way nice and it was very enjoyable ride home!

On Saturday, we started the day off with some Ultimate Frisbee and I always look forward to it because it gets my competitiveness out and the teams were stacked toward the other team and so my team was the definite underdog which is what I like haha. It was a lot of fun! The afternoon we planned for the upcoming week but that night we went over to Coreys house where he needed help putting his t.v on his wall mount. It was definitely harder than we had first expected and we had to make 8 more holes in the wall and bend a wall mount. But it worked out in the end and he was very happy with how it went and was very appreciative. We invited him if he'd like to come to church on Sunday and he said he would love to! We were floating on air that night just because of how happy he was after it was on his wall and it make you feel so great when you look outward and not inward!

On Sunday, it was fast Sunday so many members of the ward bore their testimonies. Dan went to the temple on Saturday and bore a powerful testimony on the spirit she felt there! She said"Even though I had not been there before, I felt like I was home" She is doing soo well and her testimony continues to grow and grow! Corey came to church as well as Brother Meggins! There was also a man that wants to get baptized who a member brought with them and we are starting the discussions this upcoming week with him! So there was definitely alot of positives about church and I felt the spirit so strongly! After church we went on splits with a few of the youth and we taught a few lessons and the youth loved getting the feel of missionary work. That night we were invited to go to Gospel water baptist Branch church by one of our investigators. It is definitely a lot different than our church. The doctrine they taught was correct and the symbol of baptism in the same way we do and also communion it was just the manner they did it was way different. Elder Weston and I felt very uncomfortable the whole time because it's almost like they forced you to do things with them and if you didnt it was disrespectful where as in our church you can participate as much as you'd like. Obviously the more you participate the stronger your testimony is but you aren't judged or forced to do anything. It gave me a good understanding of how people view church here though. Lots of praising God and loving him, but there's more to the gospel than just saying that you have to act on that love and share it. It really put me in the shoes of the investigator when they come to church and showed me how investigators can be nervous and uncomfortable and it made me think about what our investigators needs to feel comfortable at church.

I LOVE Y'ALL and thank you for all your prayers!!

-Elder Hill

#HAPPYFALLY'ALL