Week 41

Monday, November 15, 2021

Good Morning everyone! Sorry my email was so long last week, there was a lot to discuss. This week was another crazy busy week! I led my first exchange, saw miracles, drove to Lansing and had some funny stories! 

On Tuesday, some Elders in an area South of Traverse City called Manitsee (about 1.5 hours) drove here to Traverse City and had an exchange with us! Elder Mitchell and Elder Wells. I took Elder Mitchell out on an exchange. It was fun! He was in the Saginaw Zone with me in training so it is kind of crazy we are serving around each other again. In Bay City the Elders we were with were NOT about exchanges so I didn't get to lead an exchange there. I felt kind of inadequate but I just sent it and it was so much fun! On exchanges, you spend an hour doing something called an "exchange form" where we talk about how they are doing and how we can help them. I thought it would be fun to go for a walk and do ours. As we were walking around the town I had no idea where we were going because I just got here 2 weeks ago. We were walking down the road when we passed by this old woman named Fey! We waved, and then she called us over and we started talking with her. We had a really cool conversation with her and she wanted us to come back! In her own words "I know you guys are sent from God". Elder Mitchell and I set up a time for Elder Tueller and I to come back. It was a miracle! I have yet to have success "Preaching By the Way" and we were able to find two new people that day from Street Contacting! The Lord works miracles in this work and places people in our path! 

The exchange was a blast. While they were here we got Buffalo Wild Wings! We aren't allowed to do "Overnight Exchanges" (where the Elders sleep over) but because they lived so far away we got it approved so they spent the night and we had District Council the next day here in Traverse City. The sisters in our District made a bet with Elder Tueller and I to do the Blazin' Challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings on December 6th. I do NOT do hot stuff soooo hopefully I do not die. The Blazin' Challenge is where you eat 10 Jalepno Reaper wings from B-Dubs, they are HOT. 

On Monday the missionaries I live with went Thrifting Shopping and it was so fun. Elder Tueller and I found some GEMS. We got these matching blue sweats, an MSU basketball shirt and I found this hideous/ amazing white shirt with a gold collar that I wore to Walmart on Monday and I looked amazing. I have a picture of me wearing it I will attach to this email. It was so funny walking around Walmart in it because everyone was giving me like second and third glances. Elder Tueller thought it was pretty entertaining. He was laughing so hard that he started crying ahaha good times! 

Fey honestly was pretty promising. Elder Tueller and I met with her 3 times and I could really see her getting baptized. Butttt on Thursday she dropped us. Thus is the life of a missionary. It was so sad because we had really cool lessons with her and she had a powerful testimony of the Savior. 

On Friday morning we drove the 3 hour trip to Lansing to have a Missionary Leadership Council. The Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders and President and Sister Heap all attend and just talk about the needs of the mission. It was like 3 hours but it was really cool to talk with everyone and feel the spirit. It was also fun to see all my friends there! I was the youngest missionary on the mission there so I kind of felt like I shouldn't be there to be honest. I was like "all these missionaries have been here double the amount of time I have." But, the Spirit was there and it was just so cool. 

After the MLC, we stayed in Lansing overnight to have exchanges with the Assistants! Exchanges with the AP's was just a blast. On Friday night we talked and laughed and then we woke up early in the morning to play Basketball with a bunch of people serving in Lansing. That was a blast! Elder Stone isn't "basketball inclined" I would say 

but he was shooting from half court and raining 3 pointers on everyone and we were all just dying laughing. It was a good time!

The Assistants serve on the Michigan State Campus in a Young Single Adult ward. It was game day at Michigan State University, so there were a TON of people walking around. and tailgating. MSU was playing Maryland I believe. Most of them were drunk but we had some cool conversations with people! We made a big chalk board and brought it onto MSU campus to do some talking to people and it was so much fun. On the board we had people write their score predictions, and we added some cards with our number to it and told people to take our number if they wanted to learn more about Christ. It was a blast talking with everyone there and they ended up Finding someone really cool to teach from it! 

Taking the huge chalkboard onto campus was hilarious. 

We decided to wheel it there on a dollly which turned out to be a very poor idea. It was falling all over the place and the little cards were falling onto the street. It would've been faster to drive there, drive back, and then walk to the spot we were at haha but it was still funny. We had to fold the board to travel with it so on the sides we wrote "God Loves you". As we crossed the roads with this huge sign with our number and an uplifting message I imagine we either looked like fools, or people were inspired. Probably both! 

Elder Stone was my first Zone Leader in Saginaw. He took me on my very first exchange and I went with him on his very last one which was so fun. He is such a good guy and the Michigan Lansing Mission will miss him a lot. After we did Street Contacting on MSU, we were half frozen, but loaded the chalkboard into the truck, got some Asaian Buffet food, and then Elder Tueller and I made the 3 hour trek back to Traverse City. 

Elder Tueller and I are getting along really well. We laugh and joke around and we are just having a great time here in Traverse City. I love working with him here! 

When we were at MSU, I brought my new gold collar shirt on exchanges. I put it on and came out of the bathroom to mess with the AP's I was like "hey guys this is my only shirt I forgot my normal shirt in Traverse City." They were like "Oh my" they got worried about me. I bet they were wondering if they would talk to ANYONE on campus that day haha but after like 20 minutes I was like "I was just messing with you guys I brought a shirt". They didn't laugh, they were actually pretty relieved it was hilarious. 

This week was so great. We had some really cool service opportunities, I saw some miracles and had such a blast. We had a Zone Goal of having member lessons and this week Elder Tueller and I were SUPER busy meeting with 13 members. (We had a goal of 20 but a bunch fell through). In our lesson with the Branch President here in Traverse City, I had a cool experience. We were walking out the door and I spotted the book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries". I told him I read that book and LOVED it. He shared with me his powerful testimony. He told me he knew how to get this Branch turned into a Ward and how driven he was to make this change and how we were the key to it all. It really motivated me. The Traverse City District WILL become a Stake. I do not know when, or how. But I know that through God all things are possible and I am going to try my best to help the work roll forward here in Traverse City. 

I love you all, have a great week!

Elder Elliott