Sure is hilly in Philly! - August 22, 2011

Hey Y'all!

Wow. What a week! I went on exchanges with Elder Mark Monday-Wednesday, got a phone call Wednesday night from President Tucker saying that I was being transferred to Philadelphia! Mississippi. Anyway, President and Sister Tucker picked me up at about 8pm Friday night, and we drove to Brandon, where I stayed the night with the Zone Leaders there and with my new companion Elder Belden. Elder Belden had been there about 2 weeks when I got there. He was told he would only be there for 1 day/night, so that is all he packed for. Poor kid. Anyway, he has a staph infection in his leg. He got it from a bug bite, which he scratched and that is how it got there. The Doc cut it open, and I get to pack it every morning with gauze! Doctor Mendenhall is the name. Inflicting pain on my companion is the game. Yup! Anyway, I only did it Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We are driving to Clinton tomorrow morning for his doctor's appointment at 10:30AM. He is supposed to take it easy and only work for a few hours at a time. So we are going to have quite a bit of down time for a week or so. Elder Belden goes home in Oct, so he has one transfer left. He wants to baptize, and so do I, so we are gonna git 'er done! Ain't nothin' to it but to do it! And work hard and rely on the Lord. Elder Belden is a hard worker and a good missionary. He's from Michigan. He's 23, graduated with an associates degree from LDSBC and went to a semester at BYU. Has one younger brother who is 14. Anyway, that's a little about him. We should have some good times together. We actually went fishing this morning at a member's "camp"/ranch/farm thing. They are from Gulfport. I have been to their house plenty of times there, and heard about this place, and I finally got to go. It's within the boundaries of my district. Pretty neat. We went with Elders Hansen (the DL) and Harman, both awesome guys. I already know the other two in my district from past areas/meetings. I am looking forward to this, though Elders Harman and Petersen will probably be transferred at the beginning of September. We'll see how things go.

Okay. A little about Philly! It's about 8000 people, has an Indian reservation, which has two big casinos. The Golden Moon and the Silver Star. The Silver Star is the better one (so I heard...). There is a branch here, with about 200 members. An average of 40 each week attend. I blessed the Sacrament, and spoke for 5 minutes. It was great. I like the people. Definitely wont take too long to get to know them. We have a pretty big area, but also small, since we really will only have time to work Philly and Union. We might make it to Carthage every now and then. Not enough miles to cover all of it all of it is about the whole county or so...).

I feel like I am rambling a lot. Anyway, my new address!

Elder Dwight Mendenhall
513 Jefferson St #8A
Philadelphia, MS 39350

I can be reached there for about the next 4 1/2 months or so. I am 95% certain that I will be training when Elder Belden leaves. There are 13 new missionaries coming out, and basically everyone has been told that I am training, myself included. Wish me luck... hahahaha. Anywho...

Life is great out here. The work moves forward, and no unhallowed hand can stop it. I am here to work and to teach and to bring souls unto Christ through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Sounds like a party to me! Let's make it happen! :)

Thank you for all that y'all do. It means a lot to me to have the support that I have. I love you all!

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhal

August 15, 2011

Hey All Y'all,

Weird week. Summer dropped us. She doesn't have a desire to change right now. We got a new Bishop in the Gulfport ward, since our current one is being transferred to Texas (kind of like a missionary! But it's due to work). This is the third Bishop since I've been here. And third ward mission leader, third high priest group leader.... and a bunch of other changes in the ward. I've been here forever.... hahahahaha

We had some less actives call us up this week and take us out to eat. We had gone and seen them a few days before they took us out. Kind of cool. I guess they like us. With around 700 less active members, we are trying to help them out a lot. There is a lot of work here to do, but it's all about trying to organize and be productive with the time and trying to not sweat to death. We've had some warm ones.

Anyway, I got some good mail this past week. One letter, a postcard, and a package! I like it! Thanks to all those who sent me stuff. I appreciate it. I think I wrote about eight letters today. Kind of a relaxing p-day. Anywho... not a lot of time. We didn't get a chance to get on a computer until now. So, not very long this week. Oh well.

Oh! I spoke in Sacrament meeting. About 5 minutes. I had to cut it short, as there was supposed to be 3 speakers altogether, but they called a new Bishop, so there ended up being 6 altogther. The high councilman got put off until next week even. I taught about true conversion and sharing the gospel. The 5 steps needed. Study, Believe, Love, Live, and Teach/Share. I want to actually write something about it. Maybe I will type it up sometime if I ever have time and send it to all y'all.

In the mean time, just trust that all is well and remember that Christ lives and loves us all. :)

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Rainy Season? - August 8, 2011

Hey Everyone!

I guess this must be the rainy season here in Mississippi. We've been getting a lot lately.

So... Last Monday was Elder Woolf's birthday. We went out to dinner. I had some 'Gator! Fried gator. It was good. And I had fried crawfish. Man I love southern food.

Tuesday, we attended a funeral. The missionaries in Gulfport were asked to be the pallbearers. I got to wear a little boutineer... with SUNFLOWERS! I wanted to keep it, but we put it on the casket. I liked it though. I had plans for it. I know I am crazy, but whatever.

There was a baptism on Saturday. It was cool to attend and to see some missionaries hard work pay off. Hopefully there will be three more baptisms on the 20th. We'll see. It should be good though! The work is going well in the Gulfport area.

That's really all I have to say right now. I am not very talkative today. Hope y'all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Mendenhal

Long Beach - August 1, 2011

Hey All Y'all,

To make this short... it's been a long week. We moved Saturday to Long Beach and we spent the day moving and cleaning. Anyway, Life is good here. I am excited to start working the Long Beach area. I know that the Lord will bless us with success.

It's Elder Woolf's birthday today, and we need to get going. We are emailing at an investigator's house, since the Library here wont let us access our LDS Mail accounts, and he only has one computer so it has taken twice as long to email as it normally would.

Hope all is well!

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Living On The Coast... Maybe I should have my records transferred here? - July 26, 2011

Hey Everyone!

So first things first. I am still here in Gulfport. I will be here with Elder Woolf for another transfer. We are moving from Gulfport to Long Beach though, so here is my new mailing address.

Elder Dwight D Mendenhall
4401 Beatline Road Apt 5D
Long Beach, Mississippi 39560

I don't have much time, since I spent it all typing a speech. Which, congrats to David and Kim! I get a new sister-in-law this week! Yay!

Summer is progressing nicely. She is on top of things and is super awesome! We are moving this Saturday, so we'll be in Long Beach then. Same ward and basically the same area. A little smaller though.

Hope all is well!

Love,
Elder Mendenhall

July 11, 2011

Howdy All Y'all,

Man oh man. What a week. First off for the really awesome news that I am excited about...

Summer is awesome! We taught her Tuesday and Saturday. And she came to church yesterday. We took her to Brother Carpenter's house in the ward on Tuesday, and we also had Sister Stubbs there (and her sister who was in town from Oregon) to help fellowship. We were going to teach the Restoration, but instead we taught the Plan of Salvation. It was what she needed. She had researched some stuff before and had thoughts about the doctrine we taught her, but never found a church that taught it until now. We helped her organize her own thoughts into something that makes sense. She has also had dreams where she has gone and visited a place she has been before. So cool. Saturday we had Sandy Skok pick her up and take her to the church. We gave her a tour, and then taught her the Restoration in the Sacrament room. Summer is just full of questions and eager to learn. She participated in Gospel Principles and in Relief Society. In fact, one of the ladies afterward gave her a hug and thanked her for her participation. The Gulfport ward is really picking up the ball on this on. And her girls came with her to church as well. She has a 7 and 2 year old. The 2 year old is adorable and makes me miss my little nieces. Anyway... Summer is just awesome and legit and there is no doubt that as long as prayers are being said in her behalf and that she continues the way she is going, she will be baptized. We are going to teach her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ tomorrow morning. I can't wait.

I went on exchanges this past week with Elder Norton in the north Gulfport area. We taught some good lessons there. And Elder Woolf and ELder Johnson had a good lesson with Scott while I was gone. Sadly, Scott didn't come to church, but that's okay. He'll be there next week. :)

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o!!! I get to be the best man at David's wedding! I am excited! I may not be there in person, but hopefully my speech will be good! Hahahahaha. :)

So I ordered quite a bit of stuff from lds.org. I am excited for it. Some study materials and such. And it means a package in the mail. YAY!

By the way... I have decided that I need some brighter colorful ties. So if anyone sends ties to me in the next 18 months or so, go bright and colorful! :)

Hmmmm... oh! I made macaroni salad yesterday from the recipe Mom sent me. It was/is delcious! Just saying... be jealous.

So, we are possibly going fishing today. And coon hunting. Yup. That's our p-day. We'll see how it all plays out. Stay tuned for updates on these stories next week!

One last thing before I send this. Just remember that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. His power is real. Through the Atonement, we can become perfected, and that process can start NOW. And it should. Don't wait for His redeeming love. It's not just for sins, but for everything. For every pain or weakness. Christ can help our weaknesses to become our greatest strengths. Never doubt that. Just believe and do.

I love you all!

Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall

Stars and Stripes Forever (with a little confederate pride thrown in)...

Hey All Y'all!

Happy Independence Day! I hope it was fantastic for all of you. It being P-day, we didn't do a whole lot. In fact, we had a BBQ at a member's house and then stayed there all day. That was it. We played some games, had a water balloon fight, and ate homemade ice cream. It was a fun day, but also... long.

Okay! Exciting news! We got a phone call this past week from the mission office. They called us with a referral. The woman's name is Summer, and she was taught a little by the missionaries in North Carolina where she lived before Gulfport. They wanted her to keep being taught so they passed the info along until we got it. She read part of Alma that the Elders there left for her and she prayed about the Book Of Mormon and got a positive feeling that it is true. Sounds golden, right? Hahahahaha. If only things were that easy. She has a lot of things to work through. She has had a tough life and it wont be easy for her, but I believe she is going to progress and with God's help, she will be baptized and be a strong member. I feel like I am here for a reason for her, as with some of the issues she has, most missionaries wouldn't have a clue. With my "upbringing" though, I am better prepared for situations like this. I will let you all figure out that. Anyway, we are teaching her today at 1pm and I am excited. We are going to a member's home that is pretty close to her, because she stays with another family right now and it is pretty loud over there. We are also having a member that seems like she would be a good fellowshipper come over as well, who also has her sister in town visiting, so it might be a member overload, but it will be good. God is with us. :)

Other than that it was a pretty normal week for us. Well, not entirely true. We were going over to teach a less active the lessons to help her (and us) out, and she decided to have her non-member boyfriend be there so he could hear it as well. So that was unexpected. We are going over there tomorrow to teach them again. Should be good. Heavenly Father is sending things our way it seems. :)

I hope all is well with you. This is short, but we need to get going soon, eat lunch, and then bike to our 1pm appointment. Just know that life is great and that God loves all of you! :) Pray for me please, and Summer, Scott and his family, and everyone else down here. :)

With Love From The South,
Elder Mendenhall