One is Stacy, Sister Oaks, Elder Kington, and myself. The other is Sister Oaks and myself, and the other is me on Veteran's day by a veteran's memorial we found while tracting.
Enjoy!
Monday, February 6, 2012
11/29/2011 Pictures!
Here are some pictures! :)
One is Stacy, Sister Oaks, Elder Kington, and myself. The other is Sister Oaks and myself, and the other is me on Veteran's day by a veteran's memorial we found while tracting.
Enjoy!
One is Stacy, Sister Oaks, Elder Kington, and myself. The other is Sister Oaks and myself, and the other is me on Veteran's day by a veteran's memorial we found while tracting.
Enjoy!
11/29/2011
Hey Y'all...
Not much time today. It's transfer week, and Elder Kington and I are staying together. So I will be in Philly for at least another 6 weeks or so.
This week has been a pretty good one. Thanksgiving was good. Church was so so. Stacy had some family issues going on and couldn't make it on time, so he will have to be confirmed this next week. And then it just wasn't a good day for me personally.
Anywho! Life is just dandy down here in the South. I am loving life and working hard. It's pretty cold right now. 40 degrees or so. Tomorrow is supposed to have a low of 23. So other then be a little cold, I am loving life.
Sorry I don't have much to say this week. I love you all though! :) I hope you have a fantastic week!
Love,
Elder Mendenhall
Not much time today. It's transfer week, and Elder Kington and I are staying together. So I will be in Philly for at least another 6 weeks or so.
This week has been a pretty good one. Thanksgiving was good. Church was so so. Stacy had some family issues going on and couldn't make it on time, so he will have to be confirmed this next week. And then it just wasn't a good day for me personally.
Anywho! Life is just dandy down here in the South. I am loving life and working hard. It's pretty cold right now. 40 degrees or so. Tomorrow is supposed to have a low of 23. So other then be a little cold, I am loving life.
Sorry I don't have much to say this week. I love you all though! :) I hope you have a fantastic week!
Love,
Elder Mendenhall
11/23/2011
Howdy!
Maaaaaaaaan! It feels good to email every week... now that I am back in the habit... well as missionaries we wear suits, not habits, but y'all get the gist of it.
Life is UBER AWESOME! Or groovy, which has been my word of choice lately. Gnarly, tubular, and spectacular all work as well!
Before I forget... please feel free to check out the mission blog! presidenttucker.blogspot.com .... Elder Kington and I appear on there in November, and the video from when Elder Belden and I sang "High On A Mountain Top" at Zone Conference is in September (though I couldn't get the video to load... so good luck!)
Okay... So, as I mentioned on Monday... Sister Oaks and Stacy were both baptized on Sunday! It was great to see the hand of the Lord there. It really is the spirit that converts! Now the next goal is to get them to the TEMPLE!!! BOOYA! That is what this work is really all about.
Soooo.... Elder Kington, the spirit, and I had an idea yesterday. We want to put together a little choir/spoken word program for Christmas day in Sacrament meeting. So instead of talks we want to have that. We still need to ask the Branch about it... but if any of you have any ideas or arrangements you have used before, please let me know! :)
Now to share a proud "father" moment with all of you. Elder Kington, my boy, has refused to say the word "Y'all" since he got here. I knew it was only a matter of time until he gave in to his southern heritage. Well, this past Monday morning during a devotional that we do once a week, he finally said "y'all"!!!! Oh my goodness! My heart leaped for joy! And I almost literally did too! My little boy is growing up so fast! :') .... Just remember. We, as missionaries in the south, are American by birth, and Southern by the grace of God! Hahahahaha
The Christmas season is fast approaching, and I find myself wanting/NEEDING Christmas music! (Side note... this past p-day, we decorated our apartment for Christmas!!! It's beautiful!) So if y'all could please send some Christmas music my way, I would appreciate it! Whether it is a mix, a normal CD, or what, just please send it! :) Thank you so much!
Okay. On to the matter at hand. Thanksgiving (another side note: Diego is having us over, so we will eat well. Not to worry about that. And we got about 3 or 4 other invites...)
So, giving thanks is not something that should happen just once a year. It is meant to happen every minute of every day. As King Benjamin said, we are no better then the dust of the earth. The Lord has given us all that we have. Everything! And as we try to repay Him by doing as he has asked, He gives us more. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!! Get on your knees and just poor out your heart unto the Lord in gratitude. Praise His name, for He alone is mighty to praise. We are unworthy and unprofitable servants, yet we are also God's children and He has offered us all that He has, if we will but keep His commandents and express His hand in ALL things. I know that God lives and loves us all. That every thing I have in life comes from Him and His love for me. I am grateful for that Knowledge. I am grateful for MY Savior and His Atoning sacrifice for ME. I am grateful for the amazing and wonder family that I have. For my parents and their diligence in raising me and teaching me correct doctrine and principles. I am grateful for the loving siblings and their spouses and for the love and support they all have for me. I am grateful for the ten wonderful nieces and nephews which I have, that pray for me daily. The prayers of faith filled children cannot be matched and I am grateful to have those in my behalf. I am grateful to a wonderful girl in Las Vegas that writes me and loves me (surprise! Not all of you knew about that one... ;D ). She is amazing and I am grateful to have her love and support! :) I am grateful to all the other friends that I have and for all of their love and confidence in me. I am grateful for the Book Of Mormon and the Spirit which is about it and it's converting power. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost. For his guidance and direction. I am grateful to have him with me always. To be a worthy, clean, and pure priesthood holder and to know that this Gospel is true, for I know that it is. I feel it and know it with every fiber of my being. I have tasted of it's pureness and joy. Of it's truthfulness and happiness. I long to help people to know what I know. To taste of His goodness. That is why I am here. To help others to come into this Gospel and feel of His true and saving love.
I love you all and hope that you have a fantastic week! God be with you all and may He watch over you and yours through this holiday season.
With Love From The South,
Elder
Dwight
Douglas
Mendenhall
(I love how each names gets longer and longer!)
Maaaaaaaaan! It feels good to email every week... now that I am back in the habit... well as missionaries we wear suits, not habits, but y'all get the gist of it.
Life is UBER AWESOME! Or groovy, which has been my word of choice lately. Gnarly, tubular, and spectacular all work as well!
Before I forget... please feel free to check out the mission blog! presidenttucker.blogspot.com .... Elder Kington and I appear on there in November, and the video from when Elder Belden and I sang "High On A Mountain Top" at Zone Conference is in September (though I couldn't get the video to load... so good luck!)
Okay... So, as I mentioned on Monday... Sister Oaks and Stacy were both baptized on Sunday! It was great to see the hand of the Lord there. It really is the spirit that converts! Now the next goal is to get them to the TEMPLE!!! BOOYA! That is what this work is really all about.
Soooo.... Elder Kington, the spirit, and I had an idea yesterday. We want to put together a little choir/spoken word program for Christmas day in Sacrament meeting. So instead of talks we want to have that. We still need to ask the Branch about it... but if any of you have any ideas or arrangements you have used before, please let me know! :)
Now to share a proud "father" moment with all of you. Elder Kington, my boy, has refused to say the word "Y'all" since he got here. I knew it was only a matter of time until he gave in to his southern heritage. Well, this past Monday morning during a devotional that we do once a week, he finally said "y'all"!!!! Oh my goodness! My heart leaped for joy! And I almost literally did too! My little boy is growing up so fast! :') .... Just remember. We, as missionaries in the south, are American by birth, and Southern by the grace of God! Hahahahaha
The Christmas season is fast approaching, and I find myself wanting/NEEDING Christmas music! (Side note... this past p-day, we decorated our apartment for Christmas!!! It's beautiful!) So if y'all could please send some Christmas music my way, I would appreciate it! Whether it is a mix, a normal CD, or what, just please send it! :) Thank you so much!
Okay. On to the matter at hand. Thanksgiving (another side note: Diego is having us over, so we will eat well. Not to worry about that. And we got about 3 or 4 other invites...)
So, giving thanks is not something that should happen just once a year. It is meant to happen every minute of every day. As King Benjamin said, we are no better then the dust of the earth. The Lord has given us all that we have. Everything! And as we try to repay Him by doing as he has asked, He gives us more. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!! Get on your knees and just poor out your heart unto the Lord in gratitude. Praise His name, for He alone is mighty to praise. We are unworthy and unprofitable servants, yet we are also God's children and He has offered us all that He has, if we will but keep His commandents and express His hand in ALL things. I know that God lives and loves us all. That every thing I have in life comes from Him and His love for me. I am grateful for that Knowledge. I am grateful for MY Savior and His Atoning sacrifice for ME. I am grateful for the amazing and wonder family that I have. For my parents and their diligence in raising me and teaching me correct doctrine and principles. I am grateful for the loving siblings and their spouses and for the love and support they all have for me. I am grateful for the ten wonderful nieces and nephews which I have, that pray for me daily. The prayers of faith filled children cannot be matched and I am grateful to have those in my behalf. I am grateful to a wonderful girl in Las Vegas that writes me and loves me (surprise! Not all of you knew about that one... ;D ). She is amazing and I am grateful to have her love and support! :) I am grateful to all the other friends that I have and for all of their love and confidence in me. I am grateful for the Book Of Mormon and the Spirit which is about it and it's converting power. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost. For his guidance and direction. I am grateful to have him with me always. To be a worthy, clean, and pure priesthood holder and to know that this Gospel is true, for I know that it is. I feel it and know it with every fiber of my being. I have tasted of it's pureness and joy. Of it's truthfulness and happiness. I long to help people to know what I know. To taste of His goodness. That is why I am here. To help others to come into this Gospel and feel of His true and saving love.
I love you all and hope that you have a fantastic week! God be with you all and may He watch over you and yours through this holiday season.
With Love From The South,
Elder
Dwight
Douglas
Mendenhall
(I love how each names gets longer and longer!)
11/21/2011
Hey Y'all!
Philly has some computers back up, but only a handful and they only let you on for 30 minutes... so we will still probably stop by Kosciusko's library on Wednesday. :) But just wanted to send a quick note right now saying hello! :) Hope all y'all have a fantastic week!
And.... Sister Oaks and Stacy were baptized yesterday! LEGIT! It was awesome! :) The Lord is amazing and I am truly thankful this week, and daily, for the blessings He has bestowed upon me.
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Mendenhall
Philly has some computers back up, but only a handful and they only let you on for 30 minutes... so we will still probably stop by Kosciusko's library on Wednesday. :) But just wanted to send a quick note right now saying hello! :) Hope all y'all have a fantastic week!
And.... Sister Oaks and Stacy were baptized yesterday! LEGIT! It was awesome! :) The Lord is amazing and I am truly thankful this week, and daily, for the blessings He has bestowed upon me.
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Mendenhall
11/18/2011
Howdy Y'all!
What a beautiful week! Hahahaha... we had some nights since I last emailed where it has been in the seventies at 8pm and some where it has been in the fourties! We have bipolar weather here in the south.
So life is great! I was on exchanges the past couple of days with Elder Hansen and he interviewed Stacy and Sister Oaks for baptism and we are set for Sunday! I am super excited! They are doing great!
We had a pretty good talk with Diego last night and I was able to find out more about him that I didn't know that will help us teach him tonight. Should be good!
We taught a part member family last night (finally!) We have been trying to see them for a while, but it just hasn't worked out yet. We taught them half of the restoration and the mom (the member) promised to come to church. This week is the week to be there. Baptisms, Thanksiving social, etc! Yay! I am excited. We are going to hopefully see a family tomorrow and they should be coming as well. We're pulling out all the stops for this Sunday! Gotta get people there!
The Christmas season is fast approaching and I am super excited for it! There are already a few decorated houses around. AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I love Christmas! And I am really looking forward to a Christmas in the mission field! I am excited for it. I am just trying to not let my mind wander to next year's Christmas.... that's when the trunkiness sets in. Hahahaha :D
Oh! I threw together my mormon.org profile the other night at our branch mission leader's house. Let me know what all y'all think! :D
http://mormon.org/me/38K4/
They (the church and our mission) are really pushing mormon.org, and if you have not yet set up a profile, please do so! :) It's an awesome website and awesome missionary tool. And I can get on it basically whenever I want to. Hahahahaha. Definitely check out the videos there too! They are awesome stories of people's lives and how they live their faith! :)
I hate to always not say much, but just trust that life here is just groovy (not a southern word... maybe southern cali!) and that I am lovin' it! :)
I love you all and miss you! And HAPPY THANKSGIVING NEXT WEEK!!! Pig out! And take the time to really thank the Lord for the many blessings in your lives. He deserves the thanks, because we are nothing with out Him. :)
Keep the faith and endure to the end!
Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall
What a beautiful week! Hahahaha... we had some nights since I last emailed where it has been in the seventies at 8pm and some where it has been in the fourties! We have bipolar weather here in the south.
So life is great! I was on exchanges the past couple of days with Elder Hansen and he interviewed Stacy and Sister Oaks for baptism and we are set for Sunday! I am super excited! They are doing great!
We had a pretty good talk with Diego last night and I was able to find out more about him that I didn't know that will help us teach him tonight. Should be good!
We taught a part member family last night (finally!) We have been trying to see them for a while, but it just hasn't worked out yet. We taught them half of the restoration and the mom (the member) promised to come to church. This week is the week to be there. Baptisms, Thanksiving social, etc! Yay! I am excited. We are going to hopefully see a family tomorrow and they should be coming as well. We're pulling out all the stops for this Sunday! Gotta get people there!
The Christmas season is fast approaching and I am super excited for it! There are already a few decorated houses around. AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I love Christmas! And I am really looking forward to a Christmas in the mission field! I am excited for it. I am just trying to not let my mind wander to next year's Christmas.... that's when the trunkiness sets in. Hahahaha :D
Oh! I threw together my mormon.org profile the other night at our branch mission leader's house. Let me know what all y'all think! :D
http://mormon.org/me/38K4/
They (the church and our mission) are really pushing mormon.org, and if you have not yet set up a profile, please do so! :) It's an awesome website and awesome missionary tool. And I can get on it basically whenever I want to. Hahahahaha. Definitely check out the videos there too! They are awesome stories of people's lives and how they live their faith! :)
I hate to always not say much, but just trust that life here is just groovy (not a southern word... maybe southern cali!) and that I am lovin' it! :)
I love you all and miss you! And HAPPY THANKSGIVING NEXT WEEK!!! Pig out! And take the time to really thank the Lord for the many blessings in your lives. He deserves the thanks, because we are nothing with out Him. :)
Keep the faith and endure to the end!
Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall
11/09/2011
Howdy All Y'all!
Man oh man! I have missed talking to y'all! Just rest assured that life is just fantastic down here in good ol' Missippi!
So, first off, the reason I haven't been able to email is that the computers at the library in Philly have been down for over two months. When I was with Elder Belden we were going to Clinton every week so we just emailed up there. Well we haven't been able to do that. We were going to email last week in Kosciusko after District meeting (like we are today) but things ended up not working out. But here I am and we'll see what next week brings. We should be having district meeting in Philly next week, so maybe no emails. It will all work out though.
Second! No we have not had any baptisms yet. We pushed Stacy's date back to the 20th of this month, which if all goes well he should be able to make it! We are meeting with him again tomorrow to go over everything with him. He's doing great though and I love him. It's great to see his progression in the gospel.
And on a surprise note... Sister Oaks is getting baptized then as well! The Lord has really poured out his spirit upon her. It's awesome to see it! :) We finally met with her this past Friday after having the last three appointments canceled. She was ready to set a date to be baptized and both her and her husband are excited. And I was even further humbled and surprised when they asked me to baptize her. Her husband will perform the confirmation. Life is great!
We have two other people set with a date in December and are just always looking for more people to teach and set with dates to be baptized. Elder Kington is the best! I love the guy. He is awesome and I am truly blessed to be his trainer. I hope I am doing a good job and with the Lord on my side I know we can't go wrong.
I can truly see the hand of the Lord in my life. I finished the Book of Mormon (finally! It only took me months! :D ) last week and the spirit of that book is super strong. Right now I am reading "Our Heritage" from the Missionary Library and I am touched by the spirit as I read of the sacrifices the early saints made to help us be where we are today. I know that the Lord knows I am willing to do what He asks.
This work really is His work. There is no greater place I could be. I love this Gospel. I love my Savior and I know that He lives! I know that I shall one day stand before Him again and I shall fall at His feet and worship Him and bathe His feet with my tears. But I shall not know anymore then than I know now that He lives. That testimony is a part of me just as much as my heart or lungs are. It radiates all throughout me. Christ is real and He loves us and wants us to return to Him.
My challange to all of you today is to look for the good in the world. Look at people with their potential in mind and feel the Savior's love for them. They are choice children of our Father and have the potential to be like Him. So look for the good in others and in the world.
God lives and love us. I love you all and pray and hope for the best for all of you.
With Much Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall
Man oh man! I have missed talking to y'all! Just rest assured that life is just fantastic down here in good ol' Missippi!
So, first off, the reason I haven't been able to email is that the computers at the library in Philly have been down for over two months. When I was with Elder Belden we were going to Clinton every week so we just emailed up there. Well we haven't been able to do that. We were going to email last week in Kosciusko after District meeting (like we are today) but things ended up not working out. But here I am and we'll see what next week brings. We should be having district meeting in Philly next week, so maybe no emails. It will all work out though.
Second! No we have not had any baptisms yet. We pushed Stacy's date back to the 20th of this month, which if all goes well he should be able to make it! We are meeting with him again tomorrow to go over everything with him. He's doing great though and I love him. It's great to see his progression in the gospel.
And on a surprise note... Sister Oaks is getting baptized then as well! The Lord has really poured out his spirit upon her. It's awesome to see it! :) We finally met with her this past Friday after having the last three appointments canceled. She was ready to set a date to be baptized and both her and her husband are excited. And I was even further humbled and surprised when they asked me to baptize her. Her husband will perform the confirmation. Life is great!
We have two other people set with a date in December and are just always looking for more people to teach and set with dates to be baptized. Elder Kington is the best! I love the guy. He is awesome and I am truly blessed to be his trainer. I hope I am doing a good job and with the Lord on my side I know we can't go wrong.
I can truly see the hand of the Lord in my life. I finished the Book of Mormon (finally! It only took me months! :D ) last week and the spirit of that book is super strong. Right now I am reading "Our Heritage" from the Missionary Library and I am touched by the spirit as I read of the sacrifices the early saints made to help us be where we are today. I know that the Lord knows I am willing to do what He asks.
This work really is His work. There is no greater place I could be. I love this Gospel. I love my Savior and I know that He lives! I know that I shall one day stand before Him again and I shall fall at His feet and worship Him and bathe His feet with my tears. But I shall not know anymore then than I know now that He lives. That testimony is a part of me just as much as my heart or lungs are. It radiates all throughout me. Christ is real and He loves us and wants us to return to Him.
My challange to all of you today is to look for the good in the world. Look at people with their potential in mind and feel the Savior's love for them. They are choice children of our Father and have the potential to be like Him. So look for the good in others and in the world.
God lives and love us. I love you all and pray and hope for the best for all of you.
With Much Love,
Elder Dwight Mendenhall
10/18/2011 Round 2
Dear Everyone,
I apologize... My new companion is Elder Kington, not KingSton. From Kaysville. He's a lot shorter then me, but I can't hold that against him. ;)
Man, this past week in Philly has been good. We set up a table at the flea market, and got three good contacts from it. Sunday was Branch Conference and Sister Oaks, Diego and Stacy were all there at church and the talks were awesome! And we had a really good potluck after church. Diego stayed for all of church for the first time and he really enjoyed it. Stacy left after Sacrament meeting sadly. Hopefully he'll stay for all of it next time. We had a really good lesson with him (Stacy) this past week about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of Wisdom. Only a couple of things left to teach him and then he will know it all. Or at least been taught it. He is doing awesome though!
Do y'all remember Samantha from Gulfport? Elder Todd and I taught her. Well, the Gulfport Zone Leaders baptized her two weeks ago. Crazy, huh!? I talked to Elder Johnson and he said she had a testimony and was ready. And Elder Woolf baptized in Long Beach too! Not anyone I taught... I got the referral the week I left from a member. It was a part member family with 9 year old twin boys and a 12 year old that hadn't been baptized yet. So the work is just progressing everywhere. The Mission set a goal last January for 300+ baptisms this year, and at this point every area needs to baptize three people before the end of the year to reach the goal. It is going to happen! It's so awesome!
So, a little more about training. I got the phone call Tuesday night and had a meeting in Clinton Thursday. When we are finished training at the end of 12 weeks, our trainees are supposed to be able to train if called upon to do so. A lot of pressure on me right now, but I am ready and happy to do this. I needed this.
I hope all y'all have an awesome day! I am going to get running. I love you all!
Love,
Elder Mendenhall
I apologize... My new companion is Elder Kington, not KingSton. From Kaysville. He's a lot shorter then me, but I can't hold that against him. ;)
Man, this past week in Philly has been good. We set up a table at the flea market, and got three good contacts from it. Sunday was Branch Conference and Sister Oaks, Diego and Stacy were all there at church and the talks were awesome! And we had a really good potluck after church. Diego stayed for all of church for the first time and he really enjoyed it. Stacy left after Sacrament meeting sadly. Hopefully he'll stay for all of it next time. We had a really good lesson with him (Stacy) this past week about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of Wisdom. Only a couple of things left to teach him and then he will know it all. Or at least been taught it. He is doing awesome though!
Do y'all remember Samantha from Gulfport? Elder Todd and I taught her. Well, the Gulfport Zone Leaders baptized her two weeks ago. Crazy, huh!? I talked to Elder Johnson and he said she had a testimony and was ready. And Elder Woolf baptized in Long Beach too! Not anyone I taught... I got the referral the week I left from a member. It was a part member family with 9 year old twin boys and a 12 year old that hadn't been baptized yet. So the work is just progressing everywhere. The Mission set a goal last January for 300+ baptisms this year, and at this point every area needs to baptize three people before the end of the year to reach the goal. It is going to happen! It's so awesome!
So, a little more about training. I got the phone call Tuesday night and had a meeting in Clinton Thursday. When we are finished training at the end of 12 weeks, our trainees are supposed to be able to train if called upon to do so. A lot of pressure on me right now, but I am ready and happy to do this. I needed this.
I hope all y'all have an awesome day! I am going to get running. I love you all!
Love,
Elder Mendenhall
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