Elder Herrin

No Time to Slow Down!

So This week has been Work Work and wait for it More Work! Which is great!

On Tuesday we where able to do some work on the temple grounds. We pulled out old tarps and planted a bunch of bushes. It was a little chilly. Low 40's maybe. plus its humid. The next day we had Zone Conference which was good...Freakin Eight Hours Though! But we received some really cool news. The Church is doing a really cool Initiative called "Share The Gift!" On November 28 visit Christmas.Mormon.org! It's Gonna Be Great! We where then took one of our investigators, RoseMary, to a Temple Tour! She is so great! has a Baptismal date for December 14! We had exchanges on Saturday and Elder Jennings came over to Conway with me! We spent the Day doin Less Active work. trying to contact and set up appointments. We where on our bikes and we totaled 45 miles that day! Plus it was Raining all day! Whoooo! Missionary Work! 

So the Thanksgiving season is coming up so that means we get to gather with our loved ones, Eat some turkey, and be thankful...But what are we thankful for? Now I am not going to go in and Rebuke all of you because of how "Ungrateful" we are, or What we should be grateful for. I figure we got enough of that at church Yesterday.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said,

"Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. It is difficult to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings we can count. True, it is important to frequently “count our blessings”—and anyone who has tried this knows there are many—but I don’t believe the Lord expects us to be less thankful in times of trial than in times of abundance and ease. In fact, most of the scriptural references do not speak of gratitude forthings but rather suggest an overall spirit or attitude of gratitude."

I am sure all of you have heard the saying "Have a Gratitude Attitude" But what does that mean. Do we have to Go through our days Expressing our thanks for every little thing, Yes, but it is more than that. We all have hard times and I am sure you would all agree it is hard to be grateful for trials or hard times. But that is where Gratitude comes in. Gratitude brings Hope. We Hope that good will come. We hope that we will be strong enough. And Gratitude for What we have now or what will come in the future gives us hope to endure our trails well. I have seen this on my mission. Not every day on the mission do I feel like singing "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel". It gets hard but it's my gratitude for the things I have and the Blessings that Will come if I Endure and Press on! As times get hard don't look back at what once was good, but look instead at what now and will be good.

I hope you all have a good Thanksgiving! And as always I wish the Best!

Elder Herrin 

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So..this week has been..INSANE!

Okay lets take a deep breath... we have been so busy this week! it has been wonderful! But! the crazy thing is all of our appointments fell through! First off we had an appointment with one of our investigators... but he called and canceled. Not one minute later we get a call from a guy we contacted and he wanted us to see him then! He is really interested and is on the path to baptism! Another time we went to go see a less active but she wasn't home. we then run into a guy and he asks what church we our from. this contact led to him telling his life story and his struggles with addictions. We gave him a Book of Mormon and committed him to read it! he wants to keep meeting with us! This week has been full of these types of experiences! lessons on the spot! and unplanned contacts! I am exhausted but happy!

 

I have been out for 8 months! and I am now seeing how important it is to completely turn your lives to our Heavenly Father. I always knew to rely on him but I lacked faith. Faith is an action word. it requires an effort.

 "Spiritual light rarely comes to those who merely sit in darkness waiting for someone to flip a switch. It takes an act of faith to open our eyes to the Light of Christ."

The computer I am using kind of cut me off and sent my email before I was done so... as I was saying. This spiritual light is the Light of Christ which leads and guides us through out or lives. We all have faith so lets put it to the test and "Doubt our doubts before we doubt or Faith!"

 

I hope you all are doing well! and I wish the best!

Elder Herrin

 

The Way to Conway

So on Tuesday we found out where we were going for transfers! Now get
this I am now Serving in Conway! Which is only 10 minutes from my last
area! But it's in another zone! But that's not all the orlando stake
which is where I previously served and the Orlando South stake which I
am in now came together to make a third stake! So I am back in the
Orlando stake! Neighboring UPK! So ya it has been crazy! My companion,
Elder Lefholz is awesome! It hasn't even been a week and we are
teaching in unity! We got two baptismal dates! Whoo! Conway is like
UPK just more Ghetto! Lots of good people though. We are teaching a
guy who is really nice... But for all of you who have seen Modern
Family, he reminds a lot of Cam! It is really funny. He is a good guy.

It is incredible what blessing you see when you have a positive
outlook on life! When we expect good we see good. When we expect bad
we see bad. Imagine starting the day and getting to choose if you
would see or not. Sure you wouldn't see anything bad but imagine what
beautiful things you might miss because you chose to blind yourselves.
The same process goes for our perspective, we wake up each day and
decide if we are going to see the blessings of our Heavenly Father our
not. Only with an open mind and open heart will we be able to see his
goodness. Not with a skeptical or cynical mind. Sure trials will come
but if we see the light at the end of the tunnel instead of focusing
on the darkness behind us we will be lead by His light!

I have chosen to have a positive outlook on everything! Doesn't mean
it won't get hard but I know it will be worth it! I hope you all are
doing well and in all things look to Heavenly Father!

Elder Herrin

Let's Tone it Down a Little!

 So I thought last week was Cray Cray! This week has been nuts! To start out since we have been covering two areas and both of my companions don't like to plan, we have been so disorganized! Elder Jackson would set up an appointment at5:30 and then Elder Dalmas would schedule our dinner with a member at 5:00! So lots of back and forth and rearranging and annoyed Elder Herrins! Besides that we also have a new stake coming in! So that means new Ward boundaries! So we had to go to all of our investigators and less actives and recent converts to let them know! Took a little bit of convincing that it wasn't the end of the world for some of them. But that's not all! "Oh really Billy Mayes tell me more!" Elder Dalmas and I received our transfer information on Saturday! Neither Dalmas nor I ever thought this would happen... Are you ready... Are you sure?...ok... Both Elder Dalmas and I are leaving! Freakin Crap! That means all of our investigators, less actives, and recent converts are going to be left out to dry! We can leave notes but we can't control the new Elders. Good thing we have Facebook so we can keep track of our people! The worst though was telling Kim! When we told her she started crying! She was so upset to see us both leave. She wanted to call the mission president, but the last thing we want our stressed out president to deal with is an angry Korean! It's going to be a trial of faith for sure but God knows what needs to be done.

"President Hugh B. Brown, formerly a member of the Twelve and a counselor in the First Presidency, provided a personal experience. He told of purchasing a rundown farm in Canada many years ago. As he went about cleaning up and repairing his property, he came across a currant bush that had grown over six feet (1.8 m) high and was yielding no berries, so he pruned it back drastically, leaving only small stumps. Then he saw a drop like a tear on the top of each of these little stumps, as if the currant bush were crying, and thought he heard it say:

“How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. … And now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me. … How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.”

President Brown replied, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and someday, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down.’”

Years later, President Brown was a field officer in the Canadian Army serving in England. When a superior officer became a battle casualty, President Brown was in line to be promoted to general, and he was summoned to London. But even though he was fully qualified for the promotion, it was denied him because he was a Mormon. The commanding general said in essence, “You deserve the appointment, but I cannot give it to you.” What President Brown had spent 10 years hoping, praying, and preparing for slipped through his fingers in that moment because of blatant discrimination. Continuing his story, President Brown remembered:

“I got on the train and started back … with a broken heart, with bitterness in my soul. … When I got to my tent, … I threw my cap on the cot. I clenched my fists, and I shook them at heaven. I said, ‘How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done--that I should have done--that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?’ I was as bitter as gall.

“And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, ‘I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.’ The bitterness went out of my soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness. …

“… And now, almost 50 years later, I look up to [God] and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.’”

God knew what Hugh B. Brown was to become and what was needed for that to happen, and He redirected his course to prepare him for the holy apostleship.

“As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten”

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

I know that change can seem to be awful sometimes but when we have faith in our Heavenly Father and prayerfully go to him for guidance we will be shown the way! But if we refuse to open our eyes with a little faith to see the good that God has prepared for us we will never see it! Keep your eyes open and look to the future!

I wish you all the best in all of your endeavors! I hope all is well!

Elder Herrin

Two Becomes Three!

So this week has been So... Cray Cray! So to start out! We have a new addition to our little companionship! Elder Jackson from Alberta Canada! We now cover 2 wards! It's crazy! We are so busy! But good news is we where teaching two of our investigators, Paul and Lisa, and they accepted our invitation for baptism on the 21 of November! So Excite! Very much Happy! Also another one of our investigators named Michelle who once was a member, we where teaching her the Restoration and at the end of the lesson she started to cry! She said how grateful she was for us and our desire to help her! She said that when she is ready she wants us to baptize her! There was so much spirit there! We also taught a member we have been visiting for a while, Rachel, she has been going through some trials that have caused her to question her faith. This led me to remember a talk given by Henry B. Eyring.

"Many of you are now passing through physical, mental, and emotional trials that could cause you to cry out as did one great and faithful servant of God I knew well. His nurse heard him exclaim from his bed of pain, “When I have tried all my life to be good, why has this happened to me?”

There seems to me no better answer to the question of why trials come and what we are to do than the words of the Lord Himself, who passed through trials for us more terrible than we can imagine.

You and I have faith that the way to rise through and above trials is to believe that there is a “balm in Gilead” and that the Lord has promised, “I will not … forsake thee.”

Now, I wish to encourage those who are in the midst of hard trials, who feel their faith may be fading under the onslaught of troubles. Trouble itself can be your way to strengthen and finally gain unshakable faith. Moroni, the son of Mormon in the Book of Mormon, told us how that blessing could come to pass. He teaches the simple and sweet truth that acting on even a twig of faith allows God to grow it.

That particle of faith most precious and which you should protect and use to whatever extent you can is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."

I know that Many of us do struggle with the trials of the world. And some of us even struggle with the seemingly incurable trial of depression. But there is a cure and that is Faith in Jesus Chrsit! Don't be discouraged! wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. Ether 12:6

I hope you all are having a great week and I wish the best!

Elder Herrin

Wild Week...Brace yourselves

So where to begin...Hmm... Oh I know Elder Dalmas backed into a mailbox! Which led to a night of moral decisions, Giants, and sneaking about! Elder Dalmas eventually told the six foot five giant the truth. The whole time I am in the background making Dalmas question every decision! 

Next day was Hectic! So just some background information since Elder Dalmas and I always have the car, the other Elders and Sister in Waterford have to share but they can't be in the same car together. So when it is required for them to switch or go somewhere far we are always involved. We started at our apartment and drove to the sisters apartment in Avalon Park which is 15 miles away to pick up the Elders, then came back to the church to do interviews with the President, another 15 miles. Then dropped the Elders at there church 10 miles away, then back to our place another 10. Then drove to bishops which is another 15. When then where informed that one of our Recent Converts was in the hospital so we drove over there to give a blessing. Which was 20 miles! So we drove 85 miles in one day! 

Next day we More less active work and we stopped by one and knocked on the door. A lady answered the door and we asked if the Less Active lived there she said no. So we did the whole "we are missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ" thing and now she wants to meet with us. So we then get back in the car and we receive a text from Jen and she tells us that she was talking to her roommate in the hospital about the gospel and how she wants to learn more! Whooo!

Next day of this wild week we where doing Facebook Proselyting and Elxer Dalmas received a friend request from an Argentine girl. He then used google translate to interpret her Spanish. Gift of tongues! Taught her a couple minutes and Dalmas thought she was interested in the gospel. Nope just wanted a boyfriend. So we won't be talking with her again. Then Kim and her husband took us to lunch at an Italian restaurant. Now this place had a lot of lovely statues and pictures that just made Elder Dalmas and I have to look down all that time. That's not art! So it was awkward!

Next Day! We went to the church ranch for a ward activity called Guns and Grub! We did not participate in the Guns portion but did freely partake of the grub. Their were a lot of Non-Mormons there and it was funny seeing their reaction to a bunch of Mormons blasting off rifles, and shotguns! Afterwards we visited Kim. She has been really struggling lately with school and her relationships. So we helped her feel better and now she is totes motivated to read and pray and it's just awesome!

To end this Crazy Week we had church as always but afterwards went to do some more less active work! We met with this family who are just great! Definitely on there way. At the end of the lesson their 19 year old daughter pointed at me and said to her parents "if you would have told me that the cute missionaries where coming over I would have got more ready!" So that's nice.

We then stopped by another less active and started her on her porch and whilst we where teaching her, her neighbor came out and asked if she could sit in with us! She said she was catholic and she gave some really good input! She wants us to come over again!

Sorry about the long email. So much has happened this week that like the Book of Mormon a hundredth could not be written down! I hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Herrin

Whooh! Whooh! Whooh!

Has it been a week already! Let's see where to begin? How about with our Two new Investigators! Both of which are from our recent converts! So first is from our recent convert Manny. His mother, Chrystal, already has a baptism date and is basically already a member so they together convinced Chrystal's mother to have the discussions! After the first to lessons has already committed to Baptism! Wooh!

So the second is Kim's Husband! He was originally really against her joining the church but he has noticed Kim's change! Says she is more happy and less tired because she stopped drinking coffee! So we met with him and taught the Restoration! He committed to reading and Praying about the Book of Mormon! Wooh! So on a different topic we had apartment checks on Thursday so me and Elder Dalmas spent all Wednesday cleaning and we they said we now have the cleanest apartment in the mission! Wooh! 

On Sunday we had a lesson about Family responsibilities namely between Fathers and Mothers. Something that caught my mind is that we call God our Heavenly Father but do we compare him to our father or our fathers to him? Is he an example of our earthy fathers? No. Fatherhood is a privilege given to us as men to give our children the first taste of gods love! He is the example and as we strive to be like him we will be better Sons, better Brothers, better Fathers, better Husbands, and better Men! I am so grateful to have had an example like my Father! He has helped me become the person I am today! 

So this week has been a great one and I am excited for the many more to come! I hope all is well and wish you all the best! Wooh!

Elder Herrin