March 21, 2011 Letter

OH MAN,

Being a zone leader is a little bit crazy.  We have to turn in numbers every week for the zone and that takes forever.  Numbers are just all of the things that we keep track of in each of the districts.  Like lessons taught, new investigators for the week, etc.  It's kind of a big pain.  Every Sunday night I can expect to stay up til about 12.  Dumb.  The zone is way cool though.  This is the first time that I have ever had sisters in my district so that is kinda weird.  I feel like I am not supposed to talk to them or something.  Anyways...so I am in a city named Garland.  It is pretty much like Henderson except a little more ghetto.  The people are way awesome though.

Okay so the cool story.  It's not as cool as it could have been but still really cool.  So when I had just gotten to Longview I kept having dreams about this kid in my last area.  His name is J.  J is like 13 and hadn't been baptized yet.  His family was going through a rough patch and went inactive when he was turning 8.  Since then the family had been coming back to church but J didn't want to be baptized.  He had gone through about six sets of missionaries all telling him that he needed to be baptized and he just didn't want to.  Well . . . I got there and we started talking and got along really well.  He is really into guitar and loves music so we would go over there I would play guitar with him and Elder Harrison would teach the rest of the family a lesson.  Well...I got transferred to Longview.  Like I said I kept having dreams about this kid and I was impressed that I should write him a letter about being baptized.  I told him about my life and how I came to know that the church was true and how I probably didn't know what it felt like to have 12 different missionaries come in and tell me I need to be baptized but that I new what it felt like to be pushed or pulled.  I told him that if he ever was going to be baptized that it was absolutely his choice and that he should study it out for him.  Not for me, Elder Harrison, not for Elder Frost, or Elder whoever.

I received a letter back about a month later and he said that he appreciated the letter that I had sent.  He said that he would study it out and do all that he could to find out if it was all real.  To do it for himself and not for anyone else.  At the end of the letter it said...

PS-  I don't know when yet, but I would like to invite you to my baptism.

SO COOL!  AH! I was freakin out!  I have never been so happy in my life!  So for a while we were trying to figure out how I could be there to baptize him but it didn't work out.  There is a rule in the mission that you are not allowed to go back to an area to baptize so whatever.  He is getting me a program from the baptism and a picture.  I think that Elder Grondel is the missionary that is there right now so that is way cool.  I was just really glad that I listened and felt the impression to write that letter.  It is pretty cool the way the spirit works sometimes.

Anywho.  This new area is broken and Elder Hall (my zone leader when I first came out who is now my companion) and I are called to fix it.  That is straight from the mouth of our mission president.  This area is awesome though.  The members feed us everyday and come out on splits every night.  I have never taught so many lessons in my mission.  I am just really happy where I am at in my mission now.  I feel like there has to be some bad news coming or something to knock me off my spiritual high place.  We'll see this next week.  We have right now seven new investigators and a possible baptism date so I am way pumped.  The stake president and the bishop here are big time on missionary work and that is almost never the case.  Alright well I gots to go now.  I do hope that the package comes soon because that would be really awesome.

Love,

Elder Michael McNinch

PS-  there is a family here named the Sisomphou's (sis umm poo).  That has to be the coolest name that I have ever heard in my life.  We also drive the coolest car in the mission.  2010 Ford Fusion.  So tight...very fast.  Love ya!

 PPS- Just send all my stuff to the mission office address (13747 Monfort Drive).  I am so close to the mission office that it will get here really fast now.