Tuesday, November 25, 2014

I'm gratefull

This week was pretty good. While I was emailing Monday, there was a guy that was sitting right next to us and he was talking with us about a lot of things that are not going well in the world. So we didn't want to be rude, so we listened. But as the conversation went on, we were able to transition to a gospel topic which happened to be the first lesson (the restoration). He has talked to missionaries before but it has been a while. He said that he usually comes the the church on the third Sunday for the potluck dinner. He really likes the church and he wants to come back. He is not a member, so we shared with him the restoration lesson while we were emailing and he accepted to read the book of Mormon and to come to church this past Sunday. We were planning on going into Billings last Monday but we were not able to because we would not have enough miles on the car. Were only allowed so many. So we stayed in Roundup. But if we would have gone into Billings, then we would have not been able to talk with that guy. So we found a new investigator.
 


 I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Hastings from Wednesday till today. He is from Lehi too. We didn't know each other back home though. Every day we found some sort of miracle. Just like the one that I just described previously. We would be going to a lesson and they would cancel on us so we would go and find somebody else whether it would be from tracking or finding less actives. We would always find somebody that would need us at that time. It goes to show that, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass;" as it says in Alma 37:6. it happens every day! We don't know why certain things happen. But we know that it was probably now the lords will and there is something else that he would have us be doing. We always ask for heavenly father to guide us by the spirit every day, but he always guides us in the way that we may not know why. Just like I said before. If we would have gone into Billings for preparation day, then we would have not been able to talk with that guy we met at the library. 

Yesterday while we were finding less-active members, We stopped by this guys house and he said, "if you are trying to get me to come back to the brotherhood of the LDS church, then you better turn around and start walking away!" We asked him why he thought that we were trying to get him back to church (even though that was what we were trying to to in the first 
place). He said that he was going to not come back to the Mormon brotherhood because when he needed the church the most when he was going through his divorce, the church was not there for him. He has tried many MANY times to come back to church at different wards. 
but he says that they are all the same, they are all judgmental and its not a brotherhood
anymore. He really liked to use the word brotherhood a lot! It is always hard for us when a
less-active member gets offended by the church. Because the only way that they are going to 
come back is if they are not offended anymore. He said that the church members need to
"walk the walk and walk the talk. not the other way around." I have heard many times that a 
lot of members talk the walk but don't walk the walk. They don't do what they are trying to 
tell others to do. One story that was given was that a teenage member would come every
Sunday, but the other days he was drinking and smoking. That would be a prime example of what this guy mentioned.
 The Apartment


I am going to quote Elder Jeffery R. Holland as he said in his talk,"we are all enlisted" in the October 2011 general conference. "so I am going to get in your face a little, nose to nose, with just enough fire in my voice to singe your eyebrows a little."  I want to remind everyone
who reads this letter that we need to live up to what we have been taught. TOO MANY of our brothers and sisters are getting offended because members are not living what they have
been taught and judging others for the same things that they are doing. I invite all of you to take the time to read Matthew 7:1-5. I believe that this scripture passage will be relevant to 
what I have already said. We need to look towards our-self and see our own faults before we 
judge and look of the faults of others.

I am grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in the Montana Billings Mission. I am grateful to be a 
representative of Jesus Christ himself. I am grateful for the repentance process, everyone messes up 
in life. We have all judged at least once in our life. Its  never to late to repent.
Its just as your mom always says, "Remember who you are and what you stand for!"  We need to remember who we are and what we stand for. There  are members and non-members 
that are watching us at all times. There are so many things that I am grateful for at this time 
but if I were to write them all in this email I would be emailing for a few hours.

 I hope that all of you will develop an attitude of gratitude this Thanksgiving season. There 
are many things to be grateful for.  I have great love  for you all and hope you all have a
fantastic Thanksgiving holiday.
-Elder Daniels






Monday, November 17, 2014

Winter is here!

Hello family,

This week we have been driving into Billings a lot! Its about 100 miles round trip to Billings. We had to drive in on Thursday morning because we had a broadcast that we had to be at. That went out to the whole mission. That was broadcasting from our stake center. We were the first ones to arrive there, they asked if any of us knew how to play the piano and I said that I did. So then they asked me to play the prelude for the broadcast!!!! I was going to be seen playing the piano on hundreds of screens!!! It was pretty nerve wracking at first but then I forgot about it and I played pretty well. 

After the broadcast we found out that we would have to drive down to Billings the next day too! So on Friday we had to go down again for a zone conference! The zone conference was very interesting because they split us into three groups and had us figure out how we could solve the problems in the mission that they gave us. Each of us was a "council". 

On the way back to Roundup after the zone conference, we passed a car that was off the side of the road. We passed by it and the farther that we got away from the car. The stronger that we felt that we should go back and offer our help. When we got to the car. We found out that it was a less active that lives in Roundup. We asked what was wrong with the car, they said that they ran out of oil and the car seized up. So we called some other elders that were in town to see if they could run to the gas station and pick up some oil for the car. They  did and we put the oil in the car and it still wouldnt run. We gave them the oil for free. Then on the way back after stopping to help, We noticed that there was a huge crack that went from the bottom right corner of the windsheild in an arch to the bottom left of the windshield. We called the mission office and we are getting it fixed this Wednesday. We dont know how it happened. It was probably the heat of the inside of the car and the cold of the outside. and then a rock hit it or something. 

Then on Sunday we had to drive in again for a priesthood leadership meeting. We are trying to save up our miles, so we set up plans to get a ride down from a member. But then when the time came that we had to leave. Our plans fell through and we eventually had to drive down. We were going to go down to Billings on preparation day. But since we had already driven a bunch this week. we are not being able to go in to Billings. We are trying to figure out what to do here in Roundup. There is not much to do. Being in a small town is pretty hard. 

hopefully ya'll are staying warm. because its getting pretty winter-like here. 


Monday, November 10, 2014

You tried and they denied

So this week we were able to go up to Roundup MT. Because the district leader wanted both of us up there for an exchange and we did mini splits for the day. So we didn't do too much in our own area of Shepherd. One thing that happened while up in roundup was I was tracting with one of the missionaries in Roundup. We saw a guy working on a truck so we asked him if he wanted any help? He asked us if we were Mormons and we replied yes.  " we are the missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ."  and he stopped us mid-sentence and said, "get the *%!$ out of here." So we did as he said and left respectively. Sometimes people can be mean, but you need to remember to be happy because you tried and they denied. Oh wow, im a poet and I didn't even know it? While we were up in Roundup we missed the ward Halloween party but we were able to go back right before they started trick or treating. Today is elder Wilson birthday and we decided to celebrate it by going to the new Sheels store. on the way there we saw a brand new 2014  corvette stingray. It was really nice. I have seen a few here in Montana. there were a lot in Greatfalls when I was up there. At Sheels, Elder Wilson was really interested in a knife for his birthday so we went and he got one. But he is going to send it home right away! there is a picture attached too


"McKade was transferred to Roundup when he returned to Shepard  apparently they wanted him up there, its north of Shepard but still in the vicinity of Billings MT." He has really liked it there this week and really felt that Roundup is where he is supposed to be right now 

It's really cold in Montana! We have enjoyed really hot fall weather in Utah but my APP I have keeping track of McKades wear abouts tells me the high for this week in Billings MT is 3 degrees with a low of -11 before the wind chill."

So we got the news yesterday for transfers. I am staying in roundup for another 5 weeks! Usually we  have a 6 week transfer but if that was supposed to happen we would be transfering on christmas eve.  but since we have the 5 week transfer, we have transfers on the 17th of December. 
                            

This week we have relied on the spirit alot, to be where the lord would have us be. It  was right before 9pm. When we were supposed to be inside. We wanted to go home but we wanted to be obedient so we asked the lord where he would have us tract. I offered a prayer and I felt that we should go down this certain street and we knocked on one house that stuck out to us and it was my turn to do the door approach. This lady answered the door and she expressed that she was having a hard time with life and she didnt know what her purpose in life was and so I testified to her and told her that the book of mormon would help her overcome her trials in life as long as she took the time to read it. I also gave her a plan of salvation pamplet that does explain our purpose in life. She accepted both the book of mormon and the pamplet. We asked if she would read through both of them and she said that she would by the next time that we go over. She  was really relived when we came and talked with her. I know that the spirit guides us as long as we let our hearts be open to it. 

also this week IT STARTED SNOWING! and its going to keep continuing to snow every day ALL 
DAY for the next week. it is just a really light snowfall but we already have about 2 inches in one day so far. 

Here in Roundup the city water has rust in the system. So it is really bad to drink. I didnt want to wash all of my white shirts in the washer with the water because it would turn the shirts yellow after a time. But to my suprise, if you dont want your shirts to yellow with rust or anything else. Then you wash your clothes like normal with soap and everything, but you add one can of coca-cola soda with the clothes and then your shirts will not turn yellow and oddly enough... YOUR WHITE SHIRTS WILL GET WHITER!!! its some ingredient in the soda that acts as a whitner. Its really weird but it works!!! 
WINTER IS HERE!!!!!!. My companion is from folsum California. More commonly known as the
prison town. I got transfered because the mission president felt that I should, and from being here for one week. I can definitly see why I was needed because I have contacted and taught alot of people here latley and I have felt the spirit alot. The spirit has guided me and my companion to people that have needed to feel the spirit and hear the gospel. 

Hopefully there is more to write about next week. I hope pe you all stay warm because its supposed 
to be roughly -11 this whole week here in roundup. Well thats all for this week.