Strummin' for horses

Date:     Mon, Jul 30, 2012 at 12:17 PM

Email #95 – New Plymouth, ID

Hey there everyone!

   What a fun week it has been for the both of us! Elder Olinger is a great companion. He always has a joke to tell, really he does. And he's good at teaching. What I have been feeling though is very different. I feel a greater desire to do my best. There have been a few times when I feel that I am being too hard on myself. Am I helping him understand how to teach? Am I being the best example I can be? Do I annoy him or does he like me as a companion!? I'm sure I will find a happy medium soon. Until then I will just have to keep doing my best.

   This week was low number wise because I had to spend the first three days in Boise. Monday I attended a trainers meeting with all the other missionaries who are training. That was a very good meeting. President Cannon spoke to us and told us that he had spent hours on his knees praying to know who should train these new missionaries. He told us that we really had been called by the Lord to train. I felt the spirit tell me that I really have been called, which was a great comfort to me to know because I was feeling very nervous at the time. lol.  After the meeting I stayed with another elder in his area.

   The next day the new missionaries arrived and we had the wonderful opportunity to be paired up with one, dropped off in a random spot and go street contacting for two hours! I was paired up with an Elder Mann, from California. It was a fun and nerve racking time. I took the lead in the first two and then told elder Mann it was his turn. I was laughing inside a little as I watched him nervously look around trying to decide where to walk. I told him, if you have a good thought, such as "We should go that way", or, "I should talk to them." Just act on it. After that he started walking, and I could see him as he looked at people he wanted to go talk to them bust he was hesitating. The "natural man" was telling him not to do it! So I would tell him, go ahead. Let’s say hi! In the end we passed out two copies of the book of Mormon, and even got a free lunch! It was very fun.

   Wednesday, we finally got our new companions. That was when I was told I would be training Elder Olinger. The rest of the week was filled with contacting, and trying to set up more appointments for this week. And the few lessons we did have went very good. The members here already like him as well.

   Well, that’s me for now. Doing my best to be the best example I can be, and trying to humbly teach this new elder what it means to be a missionary.

Sorry I haven't replied to your letters yet, I will be trying to do that this week. In the mean time, I love you all, the work is moving on and the Gospel is definitely true. How grateful I am. Take care and stay cool!

              -Elder Bevell-

p.s. We were at an appointment where they had a guitar and I was just strumming it when the horses walked up and started sniffing it. So here I played for two music loving horses! =D