Chris’ Mission–Muskegon with Elder Halliday
It was cool to go on my first plane ride. It was a lot different than I expected it to be. Elder Sullivan was just 2 rows up and there was a returned missionary from Canada in between us. It was cool. We had a good breakfast - omelettes, sausage, potatoes, and fruit. We stopped at Cincinatti and transferred to a small 31 seat plane. It was really weird after the Boeing 747 was so big. There was a lot more turbulence so it was more fun. And we flew lower and I had a window seat so the view was sweet. Planes are pretty cool, I think.
We finally arrived in Michigan at about 4:00pm and President and Sister Taylor were there to meet us with 4 APs. (Assistants to the President) They are all really cool. We got our luggage and went to the Mission Office and did some orientation and some paperwork. After that, we went and had a "Grandma" dinner that Sister Taylor prepared for us. It was excellent food, especially because we were used to MTC food. And it tasted awesome. Then we all had a testimony meeting and that was sweet, the spirit was very strong. After this, President Taylor gave us our first assignments. I am going to Muskegon, which is right next to Lake Michigan about halfway up the state. Mr first companion is Elder Halliday. They said he is cool, I sure hope so. Tomorrow is going to be another big day. Chris Journal, Wednesday October 28
Today was my first day in the field. We woke up at 6:00am and got all ready and ate breakfast and stuff. Elder Christofferson and I were together on a 9:50 bus. We headed out and just talked and slept going there. It was pretty cool. We parted at Grand Rapids and I headed to Muskegon. I got there at about 1:00pm and I finally met my first companion. His name is Elder Bryan Halliday and so far he is a total stud. I also met Elder Walker and Elder Gage (zone leader), and a new Muskegon companion (Elder Hibbard) for Elder Walker and a new zone leader, Elder Cloward. We had my first DA (Dinner Appointment) tonight. We supposedly have about 27 DA's a month so that will be sweet. I don't know what tomorrow will be like, hopefully it will be cool. But tomorrow we will start the real work. I am excited but very nervous. Hopefully, Elder Halliday will be able to teach me what's up. This is cool so far. Tomorrow is another big day, so good night. Chris Journal, Thursday October 29
This was my first real day in the field. It was pretty hard, but totally cool. We spent the whole day checking on PC's (Personal Contacts) and tracting. We did an awful lot of walking. None of our referrals or old PC's were home, but we had some success knocking on doors. We got about 8 new PCs, so that was pretty cool. It was really weird to be out tracting and stuff. I did my first door approach, I did a bunch of them actually. We talked to one guy in the morning and he told us to come back. So we went back that afternoon and he had two buddies there who were members of the Apostolic Church. They were really cool guys because they would listen to us and talk with us and share their views and stuff. They listened with open minds but they wanted proof from the bible. I just kind of watched Elder Halliday talk to them. We started the discussion but they got off on deep doctrine. It was a sweet day. Chris Journal, Friday October 30
Elder Halliday and I spent the day checking on referrals and tracting. Tracting was pretty cool because we got about 7 new PCs. But no one was home on referrals or anything so we didn't get to teach anyone. I am starting to do pretty good on my door approach. It is pretty fun now. It was Halloween today, but it didn't seem like Halloween. Chris Journal, Saturday October 31
Well, we are definitely in one of our valleys in our success scale. We got all those PCs and stuff, but we aren't doing very well on our call backs. We check everyone over and over, but no one is ever home. I was very discouraged. But Elder Halliday helped to put it all in perspective. He reminded me that every time we get a spiritual blessing, Satan gets a crack at us too. And we can't have success without a test of our faith. I just have to put faith in the Lord and trust in him and stay positive and motivated and wait patiently for some blessings. i am excited and optimistic about the next two days because we have a few appointments set up and hopefully we will be able to teach a few people. I hope things work out, I have faith that they will. Chris Journal Wednesday November 4
Yesterday was P-day and it was a blast. We had all 10 Elders in the Zone here in Muskegon. We all went to the "Y" early in the morning and played hoops and volleyball. It was tons of fun. There are some pretty sweet players in my zone like Elders Cloward, Walker, Waltman, Hibbert, Budge, Christofferson, and Halliday and I. We went and picked up our bikes last night and today we rode them around all day in the rain. We rode to all of our appointments and we went tracting for probably about 3 hours and we only got into one house. It was pretty sad, but maybe one of our 4 new PCs will become the next member of the church, or the next 4. We got really wet today, but it wasn't too cold and it was kind of fun riding our bikes around all day. We tracted out one long street where there were a lot of people that looked like perfect members of the church. They all had families and many were well to do. But it was a lot harder to get people to listen to us than it is in the slummy areas. My favorite response that we got today while tracting was when we asked a guy if he read the bible much. His reply was, "No, I'm catholic". It was pretty hilarious. A few people also said "good luck". I was tempted to say, "you are the one that will need luck", but I thought I better not. I swear we are going to find a family soon. We have to get a big blessing sometime soon. I must put my trust in the Lord. I'm sure he is preparing tons of golden contacts for us even as we speak. Something is going to happen. Chris Journal, Wednesday November 11
If only the people of Muskegon knew how important our message was. We should have people knocking on our door in order to get taught, not the other way around. We should have appointments scheduled every day, all day long. And we should never have people dogging out on our appointments, but unfortunately that is what keeps on happening. I don't know what I can do to prove to people that they can accomplish everything if they give it their all and ask the lord to help them. I have certainly been blessed because I feel that I can do anything I want, I know I can. It is so important to have faith in yourself, first of all, and combine that with faith in the lord and nothing is out of reach. Chris Journal, Thursday November 12
On Saturday, we were fairly productive. We got 11 PCs and gave away some Books of Mormon while tracting. We did a little mini-split and so I tracted with Elder Walker for about an hour. It was pretty cool. We talked to two pastors today and they both want to talk to us so that might be pretty cool. Elder Halliday is writing "The Epistle of Bryan" or another idea is " The Plates of Steel (by Elder Steel). They write basically form letters with funny cartoons, scripture of the month, a made up scripture of their adventures, etc. I am going to start one as well because there are just too many people to write too, and no time. Plus they are funny as heck. Chris Journal, Sunday November 15
We had Zone Leader trade offs and it is tough to get good work done when they are around. They are not good missionaries or leaders. On Friday, we went out on the dock to "Burn" for Elder Halliday's "Hump Day". It was so awesome out there, but it was scary because the weather conditions were so bad that it would have been possible to get either blown in the lake or pushed in by water, or slip in on water. But luckily it turned out alright. Chris Journal, Saturday November 21
The past few days have been pretty good. We taught Shawn, Tricia, and Jennifer the first discussion on Tuesday and it went pretty well. We are going back there at 11:00 today to hopefully teach the 2nd discussion or else to show them a video. They are really cool and way receptive. They will be baptized. We have also found a couple other new finds and so this week is going pretty well. Chris Journal, Thursday November 26
Saturday night we went tracting and we got totally rebuked by tons of people. We didn't get a single call back. It really sucked and I thought I was going to cry once after this lady, but I just kept on trucking. The blessings will come. Today was Sunday and I had to speak in Sacrament Meeting on Fasting. It went pretty well and it was a great experience for me because it is great practice to get up and speak and also I did a good job preparing my talk and so all I used was prompts on a 3X5 note card. It was really good practice for me to learn how to just speak for over 20 minutes off a 3X5 card. It makes me a better public speaker and gives me more confidence. I received a bunch of compliments on my talk. David Hale was at church again today and we taught him the rest of the first discussion after church. It went pretty well and he could really be helped by the church. I hope we baptize him.
Tonight we are at Holland again. (We come here every other Sunday night for District Meeting and P-day and trading the car with Elder Budge and Elder Christofferson) We had a really good district meeting where I learned a lot. These guys are really cool to hang out with because they have the spirit and they teach me things. I grow closer to Heavenly Father when we are together. I hope I can be this kind of influence throughout my mission. Chris Journal, Sunday November 29
I got home on Monday night and there was a big box from my family full of presents and a really cool stocking and stuff. They sent me a present to open every day from December 1st through December 24th. It felt so good to get their package and see their love for me and that they were thinking of me. The December 1st present was three 90 minute tapes full of Christmas music. I love my family so much. It's much easier to see that now that I have been apart from them for a while. I miss them so much. It is so good to hear from them.
The missionary work has been going very well. On Tuesday, we taught Shawn and Tricia the second discussion and it went very well. I got the opportunity to ask them the magic baptism question. "Will you follow the example of Christ by being baptized into his church by someone holding priesthood authority?" They said, "YES". It was so awesome. The spirit was there the whole discussion. We set December 20th as their baptismal date and hopefully we can get them ready for that, but they aren't married and so that poses a major problem. Hopefully we can work it out.
Monday was P-day and it was a lot of fun. We played 6 games of basketball and 3 games of wiffle ball. It was awesome. In wiffle ball, I hit .425, led the league in hits, home runs, extra base hits, RBIs, batting average, and my team won 2 out of 3 games. It was a lot of fun.
Today, Wednesday, was Zone Conference. It was a pretty good meeting and I learned a good lesson about being prepared. Even though I was the most prepared person there, I still wasn't as prepared as I should have been. So I need to work on that. President Taylor is just awesome. He is so spiritual and knowledgeable. I learn something from him every time he talks.
Anyway, the church is true and I love it. Missionary life is awesome. And I love my family very much. They rock. Chris Journal,
Well today was supposed to be the best day of my missionary life, but it didn't quite turn out that way. We had 2 second, 1 third, and 1 fourth discussion appointments set up and we didn't end up teaching a full discussion at all. We taught two partials, but no full discussion. But we did have some success. We taught some great people, and ran into some challenges. But I know the Lord will help us to accomplish and overcome those. I think we ran into all of these problems today because my faith was lacking some and I can always use a trial of my faith to test it and to strengthen it. And I definitely need to strengthen it. I taught the 4th discussion to Nancy tonight and I didn't do very well. I am not familiar with the 4th discussion, so it definitely needs some work. But even though today didn't go as planned, we did get blessings and we will continue to get them, I know. We also went to an old folks hospital for 2 hours of service this morning. It was really nice to help bring joy to these poor lovely old people. We helped them do bowling. It was really neat and also hilarious. It made me feel good to help them and help make them happy. Chris Journal, Friday December 4
We had a totally sweet investigator come to church today. Her name is Paula and she had a good time. We have only taught her the first discussion but she totally wants to learn and stuff. She is awesome. Shawn and Tricia keep going downhill, though. They are totally backing down. Shawn still wants to learn but I'm not sure about Tricia. Tonight we went to the Christmas Message from the first presidency. It was totally sweet. The Holland Elders, Zone Leaders, and Hart Elders are all here for the Christmas message and for our Zone P-day tomorrow. It is going to be awesome. Chris Journal, Sunday December 6
This is my two month anniversary. I can't believe that. Two months are gone. They have gone by so fast. It seems weird that a portion of my mission is already finished. Today was an awesome P-day. We went to the "Y" this morning, of course, and played B-ball. It was a lot of fun. Tonight we had another cool District Meeting. I shared the story, "The Deserter". It is a really cool story. We are on District Trade Offs tomorrow and so I have to pass off the discussions. I hope I can do it because I haven't looked at them since I first passed off. Chris Journal, Monday December 7
Yesterday I found the book, "Love You Forever". It is so good. I borrowed it from Sister Nash for a day and I copied down the words in a letter to Mom. It will be her letter for Christmas Eve. I'm sure she will like it. We finished decorating the Christmas tree tonight, it looks awesome.
The work has been going pretty good. We had a great district trade off with the Holland Elders. They are some great missionaries. I learn a lot when I am with them. Elder Christofferson and I had 20 spare minutes so we tracted out 3 houses right across the street from our apartment even though they have probably been tracted out many times. We talked one lady named Gretchen Holtz into taking a Book of Mormon and Elder Halliday and I followed up on her today. She had read 3 Nephi 11 and the introduction and really liked it, so we ended up teaching her the first discussion today. It was awesome. I'm glad I was with Elder Christofferson because he suggested it and look what happened, another new find.
Paula has run into some problems. She wants to learn about the church really bad, but her husband has suddenly gone anti. I guess he doesn't want her to have anything to do with us. I hope and pray that she will have the strength and faith to continue to learn and to soften her husbands heart and show him why our church and our message is important. But it is definitely going to be hard on her. The devil sure knows how to stop our golden contacts from progressing, but it is just another barrier we need to overcome. Chris Journal, Thursday December 10
I met Preacher Craig Russell today. He is a minister for a Baptist church and he is really cool. He gave me a sermon about how important my ministry is and how powerful God is and how he can do anything through us ministers. It was pretty cool. Chris Journal, Friday December 11
The work has been going good. We got another projected baptism today with Dave Hole. He is projected for December 27, it should be pretty cool. He is a good guy and he will be a good member. We have been working hard with Deanna and Shawn but they still didn't come to church today. Chris Journal, Sunday December 13
We had another cool district meeting in Holland. For P-day, we played our wiffle ball and of course I was the MVP again. I hit .595 with 1 double, 2 triples, 8 home runs, and 25 RBIs with 2 grand slams and a 3 run shot. It was totally sweet. My team won all 3 games so the other guys won when they were on my team and lost when they weren't. We also played hoops and I played alright. We taught Dave Hole the third discussion on Monday night and we taught Leather and Gracey today as well as Gretchen Holtz. Gretchen is really cool and she is progressing along slowly. It would be so awesome if we were able to get her and her husband into the water.
Today we were able to use our priesthood power. A man called us and asked us to come and give his father a blessing because he was dying and didn't expect it to make it through the night. The poor man was in a lot of pain and so was his family. You could tell how much they loved him. It was a very touchy situation. When I laid my hands on his head I felt the power rush through me. It was definitely a great spiritual experience. I hope the blessing helps him and especially his family with their pain ... Well, the priesthood is definitely real. When we gave Charles Brewer the blessing yesterday, he was barely able to breathe, was in a coma, and was not expected to make it through the night. well, Dwayne Brewer (his son) called us back today to tell us that as soon as we left, his dad was breathing much easier, was actually able to talk to his family a little, and actually had some hope for survival. When I listened to the message, the spirit overcame me so strong that I just sat down. It showed me just how much power is in the holy priesthood. And I have access to it, the Lord willing - WOW! It was a great feeling.
Today we taught Nancy Bell the fourth discussion and committed her to live the law of chastity. It went really well and she accepted the commitment and the invitation to be baptized on the 27th of December. So now we will have 2 baptisms on that day. I am really excited.
Tonight was pretty fun. It was the ward Christmas Party, "A Night in Bethlehem". It was a really cool set up and we had a few people come to investigate it and check it out. It was cool because everyone was dressed in old biblical attire and they had little shops with food and gifts which we could buy with our fake coins. Chris Journal, Saturday December 19
The Holland Elders came to Muskegon and we headed to Fruitport to teach Dave Hole. We taught him the 5th and 6th discussions and then Elder Budge gave him the baptismal interview. So now Dave is all set for his baptism on Sunday. After that we went to the movie Aladdin and holy cow that is the coolest movie. It was so rad. The animation is just incredible. It looks so real and the story is so sweet. The only part that sucked was when Aladdin got the girl Jasmine and kissed her. Me and Elder Christofferson just groaned because we have over 21 months before we get to kiss a girl. We went to the Otto's after that for our Christmas dinner. It was a lot of fun. They have a really cool family. We had a great dinner and pie, and then we acted out the Christmas story as Br. Otto read it from the bible. I enjoyed playing with their kids and getting them excited for Christmas. Then we went back to our apartment with Elder Walker and Elder Dunlap and played Monopoly. Then we worked on a puzzle. Chris Journal, Thursday December 24
I called home at 9:00am. It was so great to talk to my family. I got to go and open my presents as we talked and then I got to listen to the girls open their presents. It was so fun and so cool. And I only cried a little bit, OK, cried a bit. It was just so good to talk to them and to hear their voices again. I got some cool presents. A radio from Nikole, Franklin Day Planner (Dad), Far Side Calendar (Ashlyn), Push up stands (Mom), Dockers (Lindsey), photo albums (family), and tie tacks from BoJ. And from Grandma and Grandpa I got a bunch of cool stuff like a blanket/pillow, tapes, Michigan State T-shirt, etc. It was a great Christmas. Chris Journal, Friday December 25
Well, today was an awesome day. We got my first two baptisms. And it worked out really well because I got to baptize Dave Hole and I got to confirm Nancy Bell while Elder Halliday did the opposite with them. It was totally awesome. It was a great baptismal service. All the prayers and talks were just excellent and they really brought the spirit into the room. It was just awesome. It was definitely a great experience for me and the spirit really helped me to give Nancy a good blessing. We have been totally blessed to get these baptisms. Chris Journal, Sunday December 27
Holy Cow! It is 1993! I can't believe it. We taught Gretchen and Tom Holtz the smoking program and hopefully that will go good so that Tom will join in the discussions with us so that we can baptize a family. It went pretty well and we are going back on Friday. I finished my newsletter. It is awesome. I hope all the people I send it to will like it. Chris Journal, Tuesday January 5
Sweet. Today is my 3 month mark. That is so cool. There is a lot behind me, but a lot more ahead of me. It is just cool to hit a landmark like this. I am actually 1/8 of the way done, so I better make these last 21 months good ones. Today was a good day because we got some good team ups with members going. The team ups were good because we got two new people to take us out and now they are both willing to hep us out a lot more. Chris Journal, Thursday January 7
Today was another good day. We had two more team ups and taught 3 discussions. We showed a video to Tom and Gretchen and it went really well, I think. They should be at church for sure and so should Shawn, who we also taught today. He will be baptized sometime. He just needs to get married and quit smoking. We also caught a referral home today. Chris Journal, Friday January 8
I just finished carrying out one of my responsibilities as District Leader by calling in totals to the zonies for my district. It was pretty cool. We had a great week here as far as Team ups and joint teaches go, but we still need to improve a lot on just about everything else. We still need to get into a finding kick so that we can build our teaching pool back up. So next week we Find, Find, Find. We checked tons of referrals and call backs today. We didn't get in and teach any discussions and really have much success at all but we did set up a couple appointments and stuff. We did have a great week because we got some members involved and we really caught the spirit of the work. So next week will rock! Chris Journal, Saturday January 9
We had 3 investigators to church today. Shawn Thompson and Tom and Gretchen Holtz. It was funny because we always stress that we don't have a preacher that stands up there to cry repentance, but the Bishop got up today for 40 minutes and slammed his hand and basically preached. We didn't get a chance to talk to Tom and Gretchen after because they left pretty quick so I wonder what they thought. I'm sure they enjoyed it. Chris Journal, Sunday January 10
I was prompted a few days ago to use the movie "On The Way Home" and the Baptismal Challenge with Deanna Hayes. And so we listened to the spirit and did just that. And the spirit was so strong. We talked to her for a long time about how the Holy Ghost works and about the authority issue. And then we all said a prayer - first me, then Halliday, then Deanna. It worked wonderfully and she committed to be baptized on Jan. 31st. It was a sweet experience because we followed the spirit and the commitment pattern and it all worked. She finally accepted the Holy Ghost feelings and the invitation to be baptized. We also taught Tom and Gretchen Holtz the first discussion today and it went very well. They will be baptized. Tom is slowly coming out of his shell. Definitely a sweet day. Chris Journal, Tuesday January 12
Today was a pretty sweet day. We taught 3 discussions, had a team up, did some tracting and checked some referrals - had a sweet EMAM at a cool dinner appointment. It was basically a perfect proselyting day. We really planned our day out and focused on a lot of different areas of work. It was cool. We taught Deanna some of the fourth discussion and tried to help her realize that she does believe in a pre-mortal existence. She had a hard time accepting that and is pretty confused about a lot of things, but we will work her through that. We taught Tom Holtz the second discussion and challenged him and Gretchen to be baptized. It went very well and we are going back there tomorrow so we can set a definite date with them. We taught a New Find the first tonight. Her name is Diane Bohl. She was a Temple Square referral and she is a friend of the Beals. The discussion went very well and she looks pretty receptive so that is cool. We also got 2 PCs and gave away two Books of Mormon today so it really was a good balanced day. Then tonight at about 8:45, we drove around the worst neighborhood up here. I saw so many drug deals go down just in the 40 minutes we were driving around. It was insane. I literally watched drug deals happen and we saw tons of people just waiting to buy and sell. We even broke one deal up. It was scary and sad. Chris Journal, Thursday January 14
We had a pretty sweet day today. The Sayers and Sister Darlene Bucell picked us up at 10:00 to go to the grave dedication of their father, Warren Chalres Smith. We went to it and Halliday said a couple of things for an introduction and then I said the dedicatory prayer for the grave. It was a really good experience and a good opportunity for me - another chance to use the keys of hte priesthood. I can't believe the power that I have in the Melchezidek Priesthood. They were a really nice family and afterwards they took us to Red Lobster for some lunch. Then we went on Zone Leader Trade-Offs. I was with Elder Cloward all day. We went and talked to Shawn and then did some bowling at Brookhaven with the old folks. We also taught Tom and Gretchen the 3rd discussion and Gretchen is all ready for baptism. We just have to get Tom ready, and their family will be set. Chris Journal, Friday January 15
Sweet. I just barely qualified on my pass off. I qualified on the discussions and scriptures in what had to be record time. I did it in 17:14. And that is seriously so awesome. At Hallidays year makr, he did it in 19 minutes or so and he was way proud. So I basically rocked it. I just got interrupted by Elder Budge calling me with his totals for the week. They are putting up some monstrous numbers. They just can't get people to commit to any baptisms for some reason. But it will come around for sure really soon. We traveled to Big Rapids for a Stake Missionary meeting and it was cool. Chris Journal, Saturday January 16
We were supposed to have 4 investigators to church, but nobody showed up. I couldn't believe it. Not a single one came to church. They all had excuses but it was a good meeting and I wish they would have shown up because they would have learned a lot. Chris Journal, Sunday January 17
Today was pretty cool. We had a pretty sweet 4th discussion with Shawn today. We only got through the first four principles with him because he wanted to watch the President get sworn in. It was a cool discussion. We also taught Tom and Gretchen Holtz the 4th discussion today and it went pretty good. I don't think they want to give up coffee but hopefully they will in order to be baptized. I want them to get baptized so bad. They would be such awesome church members and the first family baptism and first tracting baptism. That would be so dang cool. We are in Holland tonight for District trade-offs. These guys (Elder Budge and Elder Christofferson) are awesome. We are going to do some sweet work tomorrow. President Clinton became the new president today - that is pretty sad. He doesn't have any morals from what I can understand and this country is already lacking in that area. I think President Benson should be President of the USA. Then this country would be led by revelation and it really would be a cool country. I would vote for him. Chris Journal, Wednesday January 20
We were in Holland today for district trade-offs. It was pretty cool today passing these guys off as their district leader. Elder Christofferson qualified in 22 minutes, and Elder Budge taught me the fourth discussion. We had a good time with it. We taught the baptismal challenge to Rand and Tina here and it went pretty well. We worked hard all day today but it wasn't an exceptionally productive day, but at least we worked hard. Overall, we had a really good time today. I like to come down and work with these guys. They are both cool guys and we all get along very well. I think it would be totally sweet to go to BYU with Christofferson when we got back. Or tour this country up here with him. We could have a good time. Well, zone conference tomorrow. I have my talk and my scriptures all ready so it should be pretty cool. Chris Journal, Thursday January 21
Zone conference today went really well. I really learned a lot and caught that missionary spirit again. It was awesome. President Taylor is such a great man, he is so spiritual and so inspired. I love having interviews with him. Today I got some scoop for the upcoming transfers. He was really cool and open about it. He told be Budge is gone and Halliday might be but he isn't quite sure. So our awesome district is finally going to get split up. It doesn't really matter if Halliday goes or not. In ways, I want him to go so I can work with other missionaries, but he is awesome and we get along good. So whatever happens, cool. President Taylor made it pretty clear that I would be sticking around here for a while though. I did learn a lot today and I had a great time.. Our zone is awesome but it is going to get shaken up a bit. My companionship is probably the only one that will remain intact. This week has been hard in our area because we have only been in our area for 2 days. So totals are going to suck, but next week we will rock. We are seriously going to work 65 hours next week. That is my goal I am setting right now. We really need to work hard to get the inspiration to know what to do with Tom to get him to feel the spirit and accept the invitation to be baptized. They will be such an awesome mormon family. Hopefully we can prepare him for the 31st because Gretchen is all ready to get wet. I am going to pray hard tonight for the inspiration to know what Tom needs. We just really need to get him to feel the spirit. We are getting a ride to church with them on Sunday so that will help to make sure they go. They are awesome. The church is true, and Pres. Taylor helped me to remember that I was called by God through a living prophet to serve in this are of Muskegon. I know there is a lot of work here that only I have the authority to perform at this time. So I need to work my butt off. Chris Journal, Friday January 22
Today was a pretty good day. We used our 2.5 hours of a break between appointments and tracted out our neighborhood. We didn't have very much success but if felt good to be out there thrusting in our sickles. We did get 2 PCs and 2 non-member lace, so it was pretty cool. Church was totally sweet. We got a ride with Tom and Gretchen and it was great. Kevin was really good for a 2 year old at church for the first time. Gretchen really seemed to enjoy church and Tom said it was OK. So they are still progressing along and they will eventually be baptized. Life is good. I need to keep a positive attitude and continue to have fun on my mission while I improve myself. We went to about 30 minutes of an "Assembly of God" church tonight. It was pretty cool to go and see what it was like. I was disappointed though because there were no healings or speaking in tongues. That would be interesting. Chris Journal, Sunday January 24
Scan of the Holland Wiffle Ball Association statistics
Another P-day gone like it was never here. These days go by so fast. We had a blast playing wiffle ball and basketball today. I finally did pretty good hitting again. I hit .286 with 4 triples and 4 home runs. Overall, I kept my home run title and RBI title, but Christofferson passed me in the batting average. But that's OK, I guess I can't lead in every category. I went 3-0 in the games today and so I tied Halliday with the best record. Then we played basketball. I was 5-2. Chris Journal, Monday January 25
Today was a sweet day. It was a total thruster, successful day. It is appropriate the that two go hand in hand. We woke up exactly at 6:30 and studies pretty good. We read a bunch out of the missionary guide and the "To Know To Will To Do" book. We were out checking referrals and call backs at 9:30 and we gave out some books and stuff. We showed Tom and Gretchen the video "What is Real", and talked to them about the priesthood and stuff. The spirit was totally there STRONG, , but Tom wouldn't admit it but he is still slowly progressing. He will get there. I just need ot make sure that Gretchen doesn't get into reverse or anything. Maybe we should baptize her now. But it is very important that we continue to teach them as a family. I'm going to pray hard for them tonight.
We also showed Dennis Sturgess the movie "On the Way Home" tonight. The spirit was totally there and we had a cool short discussion with him. Then as I was saying the prayer, Elder Halliday tickled my leg with his foot and we both started to rack up during the prayer. I had to have a big long pause to be able to finish the prayer. It was so funny. Well, the spirit was with us today because we followed every rule. Remember that. Chris Journal, Tuesday January 26
We got some pretty good work done today. This morning we drove down to Grand Haven and Sister Strabbing took us around to work with less actives. It was very successful. We talked to two families, one inactive and one part member. They should be easy to get back to church with a lot of work. We set up appointments to show them "On The Way Home" so that should be pretty cool. We came back and Roger McClory, who by the way just got his mission call to Portugal, went with us to Dianna Hayes. Her and her family are going through some rough times. Correlation meeting was cancelled tonight which was stupid because we need those meetings to keep the area moving. It was another overall good day. Chris Journal, Wednesday January 27
Well this week is just a great week. It really is amazing how much the Lord helps out when we set goals and pray for that help. The day really wasn't the best. We did teach a sweet discussion to Dianna today at 4:00. We showed her "Labor of Love" and just talked to her about the church and everything. It went really well. We also went tracting today for our 2 hours. We tracted a big, long street without much success, but on the last door we got in and gave them a Book of Mormon. So it turned out pretty cool. Then tonight we went on a split with Br. Parme and Br. Soelberg. Me and Br. Soelberg went hometeaching - it was alright. Overall another dang good day, now I need some sleep. Chris Journal, Thursday January 28
I can't believe the blesssings that the Lord totally just give us. He overlooked all my weaknesses and shortcomings and has trusted me and Elder Halliday with a totally golden family. We received a referral for a Dwayne Ward for a Book of Mormon. We checked it this afternoon and nobody answered. Then we went back tonight and found out it was a 12 year old boy. But we went into their home and gave his Dad the Book of Mormon and talked with their family for a while. They are so awesome. I have already put them in my planner for baptism on Feb. 14. They are the Anderson family. They are not going to a church because they don't feel comfortable at any they have attended. But they are looking and relying on the Lord to bring them the truth. I wanted to jump up and shout, "Here We Are". We are going back to teach them the first discussion tomorrow. I can't wait. It is going to be so cool. I need to keep faith working and trust in the Lord completely. The Lord is going to trust us with this faily and so we are going to teach them the everlasting gospel. I am so excited, because they have been searching for the truth, and I get to bring it to them. It will be so awesome. I love serving on a mission, there is nothing better. Transfers are coming up in a few days and I hope Elder Halliday doesn't get transferred. We have too much good work going along and we are getting along just great and working really hard. I hope we both stick around because some good things are happening here. We are going to thrust this area so hard that it will never be the same. We owe the Lord so much for his blessings. I have been so blessed with my wonderful family, being raised in the gospel, etc. And most recently with the work that is going forth in this area. It is so awesome - I love this gospel. It is so true and complete and happy. The joy that comes from it is so unbelievable. Well, I better get to bed on time so we can get up and study good before our service tomorrow so Good Night. Chris Journal, Friday January 29
Today was not a good day. I am so bummed out and disappointed. We didn't get very much accomplished at all. We got dogged on 3 appointments - they all had good excuses but it still ended up being a pretty nonproductive day. We only had 1 team up, 1 discussion, and 1 PC for the day on totals. Pretty sad, especially after the sweet week we had. The Andersons had to go and help his brother move so we weren't able to meet with them. But we will get them next week and they will still go through that sweet conversion process. We did get to do service at the YMCA. Chris Journal, Saturday January 30
We got a ride to church with Tom and Gretchen again. Gretchen really enjoyed it but Tom bailed out after sacrament meeting. Tom really needs some help, I don't know how we can show him what he is missing, but we need to. Deanna Hayes didn't even come to church again. She came up with another excuse but Elder Halliday and I both kind of rebuked her about it so she will be their next Sunday for sure. Anyway, the rest of the day was pretty good. We showed OHFP to Robert Amaya and gave him a a book. That was pretty cool. Today we also got to tech the primary about Temples. Me and Elder Hardy did it and I didn't know about it until we had to go do it. So it was one of those improv things. That's where my Silver Moccasin training really comes in handy. We did do a good job, and I really enjoyed it. This ward is really cool. I really feel very comfortable here. Chris Journal, Sunday January 31
I can't believe it is already February. This past month has gone by so fast. Today was a pretty sweet day. We started it out by getting dogged by Thomas White, but the rest of the day went really well with 3 discussions and 2 joint teaches. With Deanna it went well on the 4th except she doesn't want to commit to quit smoking. The 5th discussion with Tom and Gretchen went really well and Tom even showed some signs of life but they weren't really excited about the law of tithing. Then tonight, Matthew Peoples took us to Shawn's and we had a discussion with him and his mom. His mom is a neat lady, but she is into her own translation of the bible. She is meeting with the missionaries in Traverse City and eventually she will accept all of the truth. She is quite impressed with us missionaries so far so it will eventually work out. I hope we don't get touched by the transfers tomorrow. Chris Journal, Tuesday February 2
I can't even believe this. I got a call from President Taylor today and I am moving up to Cheboygan. That was such a shock. I thought that I was here for sure for at least 2 or 3 more months. What a trip. But I really am heading out of this great city of Muskegon tomorrow at 1:15pm. I have mixed feelings today. I really don't want to leave Muskegon It is a sweet area. But I am excited for a change and I have heard a lot of good things about Cheboygan. Halliday and Waltman both served there and they really enjoyed it. Plus I can't wait to serve with Elder Sullivan. He is such a study. We are going to thrust hard. But I am really going to miss all the stud missionaries that I am leaving in this area. Well, I better get some sleep. Cheboygan, here I come! Chris Journal, Wednesday February 3
It has been a pretty cool day. We woke up and just got ready for the departures. We had some more fun with the video camera - filming the apartment and stuff. it was pretty fun. And at 1:15pm, I said goodbye to Muskegon and to my trainer and friend, Elder Halliday. I am sorry to leave that place, but Cheboygan and Elder Sullivan are looking pretty cool. The bus ride sucked today. It was long and boring but I wrote a couple letters and talked on a tape to Utley and friends. I also talked to a guy from Africa who was cool and a golden contact. I talked to him for about 2 hours and basically gave him the first discussion. It was a sweet experience. I arrived in St. Ignace at 10:15pm and Sullivan and Br. Weiss were here to pick me up. They took me to Hardees and now we are staying at the Weiss' home tonight. Chris Journal, Thursday February 4
