Companionship Study Agenda

This is what we do in companionship study.  We have it every morning starting with a song and pray.  Then we read from the White Handbook and adjusting to missionary life.  Then we talk about what we study then we watch a PMG [Preach My Gospel] video and role play what we watched and prepare for our lessons if we need or we role play various things we need to.

This week we reached 18 mp [member present lessons] which was an all-time high for me. I was personally excited about that and I am excited for next week to break it again.  We also saw two kids that we have been working with on come to church this Sunday.  The older, Wesley, was supposed to come but slept in so he missed his chance to go.  But one our members was able to give them a ride and that member lives right behind their house so that was pretty cool.  This week we did a lot more teaching then we did finding, but still found while we taught.

This week was really good.  We got a lot done.  Thomaston is such a small town that I pretty much know everyone that lives in the town itself.  So it’s really fun because you wave at everyone you know so it’s pretty much a parade every day.  Haha! jk!

love you all!

Hunger Games!

Hey everyone!

This week was my first full week in Thomaston and wow it is so much fun.  On Tuesday I went on an exchange up to Griffin with Elder Poulson and Elder Poulson.  Yep and since we were in a three some I got to tract with a Greeny (Younger Poulson as we call him).  Since he had only been there like three days and was new to the mission it was an adventure!!!  But we were able to find some people.

Kinda something cool.  We drove past an old mill where they filmed Hunger Games.  I got a bad pic but you can kinda see it.  A lot of the Walking Dead shows are filmed in Griffin as well.  Kinda the fun fact of the day!

Two of the days this week we went with the senior missionaries in our ward and went saw some people out in the country.  It’s pretty awesome to have senior couples in your area.

Cool story for the Compton family.  We were visiting this less active member who lives way out in the country and we were talking and for some weird thought reason I thought that I knew him from somewhere.  He said something about how he worked when he was young on a potato farm in Colorado.  At that moment Iknew where he was from so I asked him where he was from in Colorado and he said La Jara Colorado!!!  So I told him about how my family on my dad side where from there [that area anyway].  Pretty cool.

But we found a lot of new investigators at the end of the week and quite a few that are really solid.  This coming week we hope to see some good numbers coming our way.  We also were able to invite a lot.  We found this one family and I strongly believe we were lead there... we first knocked on the door and the father (Zack) answers the door and we said a pray and invite him and got a return appointment with him.  Then we went to their neighbor’s house and they referred us back to them.  So we thanked them and as we were leaving the neighborhood the wife of Zack came out and wanted to talk to us.  So we talked to her and she was Seventh Day Adventists and she ask why we serve our missions and we talked shortly with about that.  Then she told us what she believed and thanked us for sharing the good word.  We than gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read and to come to know if it was true and that if she had any question that when we come back on Friday that we would be able to answer them and talk more.  I just knew at that moment that she was prepared before and that she is one of many that that we are looking for.  

So this week was filled with lots of excitement!

Love you all!!!!

Hunger Games Building

Georgia Country Side

Textile Mill

Baptism!

Hello everyone,

This week was long but short at the same time.  I got transferred to Thomaston... it is a little city just past Griffin but a little north of Macon.  This city is a textiles mill city.

And as you can see we had a baptism on Saturday!  Mike was baptized and we were excited to see him be baptized.

It’s pretty fun being here.  There are a lot more people walking around so it’s a lot of fun to go tracting and contacting .  Elder Herrera is my new companion.  He has been out for 3 months, the youngest companion I have had.  He's got a lot of fire and is still fresh!

My new address is:

Elder Compton
731 apt C South Green ST.
Thomaston, GA 30286

Love you all!!!!

Lots of Conference Successes....and a Transfer!

Hello everyone,

Two things that really stood out to me in Elder Ballard's Interview [General Priesthood Session – M. Russell Ballard] was he kinda had all missionaries evaluate how there obedience is and and asked if we are focused as well as a few others, things.  I wrote them down in my study journal.  I plan to review those questions weekly to make sure I am doing them.  And it sounds like he wants us to raise the bar again.  So I guess we had better start aiming and jump higher.

We have exciting news that we were able to get Joseph to a session of conference and it was the [session] President Uchtdorf talked about the atonement.  I could see out of the corner of my eye Joseph wiping away tears the whole time.  He told after that was the best thing he had heard on the atonement ever.  So he felt the spirit.  Also, he has good fellowshippers and  I know that he will be baptized!!!   And I wish I could be there when he does.

We had this one guy where we knocked on his door about two weeks ago and talked to him.  He had not been to church since he was a kid.  We taught him the restoration and invited him to come to church.  He gave us a call saying we had inspired him to start going to a church and that he was going to go church shopping.  We invited him to come to conference and he said that he might.  Second session he walked in!!!  He heard the talk about how we need to be spiritually in tune, where he compared it to the old school radio, have to have it right on to hear the spirit.  After conference he asked us what the normal time was and that he would be coming and his word is good.  So that was really awesome!

Joe, who the president talked to at stake conference, watched two session including the priesthood session.  Monica came as well on Sunday and she enjoyed it as well.   She is solid but she is kind of hard to nail down a date.  She wants to read the whole Book of Mormon before she gets baptized.  Transfers are Wednesday and I am going to a new area!  So far I have been in a house to ourselves for 2/3 of my mission so I have been blessed in that regard.  But am looking forward to a new area!

Thank you everyone!!!  Love you all.

Pollen on the mission car -- allergies!!!

Interviews with the President

Hello everyone,

Once again I have made it another week here in Georgia.  This week we had interviews with our mission president and we talked about how we can use members more in our missionary work.  We were also rebuked for not getting 20 member present lessons, but we learned a lot and so things are looking good.

We were able to meet with Monica for lunch and talked about Joseph Smith and how the gospel blesses people’s lives.  On Saturday our ward/elders quorum had what they call the Shoot Out Activate.  [They all bring] their guns out and go shoot.  They shot .22's 9mm, .45's, shotguns, and .357.  That was pretty cool and no I did not shoot any of them,  but the ward [members] were sure tempting me...

We had the zone leaders stay the night last night which was cool.  I mean, we have a house and space to share!!!

Keep the Faith everyone.  Love Ya.  Thank you all!!!!

Investigators and Not Feeling Well

Hello everyone,

Joseph and Mary did come to church on Sunday, which was exciting!  On Tuesday we had a very good district meeting.  It was on the Christ like attributes.  It always bring in the spirit when we talk about how to become more like our savior.  

We were able to meet with Monica this week and talk to her about the Book of Mormon and how it ties into the restoration.  She has been reading it pretty regularly, so she’s doing good.  I wanted to put her on date but she didn't feel ready for a date yet.

The whole weekend either I was sick or my companion elder Thurgood was sick so we were pretty busy trying to get healthy again.

Compare Alma 31:12-18 to Matthew 6: 5-6.  Satan would want us to stand before men and have us be praised by men for worshiping god but we see that Christ would rather have us do it in secret and have us praise him rather than us get praise from man and he will reward us openly.

Blessed for Obedience!

Hello everyone!

This week we saw a lot of miracles happen!  Must have been for obedience!

Last p-day after I e-mailed you all, Joseph (one of the ward members) took Elder Thurgood and I mountain biking, and it was legit!!!  So much fun.  It’s not like mountain biking in Utah where you start at the top of the mountain and ride down [guess we didn’t make Tyler ride uphill enough].  Here in Georgia we have hills so you ride up one side and ride down the other side.  There are very few rocks.  Instead there are lots of roots.  It was a lot of fun.  We had like prefect weather as well.

That night we taught Fallon, who comes from a part member family.  Her dad refuses to let her be baptizes but  her mom wants her to be baptized.  So we are teaching Fallon so she knows the gospel.  One day when she is older maybe she will choose to be baptized and already know what she needs.  

Tuesday we had district meeting.  In our district we have the sister training leaders as well as the zone leaders and us so we have a pretty stacked district.  But the zone leaders were at another district in the zone so it was just the two sets.  That was kinda weird and small, but it was good none the less!

Thursday we had an awesome miracle happen.   We were just finishing weekly planning and driving to the church to make some copies and we got a call from a number we didn't know... it was John!!!  John was one of our top investigators about 5 weeks ago but he called us one day and said never come back and never call.  But he called us back and said he wanted to know the truth!  So we told him if he reads and prays and comes to church regularly that he will know truth and we were able to put him on date for baptism later in April.  So that was awesome!!!! yeah!!!!

Saturday morning we had a lesson with Noah.  Previously, we were out looking for potentials in the area book and this one house stood out to me and I couldn't stop looking at it, so I had to knock on it.  We told Noah that we felt impressed to knock on his door that day.  He was very open and willing to have us over again.  So Saturday we went and taught him the whole first lesson and wow he was so prepared.  A lot of his beliefs lined up with ours and we gave him the Book of Mormon, and before we could even ask him he told us he would read it and prayer about it and that he would know by the Holy Ghost if it is true.  It was absolutely awesome to see how prepared and ready he was to receive the gospel.  They are out there!

Later we went on a “time up” with brother Hunt.  He such a cool guy.  He sells medical equipment.  He had sitting in his truck a $2 thousand dollar screw.  Kinda cool.  After that we saw this lady named Heather and taught a little bit on her door step.  That night we went to a ward activity, Siamese basketball... so couples in the ward would wear the same shirt and have two teams of this and would play basketball.  Funniest thing that I have seen in a while.  Sunday we got to teach the deacons about “how do I invite my friends to church?”  Lots of fun.

Last miracle.  So this morning we get a call from Heather one of our new converts saying, “Hey meet me at Kroger, I am buying you food.”  This is a blessing because elder Compton was not wise with his money this month and has about $1.75 on his mission card.  So I was blessed anyway.

Thank you everyone.  Love you all!