E-mail 06/25/2012

Hello super awesome family that is probably wiped out!

I read Mom's E-mail first today and it sounds like you all have been running around madly. Like chickens with your heads cut off.

This week has been an awesome week for us. We have seen a lot of miracles. One evening we were biking home after a hard days work. We passed a guy watering his yard and several yard after we passed him I thought to myself "we should go talk to him." As a missionary we are suppose to talk with everyone, so it would be easy to justify not going back. We already passed him and it would be weird to go back, or it's late and time to go inside, or even that's just me telling myself to go talk with him. Well, to avoid the feeling of regret, which I knew surely would come, we turned around and went to go talk with him. His name is Tom. It turns out that normally he should have been in Cincinnati, but due to other circumstances he was outside watering just as we passed. Coincidence? I think not. The Lord wanted us to talk with him. We taught him a couple days later and it turned out great. He believes strongly in the Bible. Considers himself Christian, but thinks that all religions are corrupted. He is very open minded. If he doesn't know something he goes and studies it. We don't have to worry about him not doing his reading. He said the only reason for us to discontinue meeting in the future would be if we stopped coming. He asked us if his baptism counted in our eyes. We started telling him nicely that it didn't, but he was looking for a blunt yes or no. So we told him no. He said he wants us to be that strait forward in future visits. We are going to see him Thursday. I feel a little disconnected from my area this week, but next week will be better. I went on two exchanges and we had interviews. We also spent the night in Plainfield. So Elder Judkins and I didn't work together in our own area from Sunday evening to Thursday evening. It is nice being in your own area. I love serving here. The ward is great! We are accomplishing much good. And loving it! I don't remember if I told you this, but Joseph, the one who just got baptized, has been given the Aaronic Priesthood. He is doing so well and is such a great guy. I also made a funny observation. People like to guess where missionaries are from, I think it's a game to most people. Besides the people who think all missionaries come from Utah, most people are confused with me. They guess and I tell them Utah and they are surprised. They tell me that I don't seem like I'm from Utah. Then I tell them I was born in California and they are then like, that's it, that makes scene. I'm not quite sure how to take that, but I think it's funny. Who would have guessed.

May the Spirit be with you!
Elder Durrant

Pictures 06/18/2012 (Indianapolis, IN)

Doing service

Chopping wood

Haling wood

My turn!

Executioner

The district pose 1

The district pose 2

E-mail 06/18/2012

Hello awesome family!

This week has been intense. It has been warm. I almost got eaten by a dog. And we are teaching lot's of people.

The temperature got up to one hundred for a couple days. Our thermometer read ninety nine and we didn't think it would make it that last degree, but it did. It was kinda humid too. I love the warmer weather. While I am thriving most others are dieing. I have in my district the missionary I trained, the one from Alaska/Montana. He is one that is dieing in the heat. We did have the car this last week  so that made it nicer.

 We taught Bro Jim this last week. He has been taught for about two years. So for our investigators we make "teaching records" that we keep in the "area book" and on the back of these we describe each visit we have with that person. If we meet with people a lot there is not enough room on the teaching record, so we cut out a new one and tape it to the back of the old one and continue writing on the new one. When I got here I saw the longest teaching record I have ever seen. He had seven pages. Although, the good thing about that is now we know exactly what his concerns are and instead of guessing and beating around the bush we know what his concerns are and can help him overcome them. He is very open with us. In our visit we taught him about the atonement, justice and mercy, and faith. After which we invited him to be baptized. He said "Well, I've already been baptized. but are you going to ask me something else?" "will you be baptized?" came the reply. He said "I've been thinking about it a lot. I can give you a definite maybe. I agree with the doctrine, I just have a lot of challenges." I was amazed by his answer because I expected a no. His answer was in the direction of baptism. He eventually will be baptized.

We taught Julianne this week as well. She is getting baptized in July. She is a single mom and is working three jobs. It is hard to meet with her, but she wants to be baptized. If she has to work on Sunday she will go to another ward that starts at nine, ours is at one, then go straight to work. She is a great lady.

Saturday we had a priest go on exchanges with us all day. It was a "day with the missionaries." We had a great time. We tracted and talked with a guy who told us boats weren't invented until the eighteen hundreds and the Jews hid the Book of Mormon during world war two. We had a fun day. We taught a few people. I cooked him lunch. For some reason most people won't eat my cooking. It's weird. But Kenny, the priest, loved what I made him. I cooked up mac and cheese, stirred in tuna and green beans. It was really good.

So, the dog that almost ate me. Sunday morning, before going to church, we went by this less-actives house. They had a chain link fence around their big yard. We whistled and heard nothing so we started walking to the door. We got half way when two barking dogs ran around the corner. I thought, oh, here come the dogs. They were chihuahuas, yapping at us. One came up and tried to bite my shoe. I shewed it away with my foot. As we were about to walk onto the porch I hear this deep bark. I thought "oh crumb!" Around the corner comes this big Rottweiler with the kind of speed and bark that you know they are not coming to say hi. We jump onto the porch, Elder Judkins is behind me, I turn to face the dog with my scriptures in my hand ready for it. (one reason I carry my scriptures instead of using a back back:self defense.) It came up and was about to bite me, I swing my scriptures and missed it's head by an inch. The dog retreated because the owner ran out and yelled at it to go in the back. As you can imagine I am shaken. It's a good thing God watches over His missionaries.

That was my week. Pretty exciting. I love it here and I love serving the Lord!

May the Spirit be with you!

Elder Durrant

Pictures form 06/05/2012 (Indianapolis, IN)

Elder Durrant and Elder Fitzgerald

Joseph and Elder Judkins

Joseph, Elder Judkins, & Theo

That's me!

Elder Judkins is getting his hair cut.

E-mail 06/05/2012

Hello wonderful family!!

Sorry for being late with my e-mail this week. You probably thought I died in travel to my new area, on my bike no less. No, the internet was down where we normally e-mail here and all the libraries were packed full of people. So I got special one-time permission to e-mail today.

This has been a crazy week. We have been going almost non-stop all week since I got here. I am so excited to be here in my new area. words cannot describe my joy. I am back in Indianapolis right next to my first area. I will probably never work there again, but I have adjusted very quickly here since I know the area and I've been on exchanges here a lot. My new companion is Elder Judkins. He is from South Weber Utah. My third Utah companion. I am so excited to work here and to serve with Elder Judkins.

At Transfer meeting I saw Elder Fitzgerald. I will include a picture. He is serving in Indy north stake. I am in Indy west stake.

so, "busy week," We had a baptism on Sunday. it was super sweet. Joseph is from Africa and has a super strong testimony. He was found three months ago through tracting and will finish the Book of Mormon by his confirmation this next Sunday.

We are teaching a lot of people. We have two other people who have committed to be baptized and lots of other very good people. My area is called Indy third. All the members here are wonderful and super missionary minded. I like our bishop, Bishop Fishburn. He is super funny. I know his dad from White River too.

Thanks again for being awesome! May the Spirit be with you!

Elder Durrant