First Days in Tulsa...

And it sounds like he's doing great.  Remember to keep him and his investigators in your prayers, and come visit here every Monday for the latest.

Monday, September 29, 2009:
Hi everyone!


Well, my first few days in Tulsa were a roller coaster. There was so much to and not enough time to do it, but somehow it all was accomplished. I guess that stuff happens when there are a ton of missionaries working and praying hard. HAHA

The Mission President and his wife are amazing. It seemed when he looked at me, he could see right through me, and everything about my life was unfolding right in front of him. I don't know much about him yet, but I feel as though I've known him all my life, and I love him very much. Sis. Merkley is so kind too. And she is way hilarious. Just being around her makes me wanna help EVERYONE.

The first couple of days, our group stayed at the mission home, and we discussed certain things pertaining to the OTM(Oklahoma Tulsa Mission). Then, we went to work. We performed service right after we got back to mission home, the next day, we were assigned top go out tracting with the zone leaders and the assistants to the mission president. Another Elder(Elder Taylor) and I were assigned to go with the assistants. After a few hours of tracting with them, they dropped us off in an area that had not been tracted in a lot, and they told us we would have the opportunity to tract JUST the two of us. It was a great experience...a very humbling experience. I had not realized how shy I was, until I spoke to people in their houses.

That night, we found out what area we would be assigned to and who our trainer was going to be. I found out that my trainer was Elder Phillips and I was to be assigned to the Tulsa-East Area. There are many areas and most of them are in Missouri, Arkansas, and Kansas, which surprised me because I was expecting to serve most of my mission in other parts, other than Tulsa. Now, I'm smack-dab in the middle of Tulsa.

When I met Elder Phillips, he was all smiles and it seemed like nothing would shake him out of his optamistic attitude. After tracting with him, I KNEW nothing would shake his positive attitude. We tracted on foot because I have not yet received my bike, but I get it today on my Preparation Day (it's Mondays for me).

We spoke to so many people and there were many people willing to listen to the greatest message on earth. One appointment we had on my first day was with a man named Justin. He attends the Singles Branch with a recent convert named Heather. They are both so amazing. We spoke about many things and the Spirit was so strong in the room with all of us. At the end of the prayer, we invited him to be baptized...and he said YES! I thought my eyes were gonna jump out of their sockets. I had never really seen the Lord work in that way before and it truly was a miracle. We challenged him to read 3 Nephi 11 and he said that he would many times, and he wanted to discuss it with us as soon as possible. He has such energy and he truly does "feasts upon the words of Christ" I love him so much for his willingness to be obedient and his testimony of the Gospel.

The next day, we went to few appointments and had a few discussions with some less-active members of the Singles Branch and one with an investigator. I loved sharing the Restoration with them and the importance of coming to church. Later that day, we stopped by a man named Richard. His grandfather was a member of the Church and was a mailman in Salt Lake. He wanted to be like his grandfather and was so happy when we came over. We spoke for over an hour with him and we gave him a copy of The Book of Mormon. He was so fascinated by it and we shared a few scriptures from it, and every time we did, he would say, "Wow! That is so amazing!" The Lord had truly prepared Richard to receive the fulness of the Gospel. I felt as the conversation went along, I was not doing ANYTHING. It was as if the Holy Ghost was answering his questions and testifying to him so strongly, that all we REALLY did was sit there and share a few scriptures. We commited him to come to church and to be baptized, and he said yes to both with such boldness. At the end of the conversation, I had to give him a hug. I know that Richard is a child of God, and he has been prepared by the Lord, and he felt the Spirit. I pray for him EVERY night. We had also encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon, the 7th chapter of Moroni, and I hope that everyone in the family will read Moroni 7 about FAITH, HOPE, and CHARITY! I'll be quizzing ALL OF YOU in my next email. HAHA

Well, that's it for now. I'm praying for all of you, especially those of you who are having struggles in your lives, whether it be illness, mental struggles, or spritual struggles. All of you are NEVER far from my thoughts and I have faith in all of you.

Remember the quote that I shared by Orson F. Whitney at my farewell- "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is ever wasted...it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the knowledge we have come here to acquire, which will make us more like our Fatther and Mother in Heaven."

I love all of you and I hope you are all serving the Lord and your brothers and sisters in the world. He said, "Love one anther". REMEMBER THAT PRIMARY SONG.

I am always with you.
Elder Fellows

Just the beginning...

If you love Brad and want to follow his mission through his e-mails, here's the place to do that.  He entered the MTC on September 2, 2009, had a harried but terrific three weeks, and has just arrived in Tulsa to have the serious mission stuff begin.

His MISSION ADDRESS is

5215 East 71st Street, Ste. 300,
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136 

He would love letters, packages, etc. from all who are interested in corresponding with him.  We'll also update his apartment addresses as we know about them.


We'll post his letters as they come, and here are the catch-up ones from the MTC:


September 9, 2009:
Well, the MTC has been an amazing experience. I've learned so much in just one week. I'm working really hard and evert day is day where the Spirit lingers and testifies to everyone.


My district is a great bunch of elders. There are just eight of us, but we are very hard working and obedient. Only five of us are going to the OK, Tulsa Mission. The other three are heading to the CAL, Sacramento Mission. They all have such strong terstimonies of the Gospel and of the Atonement. I learn so much from them, my teachers, my Branch Presidency, and of course the Holy Ghost. I thought I understood the Gospel when I first came here, and I did to an extent, but the atmosphere here is so much different. I love being here, and it's actually kind of bitter-sweet when I leave in a couple of weeks. My companion's name is Elder Manser and he's a great guy. He's very logical when it comes to the Gospel. I have come to care for him like a brother, as with the rest of my district.

Yesterday, we had Elder Richard G. Hinckley come and speak to us with his wife. He has such a great sense of humor, but he also is a very powerful speaker. He spoke to usa about the Articles of Faith and Four Things We Need to Know as Missionaries: Personal Worthiness, Hard Work, Obedience, and Faith with Testimony. It was so powerful to hear the words of a Seventy. Fast and testimony Sunday was also a "spiritually draining" day. At Mission Conference, the MTC Presidency spoke with their wives.

Well, I have to go get my laundry really fast so another email will be coming after I finish.

I love all of you and I'm praying daily for each of you.

With love,
Elder Fellows

September 16, 2009:
Hi everyone,


I wanna thank everyone for their amazing letters! Keep 'em coming. I love hearing what's going on in your lives and the spiritual experieneces all of you have. I love you all very much and I pray for you that all of you can be happy and healthy in your daily activities.

This week has been an awesome experience at the MTC. Last night, we got to hear from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland!!!! It was too good to be true. I had the oppportunity to sing in the chopir, and we sang the song that James E. Faust wrote, "He is the Christ". He spoke for an hour and a half about how important our missions are to not only the people that we serve, but to our family and ourselves. He now might very well be my favorite apostle...but everyone else is a close second. I took almost three pages of notes! I just couldn't get enough of his words. His wife is an amazing presence as well. She has such a strong testimony and a sweet sweet spirit. At one point, he said, "I could stay here all night and speak to you about your missions...", and at that moment, my first thought was, "I'M READY, keep talking, I"LL STAY ALL NIGHT!!!" If it had been possible, I would loved to hear him talk for hours on end.

I also had an humbling experience in one of our TA's(Teaching Appointments). Elder Manser and I taught a volunteer whose charcter was an inactive member of the church, and she felt like her life was not going well at all. So we spoke what words were prompted by the Spirit. Almost an hour later, she went out of character and said, "I can't believe I'm feeling this way" The Spirit was so strong in that room. We spoke to her about how God has given us a way to repent, and we spoke of the Atonement. My companion saidm, "The Spirit was so strong in there, I thought it would blow the door off the hinges!" I loved her sweet spirit and my companion's faith in Christ. I walked out of that room feeling as though all of us had been taught something great.

Well, I leave next week to Tulsa and I'm way excited! I'm so thankful for the Gospel and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have a challenge to all my family. Read Alma 39-42. I believe those are the chapters that Alma is speaking to Coriantum. I fgelt that you all would benefit greatly from that and from Alma 11-15. Those are the chapters with Alma and Amulek.

I love all of you and I'm praying constantly for all of you.

Sincerely,
Elder Fellows