Hi family,
This is my life as of last week.
I have learned more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I stress myself out so much it hurts, I try to do everything on my own, I try to be perfect when I cannot be perfect, and I set myself at a higher standard than my companion does, my mission president does, and even the Lord does.
This past Satuday, November 14th, was Darla's baptism. As a new missionary, I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be for the baptism. I stressed myself out to the point where I was constantly worrying about everything, hoping that the people who were supposed to show would, and that I would say the right things, and that no one would be mad with me for causing such chaos for them. I worried again and again over these things and many more things. I worried about how the ward mission leader viewed me as a missionary, I worried about all those we are working with, I worried about the members and praying they wouldn't get mad at me...
You can tell there is a pattern in all of this: WORRY
I stress, I feel anxious, nervous, and scared.
My companion continued to point out one thing: I stress about the things I do and the people I see every day because I'm not confident with who I am. This might sound harsh to some, but to me, it was eye-opening, and I felt truly grateful for the words Elder Harrison spoke to me. He continued to say that no one on earth is perfect, and we, as imperfect beings, cannot become perfect in this life. That is where the Atonement comes in. He is our SAVIOR. He helps us become perfect. Through Adam, all men die, and through Christ, all men live. We have been given the great gift of the Atonement. We should apply it to our lives continuously throughout our lives. For those who like to cook, it is a lot like using knives. You all have that one knife you use all the time. It is perfect for cutting anything and is used every time you are in the kitchen. The kitchen is comparable to life and the knife is the Atonement. The Atonement should not be some knife that we use only when we are eating pancakes, or just when we are slicing a tomato. It should be applied all the time. We are not perfect. We need the Atonement at all times.
All right, I'll get off my soap box and give "all ya'll" an update. HAHA
We have another baptism this coming Saturday. Her name is Megan S. She is 19 and has been investigating the church for a couple of months now. She experienced a lot of family opposition, but she is strong and she knows the gospel is true, the Book of Mormon is true, and Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. She is being fellowshipped by the Single's Branch so well and she loves the love the members give off. It will be at 11:30AM and her boyfriend is baptizing her. I'm really excited for her to receive the blessings that come from being baptized in the church.
The next people we are teaching are Emily and Josh. Josh was baptized into the church, and he lived in Utah for some of his life. Emily, his fiance, is not a member and she is loving the message that God has sent us to share with the people in the OTM. They will be coming to church next week so keep your fingers crossed for them.
We are also still teaching Chris and Ashleigh G. Ashleigh was raised in the church, but now she is coming back and she wants her husband, Chris, to be apart of it. It's been pretty difficult to get in contact with them this past week or so, but I have faith and hope for them. Chris did have a baptismal date the 28th of November, but I'm not sure how that will work out now...please keep praying.
There are many others, but I would appreciate it if you can pray for Elder Harrison, my companion. He is an awesome missionary. He is very patient with me, and he is teaching me much about the gosple and about life in general. Please pray for him to have the strength to get through these last few weeks on his mission. He has worked so diligently out here in the OTM, so any prayers for him would be most appreciative.
I am grateful for the letters that have been written to me. I love the Spirit that you, my family, bring to my life. You give me much strength out here in the OTM, and I am eternally grateful for your prayers. There has been so much that I have learned from each of you. Every single one of you has taught me something. I have been taught to value the temple, I have been taught to sacrifice my time to read, I have been taught to help others around the house (that comes in handy on a mission), I have been taught to encourage others to act on the things that they want to accomplish, and I have also been taught to LOVE. Thank you, all of you, for teaching me how to love.
I love you, family.
Elder Fellows
Friday, November 20, 2009
November 9, 2009....
Hey Fam!!!
Well, my first "real" transfer occurred last Friday. I stayed in the Mingo Valley Area (that's what it's called..) while Elder Phillips left to go all the way out in the middle of Missouri. I learned so much from Elder Phillips, and I hope we stay in touch in the future. My new companion is Elder Harrison. He's way awesome and is extremely knowledgable in the gospel. He is also a very good teacher. I have learned so much about teaching in the short amount of time that I've served with him. He' been out for a very long time, and this will even be his last area he serves in. He'll go home to Grantsville, Utah at the end of December.
Now, for some really exciting news! Darla J is getting baptized this weekend!!! She is married to a less-active member of the church, and she has been taught much about the gospel. She is so sweet and so open to the message that we share about our Savior and His teachings. SHE EVEN ASKED ME TO BAPTIZE HER!!! I'm so excited! I'm also very nervous. Then, we have a baptism for a young woman in the Single's Branch the week after, then we have another baptism for Chris G in the Mingo Valley family ward the week after that. It's going to be a great month!! So many people have been receiving this wonderful message so openly. We have been helping more people come unto Christ since my first week here in Tulsa. There is a man named Justin that we taught the first day I was here (yes, it is the same Justin). He came back to church!!! We are going to see him tonight, along with another lady named Leslie H who is extremely open and sensitive to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last night, we taught three other people by the names of Milton, Opul, and Emily. Emily's fiance is an inactive member of the church, and he wants to become more involved again. The other three are not members, but they are very receptive to this great and unique message and we are meeting with them again this coming saturday. I could go on and on, but I will give you a little list of people that we are praying for so all of you know who Elder Harrison and myself are teaching:
1.) Darla & Jared J.
2.) Chris & Ashleigh G.
3.) Megan S.
4.) Justin T.
5.) Gordon F.
6.) Bruce D.
7.) Milton G.
8.) Opul (Milton's girlfriend)
9.) Emily G. (Milton's sister)
10.) Josh (Emily's fiance, less-acitve member)
11.) Richard K.
12.) Brenda S.
13.) Leslie H.
14.) Katheryne V.
That's a little list of the people who are very receptive, are willing to listen to us, and who are progressing in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
All of them need prayers for the strength to endure hard times, the patience to get through hard times, the desire to pray to their Heavenly Father, the desire to "feast upon the words of Christ", and to continue to improve their lives by wanting to learn more about the gospel.
Now, there is one thing I want from EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY!!!
ONE PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT'S IT!!!!!!!!!!!
I really would appreciate it if that could become a reality.
If you want to send me more...maybe with a letter...that would be great too. I don't have everyone's address...so that would be great if I could get all of those addresses....plus I want to put them in my new address book that I purchased. It was only 3 bucks!!!! and it's way nice :)
I'll be writing to Zak soon. I'm preparing some things I want to share with him.
I love all of you so very much. The love I have for you is unshakeable. I love all of you so much I can scarcely put it in a few simple words. But, I want all of you to know one thing: As much as I love you, YOUR Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, YOUR eldest brother love you so so much more. We cannot even measure the amount of love they have for each of us individually. Everything that happens to us in this life helps us become more like Him and His Son. I feel His love constantly encircling me, even when I make mistakes. He wants me and all of you to better ourselves and to learn every day of our lives here. "This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God", and we must do all we can so when we stand before him, we can say "I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith"
With all my love,
Elder Brad Fellows
Well, my first "real" transfer occurred last Friday. I stayed in the Mingo Valley Area (that's what it's called..) while Elder Phillips left to go all the way out in the middle of Missouri. I learned so much from Elder Phillips, and I hope we stay in touch in the future. My new companion is Elder Harrison. He's way awesome and is extremely knowledgable in the gospel. He is also a very good teacher. I have learned so much about teaching in the short amount of time that I've served with him. He' been out for a very long time, and this will even be his last area he serves in. He'll go home to Grantsville, Utah at the end of December.
Now, for some really exciting news! Darla J is getting baptized this weekend!!! She is married to a less-active member of the church, and she has been taught much about the gospel. She is so sweet and so open to the message that we share about our Savior and His teachings. SHE EVEN ASKED ME TO BAPTIZE HER!!! I'm so excited! I'm also very nervous. Then, we have a baptism for a young woman in the Single's Branch the week after, then we have another baptism for Chris G in the Mingo Valley family ward the week after that. It's going to be a great month!! So many people have been receiving this wonderful message so openly. We have been helping more people come unto Christ since my first week here in Tulsa. There is a man named Justin that we taught the first day I was here (yes, it is the same Justin). He came back to church!!! We are going to see him tonight, along with another lady named Leslie H who is extremely open and sensitive to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last night, we taught three other people by the names of Milton, Opul, and Emily. Emily's fiance is an inactive member of the church, and he wants to become more involved again. The other three are not members, but they are very receptive to this great and unique message and we are meeting with them again this coming saturday. I could go on and on, but I will give you a little list of people that we are praying for so all of you know who Elder Harrison and myself are teaching:
1.) Darla & Jared J.
2.) Chris & Ashleigh G.
3.) Megan S.
4.) Justin T.
5.) Gordon F.
6.) Bruce D.
7.) Milton G.
8.) Opul (Milton's girlfriend)
9.) Emily G. (Milton's sister)
10.) Josh (Emily's fiance, less-acitve member)
11.) Richard K.
12.) Brenda S.
13.) Leslie H.
14.) Katheryne V.
That's a little list of the people who are very receptive, are willing to listen to us, and who are progressing in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
All of them need prayers for the strength to endure hard times, the patience to get through hard times, the desire to pray to their Heavenly Father, the desire to "feast upon the words of Christ", and to continue to improve their lives by wanting to learn more about the gospel.
Now, there is one thing I want from EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY!!!
ONE PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT'S IT!!!!!!!!!!!
I really would appreciate it if that could become a reality.
If you want to send me more...maybe with a letter...that would be great too. I don't have everyone's address...so that would be great if I could get all of those addresses....plus I want to put them in my new address book that I purchased. It was only 3 bucks!!!! and it's way nice :)
I'll be writing to Zak soon. I'm preparing some things I want to share with him.
I love all of you so very much. The love I have for you is unshakeable. I love all of you so much I can scarcely put it in a few simple words. But, I want all of you to know one thing: As much as I love you, YOUR Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, YOUR eldest brother love you so so much more. We cannot even measure the amount of love they have for each of us individually. Everything that happens to us in this life helps us become more like Him and His Son. I feel His love constantly encircling me, even when I make mistakes. He wants me and all of you to better ourselves and to learn every day of our lives here. "This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God", and we must do all we can so when we stand before him, we can say "I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith"
With all my love,
Elder Brad Fellows
November 2, 2009 (sorry, I'm a little behind)
Hello Fam!!!
I wanted to fill you in on the people that we have been teaching since I've been in Tulsa. There are so many people I want to speak about, but I'll start with Darla and Jared J. Jared is a less active member and Darla is not a member. They were just recently married and she is progressing to the waters of baptism on the 14th of November. They are working very hard tro keep their commitments and they need many prayers. Next are Chris and Ashleigh G. She is also a less active member and he is not. They are also working towards the waters of baptism on the 14th of November and they are moving along very well. Also, there is a young woman named Megan S. She attends the single's branch with her boyfriend, who is an active member, and she is progressing to baptism on the 21st of November. There is also a young man named Bruce D. He wants to be baptized, but wants to wait. Please pray for him to understand the urgency of this sacred covenant with the Lord. There is also a woman named Brenda S and her daughter, Isabell. They were progressing, until she was hammered by the adversary (like all of these are constantly). Please pray for to keep her commitments so we can set another baptismal date with her and her daughter. They were supposed to be baptized at the end of October, but Satan worked extremely hard on her. There is also a very old man named Gordon F. He is such a sweet man, and I think that your prayers will help him understand the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He doesn't feel like his prayers are really answered, but I know they are. Please pray for him to recognize those answers.
I love these people so much and I want them to experience the pure love of Christ.
I will write more later.
I love all of you.
Elder Fellows
I wanted to fill you in on the people that we have been teaching since I've been in Tulsa. There are so many people I want to speak about, but I'll start with Darla and Jared J. Jared is a less active member and Darla is not a member. They were just recently married and she is progressing to the waters of baptism on the 14th of November. They are working very hard tro keep their commitments and they need many prayers. Next are Chris and Ashleigh G. She is also a less active member and he is not. They are also working towards the waters of baptism on the 14th of November and they are moving along very well. Also, there is a young woman named Megan S. She attends the single's branch with her boyfriend, who is an active member, and she is progressing to baptism on the 21st of November. There is also a young man named Bruce D. He wants to be baptized, but wants to wait. Please pray for him to understand the urgency of this sacred covenant with the Lord. There is also a woman named Brenda S and her daughter, Isabell. They were progressing, until she was hammered by the adversary (like all of these are constantly). Please pray for to keep her commitments so we can set another baptismal date with her and her daughter. They were supposed to be baptized at the end of October, but Satan worked extremely hard on her. There is also a very old man named Gordon F. He is such a sweet man, and I think that your prayers will help him understand the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He doesn't feel like his prayers are really answered, but I know they are. Please pray for him to recognize those answers.
I love these people so much and I want them to experience the pure love of Christ.
I will write more later.
I love all of you.
Elder Fellows
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