News From Home

Sweetest Adam,

Happy hitting your first six weeks in the field (aka you made it to your first transfer)!!!  We were very surprised to hear about your reassignment to Bismarck.  I am sure that Elders Matthews and Bichon will be so sad to lose you.  The Lord must really need you to build the kingdom however in Bismarck to have you leave your trainers so soon.  President Howell talked with Dad (during the whole send you out the computer thing) and said how your mission is leading the online missionary work for the Church and that Salt Lake is very interested in seeing changes your mission is making.  So I am guessing that that means that the Lord has given you a month in Fargo to learn the ropes and now it is time to roll up your sleeves and figure out how to make Facebook work better and more cheaply for missionaries throughout the world, no pressure :).  We are praying for you and that your next companion is as wonderful as the ones you are leaving.  They have just opened the temple prayer rolls online and so we submitted your name as you gear up for this new assignment so that many prayers are coming your way.  Good Luck Elder McMullin. . .   You Got This!!!!

News From Home:

Mom News-  Luke just finished my Canvas class for me (stop laughing) and has earned himself the new lego Darth Vader picture made out of little legos that he wanted!  That means I am two classes down and I have signed up for five more online classes (Luke only needs to help me with two more, now you can start laughing again) to be fully re certified as a Utah State Teacher by the beginning of the new year.  My plan is to be already for the spring push of new teacher hires to get cued up for a teaching job next year. . .  we will see how it goes.  I have also been busy canning peach and raspberry jam.  One a weird note there are no pint bottles or pectin to be found anywhere we had to scrounge hard to get a few new small jelly jars for this week (we think that Covid has impacted the supply).  I have also loved watching a new show on Netflix about a make-up contest in England called 'Glow Up'.  I was so inspired by the magic of the make-up artist that I have ordered magnetic fake eyelashes to try--- yup your Mom always on the cutting edge of new make-up trends ;).  Dad and Luke think its a little silly, but I will send you pics when I get the hang of it.

Dad News-  Dad hit his one year mark as a bagpiper!!!  He is sounding really well with 'Going Home' and 'Amazing Grace' in his go-to bag (heh) and 'Scotland The Brave' almost there.  He is sounding good and Jim is talking about putting him in a competition in the new year.  Dad's foot is still really bothering him.  He has gone to Physical Therapy this past week and the PT guy thinks he may have a bone spur, ouch.  He is meeting with a specialist tomorrow so we will see what he has to say.  Dad continues to spend his summer fixing sprinkler heads here at home and at the Old Home.  He is really excited for winter so he can put his sprinkler parts away for awhile.  Stella has learned a new trick on our walks in the morning at the cemetery.  If she sees a walker she will run up to us so that Dad can hook her up and as soon as the other walker is gone he lets her off (we think this is brilliant on her part) so she gets to enjoy her walk longer.

Luke News-  Luke's first weeks at Dear Old AF High have gone really well and he enjoys his teachers a lot.  Friends are still being made and as all of his really close guy friends have gone to LP, its a lot of building friendships (much like the situation you are in) so its been hard and he would appreciate a few prayers for good friends to come his way, from his best friend in North Dakota.  Luke had a big personal triumph yesterday as he conquered driving Timp Highway and North County Boulevard.  He would only turn right and he said his joy of the 'Red and Green Light' will be forever destroyed, but he lived to tell the tale and we are super proud of him!!  He had to have a lie down and a chocolate creamy to restore his balance after his harrowing drive.  Band is large and in charge of Luke's schedule his only free week night is Tuesday and he 3 hour practices on Monday and Thursday and a 4 hour practice on Wed.  The band is looking really good and when they finally finish their show I will send you a video.

Quick News From The Hood:

Josh Diederich gets married this week (crazy).  I think he has barely been home a month and a very few weeks.  We sent him a wedding gift and wished them well, but we hope you play the field a while before making such a big step.

We got Austin Bushman's graduation/mission announcement drooped off at the front door-- took a picture so you could see it. 

Caroline Parry got home from her mission and her Dad said she was stuck in her apartment for 152 days.  Supper hard way to finish a mission and he hopes you never have to go through the same thing.

We are still not allowed to go back to church so it will be at least six months without the ward if trying to go back in October still holds.

Quick News From The World:

A hurricane hit Louisiana this last week adding to the nations unhappiness, leaving a few dead and a lot of people homeless.

There was a riot in Oregon again between Black Lives Matter and Trump supporters (why is Oregon such a heated state?  all the coffee from Starbucks in Washington?) that turned violent.  One man was killed.

The actor who played Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) died this past week from colon cancer, weird. 

DIsney Plus is finally getting out the live action version of Mulan, but only if you pay $30 to see it. We're dabbling with it.

Joe Biden is still a thing for the Democratic Party. Dang it.

I miss you every day!!  I pray for you every prayer!!!  I will love you always!!  You are so loved and missed here in Highland.  Best of Luck in Bismarck, we know you will be awesome wherever you are sent.  Stay kind, stay humble, work hard for the Lord everyday.  Much Love to you!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                        Mom and Dad

Pictures:

Austin Bushman 1 & 2

Josh Diederich wedding announcement

Luke with the carpool babes

No LP Knight here

Cupcakes Are The Secret Weapon To Happiness And A Better And Deeper Relationship

Hello Friends and Family!!!! Let me tell you this week (and the week before that) have been so crazy, but also so spiritually strengthening and uplifting! 

For starters, these cupcakes were the bomb.com and they really did create a better and deeper relationship with our new friend Margret. Margaret is a Deaf sister in our ward that lost her husband nearly 35 years ago, and her family isn't in contact with her because they don't speak sign language and live all over the country. She doesn't have any friends except for one sister in the ward who she seems more like a glorified babysitter than a friend. For days I prayed and pondered what I could do to help her not to feel alone and that there were people that loved her. One morning while I was exercising it hit me, "desserts make me happy... cupcakes are pretty easy... I think my companions would be down to get our bake on", so I made German Chocolate cupcakes for both Margret and some other friends that we were teaching. Fast forward to next Monday, we gave Margret our cupcakes and I signed "we were thinking about you and thought you would like some sweetness in your life". Immediately she started crying and thanking us because she had had a very difficult day and she needed to know that she had three friends looking out for her. This truly will be one of my favorite memories watching a sweet 84-year-old lady watch us with tears in her eyes as we walked back to our car.

Another thing that happened was my emergency transfer inspired vacation to Wahpeton! Apparently the companionship down in Wahpeton has been together for nearly 4 months and problems and disagreements have to lead the companionship into having a "spiritually non-conducive environment". Luckily this was only a temporary transfer that would only last about 3 days, but I was still super stressed about why they were sending out a 4-week old missionary to settle disagreements between two Elders that only have 7-months left on their missions. As soon as I got there I thought I was sent to the devil's companionship. There were sticky notes and lines of tape on nearly every surface diving property of the two missionaries. The fridge even had tape clearly defining whose food was whose. I immediately wanted to grab my suitcase and run back to Fargo, but I was reminded of an email that President Howell sent me just the day before about my concern for going to Wahpeton, telling me that he had received a revelation that I was the answer to this problem and that if I worked out this problem the Lord would bless me. Therefore, I rolled my shoulders back made a Denver omelet using BOTH (they told me not too but I pretended that I was swept away by the culinary muse and couldn't hear them) of the Elders food and talked about the area and how I could help out. In the end, I loved my stay at Wahpeton and was happy that I was able to soothe the relationship between these two Elders, which goes to show that if you act in faith the Lord will answer your prayers and bless you in ways that you cannot imagine.

I received a very exciting, but also daunting phone call. While I was still on my tour of Wahpeton and Fergus falls I got a phone call from one of the Assistants telling me that they really needed to speak to me. A little unnerved I told them that I could do a Zoom call in fifteen minutes and also asked if my companions should be there with me. The Assistants said they only needed to call me, and that I needed to wear a suit because I was going to be on the call with President Howell. Fearing that I was either going to get transferred to Russia where I was going to have to teach underprivileged penguins sign language or get chewed out by President Howell I nervously got onto the Zoom call where President Howell welcomed me by saying I was the answer to the mission’s prayers. My first thought was that I was on the wrong Zoom call, but I later found out that President Howell had received yet another revelation about me. He told me that he felt inspired to make me Executive Facebook Business Manager of the entire North Dakota Bismarck Mission, where I would be in charge of marketing, advertising, and ensuring Facebook Page quality. Needless to say, I felt a rush of fear, then confusion, then subtle yet overwhelming peace. I am super excited to dive into this new responsibility and hope that whatever it is that I need to do I can exceed expectations.

To conclude, I just want to talk about something that I discovered this week that has brought so much peace and confirmation that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. These past few weeks I have interacted with so many people from all walks of life, and each individual has repeatedly told me that they are looking for comfort in this crazy pandemic and civil unrest world that we live. It has been my privilege to share the gospel and the happiness and comfort that it provides to each one of these individuals and to feel that God loves each and every one of His children. Often times, however, these individuals reject the gospel often calling it "restrictive" or "stressful", but I know that the gospel is neither of these things but rather the epitome of happiness and comfort that we need to be anchored to in these last days. 

Love and miss you all so much and hope you are having just a great time as I am!!!  

Elder McMullin

Photo Gallery!!

1) I love Fargo!

2-5) Fun Photos in Fergus Falls

6) The Cupcakes worthy of a cooking magazine (notice the powder sugar dusting on top :)

7) The Weird Weather Phenon

Family Reunion!!!

What's up friends and family!!!!! This week had been so awesome and full of many unique experiences and people I can hardly type them all out!

In my last email I mentioned how my companions and I were transferred from Fargo 3rd ward to 1st ward. Well let me tell you this ward is infatuated with my sign language! My companions and I have been invited to over 6 lunch/dinner appointments where I usually talk/teach their kids ASL while my companions check in with the parents about their financial stability during Covid-19. I absolutely adore these kids, they have given me the nickname (apparently I'm a cool missionary so I get a nickname) of Elder McMuffin except there is a sweet 4 year old girl who can't make the "Mc" sound so she just calls me Elver Moofin. Needless to say I love meeting with these awesome families and being able to feel the spirit so strongly, as well as have them share there wonderful food with us.

Another super cool experience I had was with a woman named Rebeka. You see my companions and I were about to go and help out our friends in the community garden when we got a call from a missionary in Iowa. Rebeka was interested in the church for a while and was taught by these missionaries, eventually she quit the lessons because our religion was becoming to "challenging" for her. Apparently she was temporarily living here in Fargo looking for a better job when her purse and wallet were stolen from her shopping cart at JC Penny. She had no friends, her husband was in jail, and was very alone so she called the missionaries asking for help. After hearing this we felt prompted to go over and talk and maybe pray with her. When we arrived she was so glad to see us, but we were very intimidated by her. Rebeka was wearing lingerie, had massive florest pink gauges in her ears, blue hair and lots of tattoos, one of which I thought was the star of David but was actually the pentagram. Anyways my companions tried to teach her about hope and pray with her but she became very frustrated and mad both at us and God. Suddenly a guy walks around the corner with a monster and starts talking to my companions about why were wearing black name tags and sitting on the curb of a sketchy Mexican restaurant. My companions immediately started talking to him while I was in a awkward middle ground. Suddenly the world went super slow and I felt a message come to my heart that I was blessed with extremely unique talents and that I needed to use them now. So I commented on how much I liked her tattoos and asked how many she had. Rebeka's mouth dropped and she told me all about her tattoos and their meaning, immediately the walls between us were removed and we became fast friends. At the end of our conversation which covered hair dying tips, relationship advice, travel tips, and families she openly told me "all the other mormons I have met are [b-word] like your companions, but not you I genuinely like you and want to be better friends with you. Also did you companions kidnap you because your so awesome and there so rude and self-centered- if you are kidnapped the secret word is pineapple". It was amazing that she was placed in our path that I could connect with her and tell her heavenly father loves her and she just needs to reach out to Him.

Now the crowing jewel of this week was the blessing to see my family again after two weeks! As many of you know when I left on my mission I wasn't endowed, but recently the Bismark Nodak temple was allowed to proceed to phase two so I could receive my endowment! Also my mission president allowed my parents to fly out and go through with me and my companions for the first time. I just want to say that the temple is such a refuge from all of the craziness of our world right now, and is the most beautiful and sacred place in the entire world. Following my wonderful first time through the temple my parents took my companions, our AP and I to Texas roadhouse where we all caught up and were able to really just have a splendid time. I will say that it was so much harder to say goodbye in the Texas Roadhouse parking lot then at the airport, but this only adds to my testimony of the beauty of families and that they are one of the highest gifts of this world.

Needless to say this week has been extraordinary in which I have seen the hand of the lord and have felt his love and spirit pour upon me. Know that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and even the Holy Ghost love and known you individually and that you can never sink below their love and their light. Love and miss you all, but loving both the people and the area of North Dakota!!!

With love,

Elder McMullin

Photo Gallery!!!

1) My Gardening Foreman, he wrote a Facebook post about how he would never join the church but absolutely adores its kid hearted missionaries.

2) Dinner at the Allohamans

3) A blueberry lemon cake from a sweet Sister for me teaching her daughter ASL

4) My companions and I at the temple- love these guys like my older brothers

5) Me and my legend and most caring younger brother who I am blessed to have

6) Familes can be together forever even when one member is in a different State

7) Wild Sunflowrs off the side of the freeway

8) Spectacular sunset after thunderstorm

I Have A Punch-Card To A Expresso Parlor

Hello Family and Friends I can't believe a week has passed already!!! So much has happened this week so get comfy, grab a light snack or two, and possibly a drink ;)

For starters, let's address the elephant in the room, I am still keeping the word of wisdom despite my membership and punch card to a sketchy espresso parlor called the Red Raven. It all started Monday at around 7pm. My companions and I were shooting clips for our next video as well as taking awesome photos of graffiti (I don't know how they do it because I can barely spray paint a chair). While we were walking back to our car we heard someone talking and listening to Metallica. We peeked around the corner to find a young man smoking in the middle of what looked like a junkyard. We started going back to the car when all of the sudden we all felt a phrase pop into our heads "that is one of my children, teach him". Needless to say we rushed back to find the young man, his name is Bryson, on pack number two of his Camel cigarettes. We began talking to him and found out he was the owner of an Espresso Parlor nearby called the Red Raven. We asked how nearby it was and he pointed to a door with claw marks and fake blood stains. We decided it was best to stay outside and talk about the gospel in a more "Covid-19 friendly environment (you can thank yours truly for that save). We talked to Bryson for hours all about the Gospel and why we are here on this earth. Bryson stated in the beginning that he wasn't interested in religion, but by the end of our conversation he was asking deep questions like Baptismal interview deep. Then Erin came along. At first she seemed like a nice woman with a funky taste in clothes and drink. We were so wrong, within minutes the claws were out and she began to rip apart the Church. The worst part was she put words, not only in our mouths ,but also poor Bryson with phrases like he's on the "Highway to Hell, and no Mormon boys could save him". If that wasn't enough she had the audacity to make us buy a lemonade from the Red Raven which she holds a share in.  Needless, to say Bryson did not end up with a Book of Mormon.

On a happier note, Elder Matthews, Bichon, and I were able to meet 7 new people this week and give them all book of Mormons! We were able to find all of these people on Facebook and meet with them in person.  One lady in specific, loves us so much because we helped her move apartments that she is making us authentic African Tunic. I have developed such a love for all these people and their interest in the gospel. Another friend that I would like to mention name is Tomba. Tomba recently moved from Liberia to Fargo and was interested in the Gospel so we sent him a friend request on Facebook, eventually leading to a video call meeting. Tomba was so intrigued in the Gospel that he had us hand deliver a Book of Mormon to him so he could start reading it and taking notes before our next lesson. I have a feeling that if all goes well Fargo 1st ward might be getting a new member in the near future!

Speaking of Fargo 1st ward the most amazing thing happened! Recently my companions and I were transferred to the Fargo 3rd ward, because we were also moving districts in Liberia from Kakata to Kingsville and Greensville. At first we were not happy about this change until learned that there were three single mothers in the ward that only spoke French (Elder Bichon speaks French), a bored widow from Ghana who needs company (Elder Matthews served in Ghana for a year) and finally a 80 year old widow who is Deaf and needs a interpreter for church (Elder McMullin speaks sign language)! Needless to say we felt spiritual assurance that we needed to be in this ward and that many blessings would come from it.

All in all this week has been so spiritual and fantastic and I would like to share one final story as well as my testimony. My companions and I were doing Companionship study and then all of the sudden Elder Matthews stands up and says we need to go to the Red Raven. At first I was hesitant because I was not in the mood to watch another person rip apart the church as well as its leaders, until I felt a shove prompting me to get over myself and go on the lord's errand. When we arrived at the Red Raven Bryson was not there, neither was Erin. We dropped by a Book of Mormon with our names and testimonies written on the inside of the cover to another barista and then left. While walking out we felt so much peace as well as a simple message prompted by the Holy Ghost that God loves all of His children, even those that persecute the church. With that I just want to bear my testimony that Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of you on a personal level and that through Him anything is possible.

Love you all and miss you all!!!!

Elder McMullin


Also forgot to mention (I'm sorry I promise I'll try to get better at this) my team and I have made our first video and it is ready to view on Facebook! Feel free share it with anyone and comment on who HE is to you.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=191536662579614&id=100051698446132

Pictures!

1) Awesome Graffiti in Fargo with Penguins

2) The Red Raven Entryway 

3) Red Raven Logo in the courtyard

4) Lovely Picture of our Apartment

5) Also a lovely picture of the Sunset

6) One of my Friends from the Garden

7) Our lovely community Garden 

8) Eating African food at a friend's house- Its called Gibi and it's so difficult to swallow