Hello Family and Friends! To start off I just want to say that we all have a Savior and Heavenly Father that love us so deeply it’s impossible for the human mind to even comprehend, and that through prayer we can confide in our Heavenly Father and Savior and have countless blessings appear in our lives. The reason why I wanted to start off with this is I have had so many miracles and blessings come up this week that I really wanted to testify that prayer, although simple, is one of the most spiritually strengthening and nurturing things that we as disciples of Christ can do. With that, let's talk about these prayer inspired miracles!
As many as you know, I have been called to become the new mission Facebook and Social Media Advertisement and Business Manager. Unfortunately, with this new calling, I need to leave my beloved paradise of Fargo, North Dakota and need to move to Bismarck to work in the office with other social media missionaries. When I first was told that I had to end my training early (only 6 weeks rather than the standard 12) and leave my companions and all of the amazing people we have taught to go and work in an office I was absolutely heartbroken. Here in Fargo every day has been a new adventure and brought on new opportunities with my wonderful companions, which would all change (not end, just change) in Bismarck. I decided I would take my concerns to the Lord and ask for confirmation that everything would okay and that I would still be okay. I prayed for those blessings pretty regularly not setting and results, until I actually got my official transfer call. In that transfer call, my prayer was answered that I will be moving into another trio of Elders all of whom I am really good friends with and that I would still be able to teach as a normal missionary in the evenings and weekends of the week. Needless to say, Heavenly Father hears our prayers and answers them.
The next miracle that I want to talk about is something amazing with a guy named Derek. Before I left for Bismarck Elder Matthews, Bichon, and I met Derek when we were ministering to a lady whose purse was stolen and was evicted from Derek's hotel. While we were trying to comfort her and share a message with her (did not go well) Derek came and asked if we were missionaries for the "Mormon church". We of course tried to seize the opportunity and were able to get his Facebook and phone number and were even able to set up a time to meet with him. After a couple of quick meetings, we were able to schedule an appointment with his entire family at his house. When we first got to his house we had no idea what to expect. For starters, there were no chairs in his house (which by the way reeked of cigarette smoke) and a pool table in the kitchen. Anyways, he called his whole family together in the kitchen, and boldly stated to his two daughters and wife: "Girls it is time. It is time that I share with you something that I feel really bad about, you see I am an inactive member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I feel that it is time that we as a family go back to the one true church of our lord and savior. Girls we are going back to church, and these Elders right here are going to show us how to do it because quite frankly I don't know how to come back myself, but that is why they are here to help us come closer to Christ. Lately, I have been having a lot of dreams about me standing before the judgment bar of God being scolded for not teaching my wonderful family the gospel because I was too prideful to admit that I need God in my life. That is why we are doing this to save our family and eventually be baptized together and even be sealed together both in this life and the life that follows. With that Elder please teach us what you have prepared". I still get shivers down my spine even just copying the words Derek so beautifully said. Needless to say, this lesson was so powerful, we taught the Book of Mormon and by the end, we were all crying with the family of its truthfulness and the spirt that was introduced into this once empty home. Absolutely amazing!
Two days after we met with Derek we had three baptisms with our friends from Kingsville, Liberia: Sunny Fuller, Joseph Flomo, and Johnson Kerkula. Due to the time difference, my companions and I had to wake up at 2:30 in the morning to watch the Baptism over Facebook Messenger. We got to bed and were asleep until our alarm went off at 2:15 am (my companion set the alarm for the wrong time) and we drowsily tried to put on our shirts and ties ( I nearly strangled myself in the process I was so exhausted). We sat in front of the laptop slightly nodding off until we got a call from the branch President down in Liberia saying "Good morning Elders! It is raining really hard in Liberia today and the river is flooding making it dangerous to baptize because of the rapids and whirlpools. We do the baptisms tomorrow same time, don't you worry" and then he hung up. We collapsed out of exhaustion grumbling that we had to do the exact same thing the next day. The next evening, we set our alarm for 2:32 (just got to get those extra minutes in am I right) and woke up at 2:30 to the sound of the branch President's voice again. "Hello, Elders! It is not raining, but there is a family of crocodiles in the water, my wife thinks that if we slap them with a flip flop or something they will go away but I don't want to take any risks for a bloody baptism. We do next week same time Elders. Soooo I still have three people on date and I am still waiting to find out if the rain has stopped or the family of crocodiles has relocated.
Finally, I want to give a quick update on my transfer to Bismarck and my new roles as Facebook and Social Media Advertisement and Business Manager or Facebook Advertising Chair. I have been able to restructure the entire advertising and marketing campaign for the NDBM and have been able to set up over 55 first appointments for missionaries all over North and South Dakota. I was super excited because I felt super empowered helping other missionaries all over the mission from my tiny little office and apartment, but alas all good things must come to an end. There was a glitch in the Facebook Audience filter allowing our Ads to travel to very heated Ant-Christ and Anti-Lds Facebook pages. We received over 400 flagged notifications with reports of "Political Suffocation" and infringement of their freedom of Religion" in only 45 minutes. Facebook board of security recognized all of the flagging and forcefully shut-down all of our ads and even Facebook Pages throughout the entire mission and fining us over $15,000. Sooooooooo... this was why I was unable to send out my email last week because I was on the phone until about midnight negotiating and talking to area Presidencies and Facebook Security and Privacy officials. We were able to get out Ads and Pages back up and running, but are currently filing a lawsuit to Facebook and Instagram for the glitch in the Audience filter, which they designed, and reimbursement of the $15,000 dollar seizure from our Mission Bank Account. Needless to say, it has been a party in the office and I have just loved every second of my new position regardless of heated lawsuits and publicity banning.
Anyways love and miss you all so much! Just like I mentioned in my opening paragraph God knows and loves each one of you and that it is impossible to sink below the light and love of our Savior Jesus Christ's infinite Atonement. Hope you all are having a wonderful time and I look forward to emailing you next week!
Love, Elder McMullin
Photo Gallery!
1) Goodbye to my Fargo Companions and Trainers
2) Last look at the Fargo Sunflower Fields from the Transport Van Window
3) What I get to look at every day- It's even more fun than it looks!
