Halla Fam!!!! Hope you are all doing just swimmingly, and hope this email finds you safe and comfortable. With that being said it's now time for a supplemental spiritual swaria with Elder McMullin!!! Since the Advertising showcase has started I have been trying to name the Ad collections with over the top fancy names that can be tied back to the gospel and contain a powerful spiritual message. This week's collection was called the Mane't Collection, which is Swedish for Jellyfish (not to be confused with the delectable little Swedish fish candy). Now why out of the entire animal kingdom with tigers, lions, fiery flying serpents would Elder McMullin choose an organism that is 95% water, has no brain, often bump into one other accidentally paralyzing each other. Well you see Jellyfish are unique in the fact that they are made up entirely of unique and independent sensory cells that work together to accomplish a common goal, and have the ability to live forever. When a specific breed of Jellyfish is damaged, possibly by a boat or predator, the jellyfish enters into a stressed phase where it falls down to the seafloor and begins to disassemble. However, those unique cells begin to repair themselves and reorganize themselves into multiple different Jellyfish that are stronger than the previous organization. I related this process of Jellireformation to the Atonement of Jesus Christ in the fact that when we are hurt, or make a mistake we fall into the depths of sadness and disappointment. We long to be back up by the surface, floating with friends and have been closer to the warmth and comfort of the Son, but we know we cannot do it along. Reformation is difficult and can sometimes take years to complete, but when we let the Lord take our damaged Jellyfish soul and align it with His will we will again float near the surface better than we ever could before. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He died for us so that we can repent and one day return to live with our Heavenly Father.
Honestly... I went to the Disneyland of North Dakota. BOB'S FIREWORKS!!! The second counselor in our Bishop Brick, Brother Shultz, is seriously one of the coolest people I think I have ever met. By day he is a Calculus Teacher at Legacy High School and small business owner, but by night he is a Karaoke Fanatic, Drag Racing, Firework Salesman. Brother Shultz is also super cool in the fact that he loves the Lord with all his heart and at any given moment will try and share his testimony. On Wednesday we got a call from him asking if we would be willing to help him team teach one of his friends who owns a Firework Company. I was 100% so down, because I was having TNT Firework withdrawals, and we scheduled a time later that evening to meet up. When we arrived, it was probably the most Zombie Apocalyptic building I think I have ever seen, but inside was paradise. Easily over two thousand fireworks from all around the world stacked to the ceiling and covering the floor all in brightly colored fluorescent wrapping! I was able to meet the owner whose name was Hank Gilbert who owned and operated the facility. He was a super devout Catholic and openly said he wasn't interested in our Church, but I'm pretty sure he was impressed with my extensive firework vocabulary. Needless to say, we forged a great relationship with Hank, so much in fact that he invited us to his Thanksgiving firework show and was going to have a specially handcrafted firework called the "Dreamweaver" made and lit in our honor. It was truly one of the best nights of my life and I'm so glad we were able to experience it while spreading the gospel.
If this week couldn't possibly get any better we had the delightful opportunity to help with the Great Plains Food Bank, but not in the way you might think. We were their photographers and videographers and were charged to capture some good photos and make a promotional video for them to politely ask for donation and support in the future. We were so excited to get our first gig and let me tell you the photos and video turned out amazingly!!! But, where does the Shady Business Deal fit in? Well Elder McMullin, was taking photos of Milk being loaded into the back of a 1989 Carrot Orange Jeep Wrangler when I saw that Target Employees were helping with the Food Drive as well. I walked over to who looked like the manager and made a under the table deal that we will also shoot good PR Videos of Target helping in the community as long as the publicize it as Target plus the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint Missionaries. The guy jumped at an opportunity to gain free publicity so he signed my hasty crafted contract allowing use of footage only for publicizing both Target and North Dakota Bismarck Mission. Let’s just say President Howell is watching target commercials every day to try and see if the NDBM Missionaries are featured and likes to claim that we have an Advertising contract with Target.
Now the question on your mind might be, North Dakota is a landlocked state. How in the Sam Hill are you going to get hit by a hurricane! Well I'm glad you asked, you see North Dakota is located at a unique area where we not only can have winds running North to South, but also East to West, and then on super cold days we can get something called "gusts" which come at a 45 degree angle create a whirlwind effect across the State. Usually there is no snow or rain involved but extreme wind speeds. This week was apparently a normal week with only 45 mph wind making the windchill -35 degrees making the real feel temperature 8 degrees. So, yah you learn something new every day about North Dakota weather, but let me tell ya hurricanes are actually kind of fun when you see your AC Unit sliding across the front lawn, escorted by our neighbor’s heater and barbeque.
Sweet Family and Friends life as a missionary is awesome! Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers, I truly have felt them each and every day, and I know that our savior loves you all so much! Miss and love you all so much, and look forward to writing to you next week!!!
Sent with love from,
Elder McMullin :-)
Photo Gallery!!!
1) I love to see the Temple!
2) A very Picture Worthy Sign
3) Volunteering at the Food Bank
4) Super Adorable Dogs at the Food Drive
5) The Coolest New Brand of Fireworks (besides TNT) RACCOON FIREWORKS
6) Super Funny Photo Elder Post "accidently" took
7) The Sun and the Pine Trees are just so pretty out here
8-9) Not going to lie I’m just attaching these photos because I really like them and they are the first photos I practiced editing :)
