Week 97 in the Mission Field: Fishing and Being Fishers of Men

The Spring Crew

(From left to right: Elder Draper, Elder Hinds, Elder Ihler, Elder Peery, Elder Story)

So Monday we went up to Springfield with a member, so that Elder Hinds could say hi to some people he taught. We also hung out with Elder Ihler and his companions. It was fun seeing him again. We spent most of our time fishing.

Fishing in Springfield

I caught the first fish but not much more than that. After that we went and had dinner at this really nice restaurant in Springfield. 

The plains in Springfield

Tuesday we had a lesson with this guy named Joe, who is wanting to see if the church is true, thanks to his girlfriend, who is a member. He had a lot of concerns, but the lesson went really well. We went with our ward mission leader, too, and he's fun to work with. After that, we drove up to Spring Hill, where we went on exchanges with the Thompson's Station missionaries, and I got to go back to my old area. We tried a lot of the people that I knew before, but we didn't have much luck. What was fun was to see a lot of the members that I knew while I was there in the evening. It was cool to see that I did have some influence on them while I was there. 

Spring Hill District

(from left to right: Elder Peery, Sister  Wayment, Sister Crossley,

Hermana Kilgore, Hermana Hill, Elder Hinds)

Wednesday we met back up for district meeting, and I trained on working with part-member families and less-actives, which went okay. It was Hermana Kilgore's last district meeting before her mission ends this week, which was kind of sad, but she didn't seem to bothered by it. After district meeting, we met up with the zone leaders and had lunch with them, which was fun. We then had a few lessons, but the highlight was teaching this one girl whose mom is a member coming back into activity. The girl seemed really interested and accepted to be baptized if she found out if it was true or not. But later on in the week something interesting came up, which I'll get to in a bit. For dinner we had these giant burgers made partially by a member and Elder Hinds, which unfortunately led to...

Thursday morning around 3am Elder Hinds had a bad encounter with food poisoning. I somehow dodged it, which made me sad, ‘cause I wanted to lose some weight too, ; ) but for real, it pretty much knocked him out for most of the day. He was able to come and teach for one lesson, but that was about it. The coolest thing though was that the job I am applying for this summer after I get home, contacted me and set up a phone interview for the next day.

Friday Elder Hinds was a lot better, but not exactly 100%. But he was able to manage. We went and helped mow the yard of a recent convert family, which was fun cause they were Hispanic, so I got to practice more Spanish! After teaching a recent convert at the church, I had my phone interview with the job I'm hoping to get, and it went really well. It was weird being called Andrew again, since on my mission I am called “Elder Peery,” so I'm sure that will be fun in six short weeks. But the lady was really nice, and I'm very hopeful that I'll get it. After that we went and met a recent convert who's recovering from a total hip replacement in the hospital. Turns out she was from Maryland so we had a lot of cool things to talk about. She converted to the gospel after her husband died while they were living here in Columbia area and then Elder Plant tracked into her. After that, we got a call from that one part member family we saw on Wednesday asking us to come over. 

Turns out her daughter had a lot of emotional and mental issues. They had been fighting the entire day and the daughter had locked herself in her room. To make matters worse it was the mom's birthday night. I pretty much pulled a Dr. Phil and sat both people aside and talked with them. Eventually they stopped fighting, but I fear that a more permanent solution may be coming up. It was sad, but hopefully the girl will be able to get some help soon.

Saturday we were invited to be a part of an 8-year-old’s baptism. It was sweet.  I said the opening prayer and helped confirm the kids as members of the church and give them the Holy Ghost (see Acts 8:14-17).

14. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

 15. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

 16. (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

 17. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

That was a cool experience. After that, we got transfer info, and it turns out that I will be finishing my mission with Elder Hinds in Spring Hill Ward. I was a little sad about it at first, because I had wanted to train a missionary like my trainer and his other trainee, but I'm happy to finish in a good ward with good members and spectacular recent converts who love the missionaries. Plus I really enjoy working with Elder Hinds. 

We also received news that Elder Jensen, the missionary who replaced me in TSTAT (Thompson’s Station Ward) was going zone leader in Nashville, so we went up to see him, as well as do some service.

The Well was asking for the missionaries to help out with their community event, which involved the mayor, alderman, and judge of Spring Hill. We ended up getting invited to participate in this contest to build a food fortress. Though we didn't win, we built what the mayor and judge called "the 8th wonder of the world". How the thing was standing I have no idea.

3. The 8th Wonder Of The World

(compared to other contestants.)

Surprisingly, it never fell. But it did fall 3 times while making it.

This was constructed by Elder Crawford, a TSTAT missionary, and me.

After that, we went and did some service for a less-active member in the area. In case you're curious, I've probably been doing more service here than McMinnville because Elder Hinds really enjoys it.  I do too, honestly, ‘cause it is still a good form of missionary work. Plus it's a lot more fun than tracting, haha.

Elder Stephen E. Thompson, Area Seventy

Stephen E. Thompson, 59, Naples, Fla; partner and real estate attorney, Roetzel & Andress Law Firm; former bishop, bishopric member, high councilor, stake presidency member,

mission presidency member and stake president; wife: Donna Ruth Thompson, six children.

Sunday we were invited with our recent converts to attend a special meeting at the stake center right before stake conference. Elder Stephen E. Thompson, a member of the Seventy, invited all the recent converts to ask him questions that the missionaries hadn't answered or needed further clarification on. It was really neat to be in that setting. There were like 15 of us total, members and missionaries.

Here is the link to an interesting article about Elder Thompson:

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/local-attorney-receives-new-lds-church-calling-to-the-seventy-ep-384069073-342161531.html

After that we drove down to Spring Hill and attended stake conference in the TSTAT building. I got to see a lot of friends and members there, which was awesome. After that we had a good lesson with another part-member family.  Their daughter is 8 years old and preparing to be baptized. We focused a lot on repentance, which is one of my favorite principles of the gospel:

I guess the way I look at repentance in particular is:

Think about a friend who takes you to this all-you-can-eat buffet.

They pay the bill for you, and you just sit at the table and don't eat anything.

Is the bill paid? Yes.

But did you show appreciation for the gift you've been given? No.

Repentance is not only becoming better, but showing the Lord how grateful you are for the gift you've been given.

By daily repenting, and not just "oh hey sorry about that," but sincere repentance, we show we want to be better disciples of Christ, in word and in deed.

So yeah, lots happened this week. Another minor highlight that happened today, I caught a catfish! And also discovered that catfish have spikes under their fins. I got stabbed a few times so I think it was a fair trade. I wasn't able to get s picture cause my fingers were bleeding, and I was trying to get the hook out. 

Anyways, hope y'all have a good week. It's weird that this is my last transfer as a missionary. 

I'm hoping to make it a good one.

See you in six,

Elder Peery

Week 96 in the Field: GREAT Week! A Baptism, General Conference, and Mule Day!

Stephanie's baptism!

(Stephanie was the wife of a member in TSTAT and moved there while I was serving there.

We were able to contact and teach them once before I was transferred, but that took

several weeks of rescheduling. Once I got transferred, Elder Bedwell, Elder Barrus,

and Elder Jensen continued working with her up until she was ready to be baptized.

I was in the area so I got to go up and see it happen on Thursday.)

So this week was great!

On Monday we were incredibly busy. Elder Hinds is really into being active on pday, so in the morning we went fishing. I caught one fish and he caught like 4. After that we met up with Thompson's Station and the zone leaders at the Thompson's Station apartment. It was really weird walking into that apartment after about 7 months. But yeah TSTAT (Thompson’s Station) needed an extra elder for a lunch appointment so I volunteered. It wasn't with anyone I knew especially well, but it was nice. 

After that we went from baseball to basketball to volleyball and finally I got some time to email. We had dinner at a recent convert family, which was great! Turns out the ward here takes really good care of the missionaries. We had a dinner every night this week!

Tuesday we went down to Columbia to attempt to check out Mule Day, which is basically a week long celebration about mules held in Columbia. Yeah, it's kind of strange. But it turned out it didn't start till Thursday. So we ended up going tracting in the nearby area and found a new investigator. In the evening we went over to the Mouser family. I played dodgeball with their sons Bryson and Chris. Bryson is now serving in the Boise, ID mission, and his parents appreciated all the activities we and the Spring Hill missionaries at the time (Plant and Chapman) did with him. Chris is a little taller, but still fun to hang out with. It was cool to see them again.

Wednesday we had district meeting, and it was the first time the district saw that I had replaced Elder Hinds' trainee. One of the sisters started crying because she was sad the trainee had gone home. It was a bit awkward but I got used to it since this happened literally every day. But yeah district meeting was great. Hermana Kilgore trained on the power and authority of our calling and Elder Hinds gave a great training as well. After that we grabbed lunch, and tried a few people. I will admit my memory is not very good as I'm writing this because I still do not have the planner for this area.

Mule Day Mules!

Thursday we went to Mule Day and saw a bunch of members there. Mostly from Knoxville, Kentucky, and other areas not in Columbia. The same rang true for the people going. So missionary work wasn't exactly the most effective thing to do. But we did see a lot of cool stuff there. I bought a Cubs hat and a customized belt with my name on it, for all under $20. In the evening we went to go do some service somewhere and then went for dinner. During dinner, there were massive thunderstorms, and the winds started blowing heavily. What was it? A classic Tennessee Tornado. I didn't see it, but there were three rotations in the sky and the wind was beating against the house. But to my knowledge no one was hurt and there was mainly property damage throughout the city. Nothing major though. I don't think it even touched down, which was a major blessing.

Mule Day Schedule (Columbia Spring Jubilee)

Friday morning we went to help a member paint her house as she was preparing to sell it. I wasn't feeling very well at the time, so it wasn't the best experience for me. We ended up at the church for weekly planning which went really quickly since I still don't have the area book. (It has to sync over via Salt Lake. Every time a missionary gets transferred, his records get transferred to that area which includes the area book.) It still hasn't been sent yet. After that we had dinner, tried some more people and then called it.

Saturday morning was General Conference and we had a great experience there. I decided to test Elder Bednar's advice from when he visited the mission a few weekends ago and not take notes of direct quotes, but what the spirit says. However, I found it incredibly difficult to focus when I did that. So I think I may have to resort to the old ways. I did appreciate Elder Steven E. Snow's talk on humility. I really liked how he talked about how "Humility enables us to have broken hearts when we sin and makes it possible for us to repent." Because with pride, the opposite of humility, you have no idea of a sin, or at least you feel you aren't as bad as others. Kind of like the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. By esteeming oneself above another and putting yourself on that higher platform by stating you sin less than another, you are basically justifying your sin and not actually being humble enough to see that regardless of how many sins, or how bad the sin is, sin is sin. And no unclean thing may dwell in the presence of God, so therefore all must humble themselves and repent. It was pretty eye opening for me. I also like Elder Snow since he's a Church Historian, and I've been able to study some of his works.

Here is the link to Elder Snow’s talk on video.  Soon the talks will be transcribed so you can read the text, too.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/media/session_1_talk_10/4828241453001?lang=eng

After the morning session, a member took us out to eat at some Chinese buffet place. It was a really good buffet that had a lot of good options. Including.... Octopus. I had to try it. It wasn't like calamari, it was legit octopus with hot sauce. It was pretty gross when you think about it, but honestly it was like eating a really fatty peace of steak. But I did it!

The second session was just as good as the first, but even better because BYU-I was singing! I immediately noticed three friends and it was kind of awesome to see them again. (Two were female, one was male). I also really liked Elder Ballard's idea of family councils.

Here is the link to Elder M. Russell Ballard’s talk:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/media/session_2_talk_12/4828468090001?lang=eng

Saturday evening, we had a really good priesthood session.

Sunday was a lot of the same. We went to church and watched conference. Our investigator bailed after texting an hour before that she was coming. But I really did enjoy President Thomas S. Monson's remarks about choices in this life. "Although it is imperative that we choose wisely, there are times when we will make foolish choices. The gift of repentance, provided by our Savior, enables us to correct our course settings, that we might return to the path which will lead us to that celestial glory we seek."

Here is the link to President Monson’s talk and announcement of four new temples:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/media/session_4_talk_4/4829398050001?lang=eng

All in all I enjoyed conference a lot.

After that session, we attended a Spanish baptism. Incidentally our dinners on Wednesday and Thursday were with Hispanics so I got to practice my Spanish. The people were happily surprised to see a gringo who could at least understand and speak a little of their language. The baptism was all in Spanish so it was hard to stay focused.

But afterwards, we went with the ward mission leader and his family and watched the final session of conference. I loved Elder Holland's remarks. And so did the recent converts that were watching as well. "With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed." It was really inspiring and I can't wait to be able to read the conference talks later.

Here is the link to Elder Holland’s amazing talk:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/media/session_5_talk_11/4829903593001?lang=eng

After that, we tried a few people, and I got packed and ready to go on an exchange to Thompson's Station today. It will be sweet getting to go back to an old area. We will see what happens!

I'll talk to y'all next week. Incidentally to the Herndon Choir, I really wanted to come up and see y'all but I will have to be content with waiting just seven short weeks. I'll see you then, but I really hope you enjoyed your trip to Nashville. Y'all come back now, y'here?

Elder Peery

Thanks for your prayers and support.  I’d love to hear from you!  Please contact me at:

Elder Andrew Peery

Tennessee Nashville Mission

1646 Sunset Road

Brentwood, TN 37027

Email: Andrew.peery@myldsmail.net

Blog Archives:  Elderpeery.blogspot.com

Please note, I am not on Facebook at this time.  I read emails every day, but mission rules allow me to email you back only on Mondays, so thanks for being patient.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Two messages from Elder Peery's mom:

1.  Couldn't resist this meme from the Missionary Momma's Facebook Page!!!

2. From Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

Tomorrow, you and I will return to our regular responsibilities, as I said in general conference. Nobody wants the fears and concerns of tomorrow to destroy the peace and joy we felt yesterday and today as we listened to the inspiring counsel of our leaders. As good as our intentions may be, we may slip into old habits. We will make mistakes.

But don’t give up! The great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed. With the gift of the Atonement and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve.

So keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven will be cheering you on today, tomorrow, forever. I will be cheering for you too.

Week 95 in the Field: Getting "ET'd" again. (Emergency Transfer)

With Willy and the Mathis family

Wow. So yeah, lots happened this week.

On Monday we went down to Manchester where we met up with the Manchester elders and the Tullahoma elders and we played a ton of baseball. It was loads of fun. Elder Beckett didn't play too much, so he was the commentator. After that Elder Cox and I went on exchange in Manchester. Not much happened that day.

Manchester water tower

Tuesday Elder Cox and I tried a bunch of people, but majority of them were not home. We did get to meet the Anderson family who were really nice and fed us scones. We also got to teach one of their friends there as well. After that I got him some Zaxby's shakes, which apparently are very high in calories. Still tastes good though.

Seminary with Elder Cox!

Wednesday Elder Cox and I were invited to help out with the early morning seminary class. It had been the first time I went to seminary since I was inactive from the church, the 2^nd semester of my Senior year in high school. They were memorizing Malachi 3:8-10, and we studied the Atonement. It was awesome! We then met back up at district meeting, and I went with my regular companions, Elders Barrus and Beckett, to go try some people, but ended up striking out.

Thursday we followed up with a lot of our investigators and also found some new ones. We also saw the Mathis family, and they were kind of sad because of a sickness in their family. We then went on an exchange with a member and tried a few people but not much luck, however, he did take us to Captain D's which is essentially like Long John Silvers. After that we were able to contact a less active who moved here from Soda Springs, ID so it was fun talking about southeast Idaho for a bit.

I think part of the reason I'm skimming a bit on the first few days of the week is because of what happened the next three days since they are kind of huge...

Friday morning around 9:05am, President Andersen texted asking to speak with me. I was very nervous ‘cause it could mean a number of things. Sadly, it was what I feared. I called him right back, and he informed me that a missionary would be leaving early because he was homesick, and since I was in a trio, I'd be called to fill his spot. I would leave Sunday after church for Spring Hill, TN to serve in the Spring Hill ward which is the neighboring ward to Thompson's Station, one of my old areas. I was very sad to say the least because I wanted to finish my mission in McMinnville. And once again was being emergency transferred from an area I liked. But I told president I'd do it.

We spent the rest of the day saying goodbye to people. In the afternoon I went on a split with Bro. Street and saw the Majors family. Bro. Majors should be receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood in a few months, which is exciting. In the evening we went out teaching with Bro. Pennington and saw Debra. It was sad saying goodbye, but I know I will see all of them again. We had a jam session with Bro. Pennington in the late evening after some dessert.

Saturday we went with Bro. Shoemaker and tried to see a few people but no luck. We did get to try a referral and contacted her. In the evening we went over to the Hoyles' spa, and they gave us these scone sandwiches which were really good. We also got to try out their massage beds which was kind of like a waterbed mixed with a jacuzzi. The jets massage your back but you don't get wet or anything. It was nice. Most of the day was spent packing for Sunday.

Sunday was kind of rough. Reminded me of when I left Hendersonville. I was asked to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting which was hard to do. Debra came to church to see me off. Elder Beckett tried to take care of Willy during sacrament meeting but failed miserably. So me and Elder Barrus had to go watch him. I also watched him during second hour. During third hour I taught Elders Quorum on the talk by Neil L. Andersen on "Faith is not by chance, but by choice." I can't really remember everything I said, but it was really good.

Here is the link to the talk, so you can watch it and/or read it, too. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/faith-is-not-by-chance-but-by-choice?lang=eng

Bro. Mathis gave me a Liberty Bell in honor of my nickname "Thomas Jefferson". After that, we said goodbye to a lot of people, and then we went to the apartment where President and Sister Andersen were waiting. I said goodbye to Elder Barrus and Elder Beckett, and then off we went.

Riding with President and Sister Andersen down to Spring Hill

The drive down was kinda quiet for the first bit. They were listening to Acts 3-7 before I finally started a conversation. I talked to them about their lives before the mission and what they want to do after the mission. It was like a two hour interview with me asking the questions. It was fun.

Finally we got to the Spring Hill apartment which is located in Columbia. I got out, the missionary going home got in, and I loaded all my stuff into the apartment and met Elder Hinds, my new and probably last companion. He's from Kaysville, UT and has been out about 9 months. He's a pretty strong guy and was Elder Ihler's MTC companion.

Elder Hinds demonstrating how to skin a fish

We talked for a bit and then went off to this Easter party at the Pennington's who are relatives of the Pennington's in McMinnville.  (Small world!) It was kind of like drinking from a fire hose--so many people to talk to and meet. Elder Hinds showed off his hunting skill by catching and skinning a fish, which we later cooked and ate. After that they had an Easter egg hunt with all the little kids. It was fun to watch. In the evening we had dinner at a returning member's home. They want us to teach their daughter, which we will begin doing tomorrow.

Easter Egg chase

Today we did all kinds of stuff, which is why this email took a little longer than usual to send out. It's kind of strange all this happened. I literally had 4 companions this week. I'm hoping things will be good here even if it's just for 8 weeks. I'm grateful for all the members and nonmembers back in McMinnville and hopefully will see them again.

See y’all next week,

Elder Peery