#74 - Best week/ baptized Chuck!

Chuck was baptized on Saturday! The ward has been wonderful to take him in! We have a great ward! He also received the priesthood on Sunday and will be going to the temple on Saturday with us! Bishop wants him blessing the sacrament on Sunday!

We taught the primary yesterday on agency. Jesus Christ created the earth as a place where we can choose the right! The kids are so funny and I was wore out after 10 minutes!

Jordan is doing great! This week we had another very good lesson. The night before the lesson while he was studying the Book of Mormon he had an overwhelming feeling come over him. He described it like a big warm hug :) It was the first time he had felt and recognized that the God was there and loved him. Jordan is committed and ready to reach his baptism on March 4th. Hopefully we can more the date up! 

Fun Facts:

1.This week we had a tour of the police station from the "chief detective" who happens to be a member :) He showed us some top secret stuff like a wall with pictures of about 40 people who live in Franklin. They will be arresting all of them this week because they are drug dealers! Funny when you know some of them....

2. We also took a tour of the court room! We have a judge in our ward. He has also been a firefighter, police officer, prosecutor, and a college professor! #accomplished

3. We had a good amount of people at church yesterday! In gospel principles class there was an old lady teaching and we were on the edge of our seats the whole time. She likes to be bold and go off on random thoughts like how it is an abomination to heavenly father to see people who aren't married live together. Lets just say it is a blessing the part member couple getting married in 2 months is not offended!

it has been a very nice week for weather! it has been sweater weather! sure doesn't seem like winter!

chuck was confirmed a member and received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday! we will be taking him to the temple on Saturday!! in his interview with bishop he was talking about a calling. bishop is very impressed with him. we are thinking about a calling for him. any ideas?

ahh yes so many people are deceived. reminds me of a talk by Holland called Safety for the Soul.

The interview with president was.... short ha! interviews started at 10 and we were the last ones at 7:30pm..... we got there at 12 and had to role play with everyone waiting for their turn with pres. I felt so bad for him ha he has a hard job!! he flipped through my planner and goals then said, "yup I have no worries with you elder coon. you are doing great." then we talked about the zone needs. they need to be more effective finders. it kills me because literally every week we have half of all the ZONE totals.... so we talked about that. He also talked about the world wide broadcast on Wednesday! big news!! we are changing up the daily routine. we will now start studies at 8:30and at 8 oclock plan for the day. we will not be having comp study in the morning, but can have it any time in the day/night. and apparently studies show missionaries aren't getting enough sleep so by planning in the morning instead of at night it will help to allow them to go to bed earlier if they would like. he said this rule is mostly for sisters, I guess he gets a few complaints from them for not enough sleep. I told him I have gotten more sleep out here than I ever did back home! I do just fine.

send some pics/vids my way of your skiing trip!! have fun!

love you, E Coon

#73 - Chocolate Milk Day!

Yesterday the libraries were closed so we are emailing today for a minute today!

On Friday night we were informed that there was going to be a huge storm rolling in all weekend.... Freezing rain is what they called it. Our bishop decided that it was best if we canceled Chucks baptism until next weekend, and possibly even church. Saturday morning we woke up to find that it was a cloudy 50 degree day! So much for freezing rain, whatever that is ha.

Monday night we had dinner with Sister Rader in the ward and she brought her friend Jordan along! We had a super spiritual lesson and he has committed to a date of March 4th! We are excited for him! He doesn't have any religious background and is very open to keep commitments. And he was at church this week!

Today we have interviews with President Carlson! We will be there all day so I made sure to bring plenty of food! I do not want to go hungry! He has asked us to come prepared with our goals for the year. Oh boy do I have goals! From studies to fitness to ponderizing to mindset to baptisms... but I would say to sum it up I want the next 6 months the be the best months of my mission. I see too many missionaries slow down when in reality they should be just hitting their peak!

We had a zone fast last Sunday for each companionship to hit at least 3 new investigators this week and commit one of those people to a baptismal date. It is amazing how with just a little more sacrifice the Lord accomplishes so much more with us. We were able to see so much success come from the faith fast!

Fun Facts

1. Last year, numbers show that on average every 60 new investigators we find, 1 will be baptized.

2. Indiana is in the top 5 for the most car dealerships in the state-they are everywhere!

Well it is time to bounce!

Love you all, Elder Coon

did you do anything fun for chocolate milk day yesterday? elder Larson and I both bought a gallon of chocolate milk to celebrate:)

what are my passions? I am passionate about my savior, the restored gospel, my family, the scriptures, any type of competition/adrenalin ranging from racing cars to playing football.

it is crazy to see members who did a great job fulfilling leadership callings fall into less activity, just comes to show that we are all susceptible to it no matter who we are! the scriptures teach us that those who fall away after tasting of the fruit they become more hardened. that is one thing I have made sure to warn chuck of as he is taking his first steps into discipleship. I think he will be so great for the church, we are already talking about the priesthood, temple, and callings.

(2 nephi 31 14, alma 24 30)

hmm creative ideas..... I have been working on getting creative with working with members. not only dinner lessons, but having them go on visits with us weekly to investigators, less actives, and their home teaching routes. any other ideas?

it honestly hasn't been too bitter cold to be out working the streets, especially since we have a full time car. but yes I have called every number (it seems) in the area book, not sure we have a phone book tho...

we have interviews with president today. we will be talking about goals. my biggest goal is to have the best next 6 months of my mission. I see too many missionaries slow down the last 6 months and I will not be one to do that! 

#72 -Transfer 13 begins!

There comes a point when you have been outside knocking doors for so
long in the cold that you can't really talk because your face is
frozen. It kinda feels like a dentist shot both my cheeks and my mouth
full of drugs!

My new comp is great! Elder Larson is from Highland Utah, went to
American Fork. Plays basketball! He is 6'4. We have been working hard.
Every morning to workout we either go to the church and play one on
one basketball and drills/ball handling, or we lift in our apartment,
we have a fun time!

Chuck is getting baptized  Saturday! We are super excited for him.
He is rock solid! We have a mission temple day for recent converts
here in a few weeks we are hoping to bring him to.

Mlc this week was great! Talked about obedience and the comparison
between love and expectations. Success comes when we are very obedient
and have high love and expectations for each other. Yesterday we had a
zone fast! Fasted for each companion to hit presidents new
investigator goal and we set a goal to commit one of the 3 new gators
to a baptismal date by the second lesson. We can do it!

We had a super great lesson with a family that just moved in
to Greenwood 2nd ward. They are the Harpers, with 3 boys aged 12, 10,
7. It was great fun. They had just moved to greenwood from Utah and
invited us over for dinner! It was awesome! We had a great lesson on
the family.

We also had dinner with a couple called the Chases. They are
hilarious, one of my favorites. They had an exchange student years ago
who they introduced to the church and was baptized. Last week he
brought him and his family from Germany to visit them and we had
dinner with them. It was fun to hear their stories of Germany and hear
their accents. It is amazing to see how the gospel has influenced both
of their lives as converts.

Chuck is all ready for baptism! We had a child record
baptism last Saturday. They asked us to fill the font and we got there
2 hours early to do so and there was NO HOT WATER!!! We frantically
ran around the building trying to solve the problem and we called the
stake and ward leaders but it was to no avail. They hot water line was
busted... So the poor kid was baptized in 40 degree water. And to make
matters worse, he didn't go under all the way the first time by a
knuckle so he had to do it a second time! Hopefully it runs a little
smoother for Chuck this week haha!

I have enjoyed teaching Chuck the lessons these last 6 weeks. He is an
amazing learner. Last week we took President Hilton to his lesson.
Chuck came to us with a concern about proxy baptisms. He explained
that he had never heard of it before and that it didn't make much
sense to him. After sharing where in the New Testament and Doctrine
and Covenants where it teaches about proxy baptism we shared our
testimony of it. He understood and was humble enough to accept the
answer to his question. It is amazing to see how the Lord has prepared
Chuck for his baptism. I pray he will be able to go to the mission
temple day in a few weeks to be involved in baptisms for his
ancestors.

The question posed by the rich young man in the end of Matthew 19 is
one each of us could ask each week. What lack I yet? As we each ponder
our personal goals, we should ask Heavenly Father in our prayers,
“Father, what lack I yet?” The Holy Ghost will give us each a personal
answer to act on. I would hope that the rich young man at first went
away sorrowful, but that he later returned when he came to himself and
realized that what he was asked to give away was so much less than
what he stood to gain. To all those who magnify their callings,
remember the promise from the Savior that you shall receive “all that
my Father hath shall be given unto him.”

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/what-lack-i-yet?lang=eng

so i am wearing my retainers and they kill!! haha i try to wear them
at night but every night I wake up and they are across the room!

Sunday was a delight and I am ready to work hard! that is a great thing
to fast for. Have you read true to the faith "revelation"? it gives
great suggestion that I am trying to put into action so I can hear and
act on the promptings of the hg. check it out!

 Chuck!!!

Baptismal Interview Questions

Do you believe that God is our Eternal Father? Do you believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world?
Do you believe the Church and gospel of Jesus Christ have been
restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith? Do you believe that
[current Church President] is a prophet of God? What does this mean to
you?
What does it mean to you to repent? Do you feel that you have repented
of your past transgressions?
Have you ever committed a serious crime? If so, are you now on
probation or parole? Have you ever participated in an abortion? a
homosexual relationship?
You have been taught that membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints includes living gospel standards. What do you
understand of the following standards? Are you willing to obey them?

a.The law of chastity, which prohibits any sexual relationship outside
the bonds of a legal marriage between a man and a woman.
b.The law of tithing.
c.The Word of Wisdom.
d. The Sabbath day, including partaking of the sacrament weekly and
rendering service to fellow members.

When you are baptized, you covenant with God that you are willing to
take upon yourself the name of Christ and keep His commandments
throughout your life. Are you ready to make this covenant and strive
to be faithful to it?





Qualifications for Baptism

Doctrine and Covenants 20:37:

Humble themselves before God.

Desire to be baptized

Come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits

Repent of all their sins.

Be willing to take upon them the name of Christ

Have a determination to serve Christ to the end

Manifest by their works that they have received the Spirit of Christ
unto a remission of their sins.

First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve:

Make sufficient changes in their lives to qualify as commanded in
Doctrine and Covenants 20:37.

Develop faith in Christ.

Repent of transgressions

Live the principles of moral worthiness.

Live the Word of Wisdom

Commit to pay tithing.

Receive all the missionary lessons [lessons 1–4 on the Teaching Record
and associated commitments]

Meet the bishop or branch president.

Attend several sacrament‍ meetin