Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Life is What Happens when you Make Plans
A major part of my entire mission has been, and will continue to be, extending invitations to people. Each one is unique, prayerfully considered, and made with the intention of drawing others closer to Christ. They range from reading the Book of Mormon and praying for missionary opportunities to attending sacrament and following Christ's example by being baptized. Anywho, this week we have people start keeping commitments better than ever before. When people are spiritually trending water, there is so much time spent wondering what we can do to help them progress, so now that they are, it is pretty awesome to see!
We actually had the chance to go to the Deseret Ranch again this week and pressure wash these picnic tables that were coated in some kind of green growth. It was great, we only saw a couple snakes and one massive spider. The planned service was nice but earlier in the week we also had a person we had NEVER met with text out of nowhere and say he wanted to talk over lunch so the unplanned stuff is great as well! The Mongolian chicken I ordered may have been meh, but giving him a Book of Mormon and reciting the first vision was an unbeatable experience!
'til next week!
Elder Killian
Pic #1 - wall we painted, we do a lot of painting for some reason, we are getting pretty good
Pic #2 - testing the knots i put in the old swings i leveled, luckily, I remembered the bowline from scouts
Pic #3 - the Hills, a real cool family we have great conversations with, I may be getting transferred soon so I got a pic just tobe safe
Turtle Time!!
Elder Petersen and myself had the chance to do exchanges with the District Leader and his companion recently. It worked well because I went with Elder Moses who came into the mission the exact same day as me and we actually stayed in the same apartment for awhile so we had a great time being comps for a day! It was a real packed schedule as well since we had service, dinner, and a lesson as well as the responsibility of "taking over" an Instagram Page for the day where we basically just posted a story once every couple hours taking people through our day and then ended it off with a live event.
I have really started to learn how important it is to look past yourself and just talk with EVERYBODY. It can be incredibly awkward, but if you are polite than you have nothing to regret. Compliments are a real easy way to start up a convo, only if they are sincere though. So it is good practice to identify qualities you legitimately admire in every stranger you meet! It is amazing how easy it is to brighten a whole person's day just by commenting on something small, I have to thank my mom for being an example there!
Until next time!
Elder Killian
Pic #1 - turtle just sitting on the sidewalk as elder Moses and I were walking, we talked to some locals, they said we were ok to pick it up
Pic #2 - elder petersen, Moses, bishop, and I after exchanges
Pic #3 - elder petersen and myself taking goofy pictures after taking a serious one for someone who wants to give us a shout out in their presentation on the "mormon" faith
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
The More You Know!!
With zone conference having been only a couple of days ago, Elder Petersen and myself have been working on applying what was taught to us there. President Ashcraft spent quite a bit of time telling us how important it is that we invite the friends we are teaching to do family history work. That works out real conveniently since my comp and I have been going to the Family History Center every week and spending two hours with the couple in charge so they can teach us how we would help someone set up an account and get going from scratch. Honestly, it is one of those highlights in the week because it is real fun. I always thought I didn't really have to do much because I have some amazing aunts who have taken care of it all. Boy was I wrong! Not because my aunts aren't great at it, but simply because there is so much to do. It is also handy to invite friends to because they can get intimidated when you ask if they want to attend a church service, but if you ask if they want to learn about their ancestors, no one says no!
I would recommend all to go do some more family history, unlike the friends I am teaching I won't be following up though, haha. I would also like to thank all the great examples all of you are back home, you may think I am referring to everyone on the email list but you, but it may surprise you the impact you had!
Stay on the covent path!
Elder Killian
Pic # 1 - little bit of service at the deseret ranch, i would recommend you look it up, it is pretty cool, if you don't know what it is already that is
Pic # 2 - lunch after zone conference, fun fact, i apparently supply photos for quite a few weekly emails, thanks mom for teaching me to take pics
Pic # 3 - biggest McDonald's in the world we saw in Orlando after zone conference, our president said we have the hardest mission because we have the most temptations, I like the thought but I think every mission has challenges but Florida is not bad at all
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Enjoying the Ocean
With missionary work expanding so far into social media and onto the internet, we frequently find ourselves teaching and messaging people not only in a different state, but frequently in a different country as well. When we find someone ready to meet missionaries in person, we can refer them over to the closest companionship, which isn't always a fun task. However, it does mean that we too, frequently get referrals from all over world telling us about people in our area. Nearly all of the coolest people I have met on the mission have been found in that way. In fact, on two separate occasions we were referred to people who are only on Florida temporarily because the boundaries are shut down and they normally live a nomadic lifestyle with their families off of a boat. One of them just got baptized! The other we invited to the baptism and they seemed to get along real well which was really satisfying to see as a missionary. Ultimately, helping people get to know the ward and members in it can be the greatest way to help them come closer to Christ, so definitely reach out if you see an unfamiliar face, the missionaries will be ecstatic, haha!
I feel like I don't share nearly enough crazy stories, which is good so I have something to share later in life, but for now I can share an interesting detail about Florida. There are lizards EVERYWHERE. When walking up to doors they scamper across the sidewalk, when looking at a building you can spot several clinging to the sides, and even in more than a couple doors frames I have found unlucky ones that got smashed and and have been there so long they are just a dry outline. Just the other day I was doing some lawn work for a member and I picked up a little plastic toy on the lawn and moved it, and then I looked at my hand and their was a lizard chilling on it. I don't mind them, I am just glad they don't have that many mice, I really don't like mice.
Either way, stay busy this week!
Elder Killian
Pic #1 - us at the beach this morning, that isn't the whole district, just some of it, that elder who is fishing actually caught something by the way
Pic #2 - a hound dog that two members bought, reminded me of my brothers hounds
Pic #3 - this is us after pickleball, we got pretty burnt
Walk a Mile in their Shoes!!
I don't know if any other missionaries have done this, but occasionally I will have an experience where I say, "this will definitely need to be mentioned in my homecoming talk." Sadly, I need to start writing such things down because I definitely won't remember to mention them otherwise. Either way, I did have an experience like that this week that taught me alot about empathy. I'll share it in about twenty or so months with everyone but for now, suffice it to say that as missionaries we hear alot of about people's personal lives, and after about a month I am sad to say I got desensitized to it. I really want to try harder from now on to better imagine what the friends we teach are going through. Christ has a perfect love for all of us, and I am thoroughly convinced he got it because he has felt all the pain we have. Even if I don't go through the same trials some of our friends do (and I definitely won't in many cases), I can still try and understand what they have, and are, going through!
When it comes to cool experiences, I have actually been called to be the solo responder to comments and messages on a Mission Instagram page, so now I have Instagram as a missionary! It is very odd, on Facebook I would generally message older people so now I have to get use to messaging others closer to my age, haha. It is a neat responsibility though, and Instagram is a powerful tool, it is what we use it for that counts!
Keep strong in the faith!
Elder Killian
Pic #1 - playing ping pong with the elders on P-day, it gets intense, but the swear is from the pickleball we played beforehand
Pic #2 - having lunch with the district leader, we can't do it often so we enjoy it when we can
Pic #3 - my Instagram profile pic, you can go share the context yourself @desmond.killin.it if you want, the more people who see it the merrier
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