Elder Trevor Morreall: Week #3

I'm pinched on time, so I just copied the letter for the blog:

Things are going well here in the Sierra Ranch Ward. Elder Wightman has already taught me a lot about the importance of setting goals, and pursuing them. He's also taught me the importance of street contacting, and pursuing the desire to help others come unto Christ. We've been able to have many street contacts, and have been able to connect well with those we come in contact with. In particular, on Saturday we met a woman named Cheryl while we were biking. Cheryl moved in with her son and daughter-in-law from California, where she was homeless and unemployed. Recently she has been able to quit using drugs and drinking alcohol, because she has a desire to be better. She explained that when she moved in, she prayed to find a "good church to go to". Three days later, she met us. We taught her on Sunday about the Restoration. She was very excited about it, and wanted to know more. We gave her a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and invited her to read them and to pray to know if they were true. We're scheduled to meet with her tomorrow at 3 pm, where we will teach her about repentance and baptism.

Biking has been an interesting challenge, but I feel that we have been handling it well, and it helps us be able to come in contact with more people. We've also been able to visit the Waites, a part-member family. We taught of the importance of faith to Velia Waite, a non-member, and are trying to help her come closer to Christ by inviting her to church. We hope to see her Sunday. I'm excited for this opportunity to serve, and am excited to be able to learn with Elder Wightman.

Elder Trevor Morreall

That was my letter to the President. To answer your questions:

1. My first day was very busy! My trainer got lost while driving, so we drove right by the strip, and into the West mission. Oops.

2. My trainer is Elder Wightman (White-min). He's from Rexburg, and he's been out a grand total of six weeks. We're learning together haha. He's really cool though.

3. I am in the Sierra Ranch Ward, which is in the North Las Vegas Stake. I don't know my exact address yet, but yeah haha. It's SUPER GHETTO, it reminds me of Binghamton haha. Like there are nice parts, like Binghamton, but there's a lot of sketchy areas. And yes, it is a biking area.

4. My first week was busy! We got lost again on Thursday and went into the other mission. BUT, we've been doing a lot of street contacting. There hasn't really been much success in our area recently, so we're trying to start fresh. We've had some cool experiences from it though, like the story I mentioned above. There were also some crazy stuff too. Like these two black teenagers wearing cut off sweatpants followed us around pointing their fingers, saying "you stole our religion", "y'all don't believe in Jesus", and "f*** outta here". And then there was also a chihuahua that chased us down the street barking at us. We also met three drunk black dudes, named Larry, Willy, and Vernon, that talked to us for ten minutes about everything from Donald Trump, Obama, Jehovah's witnesses, jazz music, Mohammed, taxes, beer, and Jesus. It was awesome. We gave them some pass along cards. We also had a neighbor tell us to stop by his apartment so he could "pick our brain". He obviously wanted to Bible Bash, so we stuck a pass along card in his door frame after he went to bed haha.

5. President and Sister Snow are awesome! They're both really nice and outgoing. They're also a little more lax, which I think helps a lot since the culture here is also very relaxed. I don't really know a whole lot else about them though.

6. We visited the Waites. Brother Waite is a member. He's a returned missionary, and he has a firm belief in the church. He doesn't go to church much because his wife, Velia, isn't a member and doesn't feel comfortable going. They have a 14 month old, Brayden, and theyre a super cute family. We're trying to help Velia feel the Spirit more so she can feel comfortable, but they are suuuuuper busy. Brother Waite is an optometrist, and Velia is a veterinarian (sp?), so they're schedules are crazy. It's been super fun though. I met the bishop and his family, the Warners. He has EIGHT KIDS. AND he runs his own business. AND he's a high school volleyball coach. AND he's the bishop. It's crazy. He's suuuuper laid back though, it's awesome. We also met the Leavers. The grandparents are really laid back. Brother Leaver is in the bishopric. He reminds me of Brother Talley, minus the mustache, and he's bald. Their son lives around the corner from them. He has a wife and three kids, as well as the other two grandparents living there. They're both really fun families. They both have said that if no one signs up to feed us, we can come over any night.

So yeah! That's what's been going on. That's cool that you and Cheryl had that experience, I've definitely felt mom's presence here. That's awesome that dad is going to Utah and that he's handing off the car! Is it the Honda or Subaru?

My favorite part of conference was Elder Holland's talk Saturday afternoon. I've actually been sick since Monday at the MTC, but his talk helped me think a lot about Mom and what she went through. If she was able to accomplish what she did while she was battling, then I can stick it out here in the field while I'm facing a much more minor sickness.

I'm fine with the USB converter by the way, I don't need it. But thanks!

I love and miss you!

Trevor :D

Hey dad! That's a bummer the Yanks only got a wild card, but hopefully we'll see a miracle haha. I hope you have fun down there though! As for the iPod, I don't know, those were the only two passcodes I remember using. I haven't found out my exact address yet, but you can still send me stuff through the mission office. And the mission has been exactly that, a roller coaster. I got sick the day that I wrote you, and have not felt well ever since. It's been challenging, but it's been a great experience. I am in the Sierra Ranch Ward, which is in the North Las Vegas stake. It's a biking area, and so the bike you got has worked great! Thank you. As for the iPad, I don't receive it for two weeks, because I need to do some specific training. My trainer is Elder Wightman, from Rexburg. He's really cool. He's only had six weeks of experience, so it has been and will continue to be a learning experience. It has been fun though. I loved General Conference this weekend, particularly Elder Holland's talk Saturday afternoon. It made me think of mom and all she went through, and it's helped motivate me. If mom was able to accomplish what she did while battling, I can fight through this much more minor sickness and continue to do missionary work. I'm going to send Misa a copy of my email to the mission president, and will do the same for you. I also have some pictures I'll send, and one is particularly for you. I hope and pray that you and Asia are doing well, and I was grateful for the opportunity that we had to speak before I boarded my plane. Thank you for everything, and for providing the opportunity for me to serve. I'll send a name tag home as soon as I can.

I love you!

Elder Trevor Morreall