Homecoming - August 22, 2013

Miracles

That Book of Mormon treck thing sounded sweet! Dad told me some cool storys about setting up some of the stuff in the woods and having his prayers answered immediately.

   Miracles have been happening more now in my mission than I have ever seen my whole mission.   This area I have been assigned to has completely changed.  We have been focusing on how we can controll getting miracles in our lives.  Or like you put it Mom, "pull down a miracle".   It all comes from Faith. If we act in faith (James 2:17)...if we do all that we can by acting in faith, the grace of God will flow into our lives. and that is how we let God help us or let God show us how to do His work. We are really just tagging along with the Lord in the first place.     If we act in faith. (excersise "faithfulness") the grace of God will make up for what we can not do, resulting in what we call a "miracle".  Miracles are awsome!!

     I could go on about miracles but I don't have time.  The first miracle that comes to mind is actually one that happened last night. We took a member out with us to visit some potential investigators we had found the day before. We had a member with us and a lesson planned (acted in faith), but both of the appointments fell through! It was near the end of the day and it would have been easy to tell the member that he could go home and rest and that we would go tracting or something.  But!!  We had a backup plan!  (another act of faith).  So we took the member with us to another potential that lived next door to this member. We hadn't talked to this man in a while, but we knocked on his door and asked him if he had time for us to share our message with him. He agreed and we went over to the member's home and taught this unplanned lesson. We quickly learned that he is very prepared for the gospel. So we committed him to be baptized on Aug 24th. He is excited for his baptism.

        We did all that we could to reach our goals and as we acted in faith, the Lord stepped in and provided a way for us to achieve the goals. It happens every time.  I love working with the Lord this way! These miracles make me feel like the Lord is part of our companionship and that he is right here working next to us.  It's awesome!

            -Elder Shumway

I'm Shrinking!

 We got a new mission president.  His name is president Walkenhorst.   Tanner can't compete with him. He is 7 feet tall.  He played Basket ball at BYU.   He is a great guy!!!  He has a terrific vision for our mission and does a great job inspiring everyone to catch the wave of his vision. I feel very close to him already.  He is very different from president Taylor, but they are both strong, spiritual leaders.      

President Taylor has had a HUGE affect in my life.  I will never forget the talks that we had and the lessons I learned from him.  

    Good things are happening.   We're starting a new transfer, and good things will happen this transfer.

   -Love Elder Shumway

This is Elder Charlesworth and I when we were hunkered down in the cellar a week ago. That was the day that another tornado went through OKC. It was headed straight for us but turned toward Moore again.

   We were in this bunker for a while and we were all listening to the radio to hear where the storm was heading.  We were with a part member family and it was cool because all the non members were the ones saying the prayers! The dad of the family was sitting at the top of the ladder, with the door opened so he could look out and watch the tornado coming. haha!!    ( He's an Okie.)

 I  think our disaster relief efforts were ended this week. All that is left to do in Moore is to bulldoze everything that is left. Most people have cleaned up and found all the things that they wanted or needed and now the city has a path 2 miles wide and about 10 miles long of cement slabs that need to be uncovered and someday re-built into houses.

   We have been instructed to go back to being full time proselyting missionaries. There are plenty of helpers still here though. There are tons of other churches and tons of red cross trucks and people from all over the country who are here to help. They almost have too many people for the jobs that are needed.

    Elder Charlesworth and I have been working hard this past week and have already seen the fruits of it.

Love, 

Elder Shumway

More Tornado Cleanup

 The highlight of my week this week was when Elder Rasband came to speak to our mission. He is so cool. He flew in  night and had some stories to tell about his first experience with tornadoes that night. That was the night that the mother and her baby were killed and the tornado went right  through OKC. Elder Rasband was with other leaders of the church as they tried to out run the storm in a car. Welcome to OK Elder Rasband! haha! 

   He had some great things to say to our mission. He told us that he had attended Elder Eyring's B-day party the night before, and he took some time to talk to Pres. Monson about his assignment to come to OK. Before he could say anything, Pres Monson knew what he was going to ask. President Monson knew about the devastation in Moore and he had three things for Elder Rasband to tell the members and missionaries in Oklahoma.  They were:

1) Tell them that I love them

2) Tell them that I pray for them

3) And tell them thanks for all that they are doing.

     I think it is amazing that the Prophet of God knows all the things that are going on in our lives right now. He is very aware of our situations.

     Elder Rasband also invited the state representative  to come to the last few minutes of our meeting.  Elder Rasband wanted to show him all of us (the entire mission) dressed in our work clothes (the yellow helping hands shirts).  He called us an "army of servants."  Elder Rasband demonstrated how to do missionary work in this situation. In front of all of us as he told the representative why we are all in OK and what we are doing here.  He told him "they're here to serve the people in Oklahoma".

      It was also very spiritual to see Elder Rasband and this statesman sit next to each other and share a hymn book as we all sang the closing song "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel".    I felt the spirit very strong in that meeting. 

      After the meeting, we all went out and did Disaster Relief in Moore.

  Today I am very sore form doing disaster relief back in Norman. President Taylor has been assigning different zones to go and assist stakes and wards as they do disaster relief.  Yesterday  was the second Sunday we have had a short sacrament meeting dressed in our work clothes, and after receiving the sacrament, we have gone out to perform service work for most of the day.

  We are building up our area as well. Good things are happening.

 Love Elder Shumway

Message of Safety from President Taylor, June 1, 2013

Dear Parents: 

Your sons and daughters are safe.   Thursday and again yesterday we experienced severe storms and additional tornados in our mission area.  Yesterday’s storms were more dangerous and destructive than Thursday’s storms.  Our missionaries were never in any danger on Thursday but yesterday caused us more concern because we had missionary relief crews out working in the morning.  As is my practice, I sent the work crews home well in advance of the approaching storms so they could be near their local weather contacts and shelters.  My practice is to personally monitor the storms and alert missionaries directly and through our mission leadership.  Local weather contacts are also very helpful to us. 

Based on preliminary reports, yesterday’s storms caused substantial new damage and sadly, additional lives were lost.  103,000 homes in the City (including the mission home) are without power.  The damage, downed power lines and traffic have prevented me from communicating with you earlier this morning.   We also had all our missionaries in South Oklahoma City this morning for a meeting with Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy.  Now all of our missionaries are out working on tornado cleanup projects for the day. 

 The safety of our missionaries is our paramount concern and priority.  We will tend to them first and inform you once I have verified their safety and tended to other priorities related to the missionaries.

We are grateful for the Lord’s protection and your prayers.  Many miracles are occurring through these events.  The Lord truly does make all things work together for the good of those who believe. 

Warm Regards, President Taylor

Tornado Cleanup in Moore

 On Friday, nearly the entire mission was engaged in Disaster Relief efforts in Moore. It was so weird for me to go back there because I served there. Neighborhoods that I had tracted and places where I taught people were completely gone.  Moore looks like a third world country. It looks like a war zone. As if an army of bombers flew over and carpet bombed the whole thing. The destruction is almost two miles wide. Almost as far as you can see in any direction is destroyed.

  It is heartbreaking to see people stand in front of a cement slab that once used to be their home. They don't know where to start.  We have been doing tornado cleanup for the last four days straight. 

  We helped out in Moore, but it is hard to work there because there are police everywhere looking to arrest looters and robbers. There are lots of valuable things in the rubble of people's homes.  We spent all day Friday digging through rubble looking for requested valuables of an owner. She wanted her cat, her purse, a gun and a few other things. It was so hard to find things, but with the help of some prayers and diligent digging, we found everything she wanted except for the cat.  Miracles happen every day out there. The people who have lost their homes have great attitudes toward life. They realize that they have lost literally everything and so when we found little things like pictures of family and friends or important papers, they are so happy. They shout and laugh and praise Jesus. The lady we were helping kept saying: "The Lord is merciful, the Lord is good."  I love the people in OK.

    Most of our Disaster Relief efforts have been focused out in Shawnee, Little Axe and Newala. Those are little towns out east of Lake Thunderbird. They are in our stake and they were hit by a pretty big tornado as well.  We have been clearing trees and tarping roofs.  There was a man that we helped who had a pretty good sized farm, but everything was gone. The tornado went directly over his house and right through the middle of his farm.  All he has left is one donkey, a few geese and some chickens.  That area of Oklahoma has more trees than the west side of the state and you can see the path of the tornado because of the trees that have been splintered and flung elsewhere.

Serving the people in OK is the best thing ever though. Those Yellow T-shirts help a lot and there are many opportunities to talk to the owner of the house while the crew works. They are so humble and open to everything. 

 Yesterday we helped a man out there clear a lot of debris off of his property and off of his house. When we were leaving, he started to cry and thank each of us individually. It made me feel very united with him and all the other Okies we had served. I have learned that there is a great power behind serving others.  Mosiah 2:17.

     The Church has an incredibly organized way of doing Disaster Relief. (This isn't their first rodeo)  The church is very good and very fast at aiding others. The Church sent 7 semi trucks full of supplies for the relief effort. Bottled water, food and all kinds of supplies have been shipped in to Moore and Shawnee to feed the people without electricity and things they need. They have tons of food and water for the people doing service.    This all makes me think of D&C 35:12.   There are groups of people from Colorado, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas coming to help. There are tons of church groups who have their own t-shirt uniforms that swarm the sites of disaster. 

     President Taylor keeps talking about how these storms are huge in the preparation of 100's to flock to the church and for the church to stand as an Ensign to the world.  The good Christians in OK and the other parts of the "bible belt" will be the first ones to come flocking to the church.   

Today is transfer day. It was moved to today because of the tornadoes. I am getting transferred to Midwest City. It's just east of OKC. My new comp is Elder Charlesworth. We have known each other for a while. There is a lot more that happened this week, but I have to go for transfers now.

                            Love ya

                    -Elder Shumway

Tornado in Moore, OK

On Monday, May 20, 2013 a large tornado cut through Moore, OK causing loss of life and extreme damage. The tornado was a mile wide and stayed on the ground for 40 minutes, wiping out entire neighborhoods and 2 elementary schools. It has killed 24 people, including 9 children.

Bryce's heart is very attached to Moore because he served there for several months in the fall.  He is now serving in Norman OK, 10 miles South of Moore. Bryce sent the following text Monday night:

Hey Dad, President Taylor has asked that we text our parents to let them know we are all safe. No missionaries were harmed. Pray for the people in Moore.

Later, his mission president sent this:

Our hearts and prayers go out to the people who have lost so much today.  All of the missionaries serving in the affected area are safe.  The rest of our missionaries checked in safe earlier today.  We were blessed again. We are grateful for the Lord's protection of his missionaries.

In the coming days our missionaries will be called upon to help with the cleanup from this devastating storm.  We are asking the missionaries who do not have leather gloves to buy some in the next couple of days.  We are also asking those who can afford to buy work boots to do so.  These boots will help prevent foot injuries (from nails) that could be sustained during the cleanup.  There will be some ability in the future to reimburse missionaries for the boot purchases.   As future storms occur, I will keep you updated (provided we have power).

President Nolan Taylor

Tornado

  On Wednesday, Elder Ravsten's first day with me, we had another tornado warning. We went to a member's house because it was getting pretty bad outside, (similar to the way the sky looked last year during that tornado).

 We were watching the news with them so that we could know what to expect and let the other missionaries know what was coming their way.  Then the warning sirens went off, so we all crammed into their shelter outside. We were all soaked by the time we were made it to the underground shelter. There were about 10 adults crammed into this thing.... PMG says to "work closely with members" so I guess that's what we did. HAHA!!!  There didn't end up being a tornado, just a lot of wind and some heavy rotation. (witch pretty much is a tornado that hasn't officially touched the ground...yet). 

     I miss Elder Reese, but Elder Ravsten is a great missionary!  He is the definition of a Workhorse.  He is built like a strippling warrior and he acts like one too.  "And they did obey every command with exactness".  He is a little quiet, but he works very hard. I'm excited to work along side him this transfer.

    We just got a phone call this morning from the mission office about adding sister missionaries in our ward. They want us to look for an apartment that they can stay in. Good things are happening. I love being part of this massive missionary wave influx stuff.  "Operation Mission Expansion" is what President Taylor calls it.

     This week we had a mission conference. Elder Neal L. Anderson of the Quorem of the Tweleve came with Bishop Davies (who gave a talk about a sure foundation in conference) and Elder Suarez. It was a great day. I had the opportunity to shake their hands. They talked about missionary work, planning, miracles, member missionary work and a whole bunch of stuff. It was great!! I learned a ton.

     That is your missionary work MOM!  Getting all of your kids through the temple. 3 down and 3 to go.   
Good job!!
     
     -Elder Shumway

From Brother Sallaway :

Hi! You don't know me, but I wanted to send you a photo of a couple of heavenly Fathers finest children. Your son's service to our family will have eternal consequences of the most sacred kind. I can't adequately express my heartfelt appreciation. He truly is on the Lord's errand. Thank you for sending him to us.

Brother Sallaway

Sallaway Family

 Here is my picture of a typical Oklahoma sunset with the american flag.  It was so beautiful we just had to stop and take this picture.  

There was also a small ice storm this week. It was hot and sunny the day before, but overnight the weather changes fast and everything was coated with ice by morning. As it was melting, there were chunks of ice falling off of the power lines into the street and onto cars. It was sweet!

 

     The other picture is of the baptism we had this weekend. This is the Sallaway family. They have so much faith.  We had finished teaching them all the lessons they need to be baptized and they were all ready and very excited.  Bro. Sallaway is about 78 years old and on the two days before the baptism, he tripped on a rug in his home and fell fracturing his pelvis. We helped carry him into his home after he came back from the ER. It's a hairline fracture, but he cant barely walk. We knew that this would effect the baptism and we asked him when he wanted to postpone it, but keep in mind that Bro. Sallaway has a very similar personality to Grandpa Clark. He said to us: "We're NOT going to let Satan win this time."  He refused to cancel the baptism.   So he and his family were baptized on Saturday. It was one of the best days of my mission! It took THREE  of us to baptize Bro Sallaway. We had to make sure he didn't put any pressure on his left leg. 

     The baptism was supposed to start at 1:00, but it took him about 15 min to hobble down the hallway. He refused to use a wheelchair and he refused to let anyone help him. He kept saying things like "I'll be fine."  and  "I've got it."  It took him almost 30 min to get changed into his jumpsuit. He has a lot of faith to be able to do all that he did. 

     It was a very long baptismal service, but it was so spiritual. We visited the Sallaway family last night after their baptism and confirmation. As we knocked on their door, Elder Reese and I could both feel a big difference in their home. Even standing on the porch. The spirit is so strong in their home.  I love that family! They are great!
     

           Thanks For your awesome E-mail Dad. It opened my mind up a little more.

      -Love Elder Shumway

Happy Easter!

  Thanks for the package you sent me! Elder Reese enjoyed getting that note on his candy. Did you know that Elder Reese's relatives are the people who started and own Reese's peanut butter cups?  

    We have so much candy from Easter! Members of our ward would stop us in the hallways at church and give us little bags of candy they made for us.  We're going to get fat!!!!  

          

          Yesterday (Easter Sunday) we had dinner at Bishop's house and there were a ton of people there that Bishop had invited. Some were not members.  Bishop's wife made us go hunt for Easter eggs with all the little kids after dinner. It was funny. Just picture Elder Reese and I running around in a field with a ton of little kids. It was fun!!!

          We had a good week this week. We are pumped about the 6 baptism dates we have, and we were able to get 6 investigators at church too.  A pretty good week.    We are really excited for this coming week though. We are working hard to meet all of our weekly goals by Friday so that we can put most of our attention on Sat and Sun helping investigators and less actives come to General Conference.  

   I love telling people that we have a prophet and apostles on the earth today, and that this Sat and Sun are perfect opportunities to see them and hear them, to judge for themselves if they are a true prophet of God and not a wolf in sheep's clothing. (Matt 7)      Get to know them by their fruits.     I love conference weekend!

            I learned a lot about the Atonement on Sunday. Actually the past few days. The talks at church were cool. They taught me a ton about the Atonement. I've also been reading this talk called: "His Grace is Sufficient". It is a great talk! It helped me understand the atonement and the Doctrine of Christ better, also our role as those who know the doctrine.

           Elder Reese and I taught the third hour of church for the youth. We talked about the Atonement for a little but tied it into missionary work. We showed the video about the priests quorum in Florida and how they invited each other to church.  Then we had all of the youth write down on a piece of paper, all of the blessings that they have received from the gospel. Then on that same piece of paper we had them each write down two names of friends that they would like to invite to do something such as come to church or read the BOM or go to a youth dance or something church related.  Then they gave us a copy of what they wrote down so that we can follow up with them. We got a ton of referrals that way. It was awesome and spiritual.   I think it probably would've worked with the adults too.

                         I love the spring in Oklahoma!   It is the best time of year. The storms that roll in are so cool. And the lightning flashes every second. We are starting to get all the storms that spring brings. A couple of nights ago, Elder Reese and I were awakened by a storm that was full of lightning and thunder and it was raining cats and dogs and hail.  It rains so hard here!

           I enjoyed your Easter video! It sounds like you all had a great Easter!!!   That's cool that Tanner got baby chicks for the girls.  
        

                                                                  Love Elder Shumway

Shumways in Norman, OK

  I love this ward! This is one of the best wards I've ever served in. It is one of the few wards that I've been invited to attend ward council. And this ward's ward council is very effective. It is usually very centered on missionary work. (I love it because that is what the entire church should be revolved around anyway. It's central to the Abrahamic covenant.) I am convinced that the only way to be successful as a missionary, is to gain the trust of the ward, the Bishop, the Relief Society President, etc. We do that by working very close with all of the members and accounting to them in ward council about what we are doing. When missionaries do this, the ward will trust them with the Less Actives that they work with and the non-member friends that they have. Baptisms always follow those things.

    I don't want to share this next experience to brag, but rather because it was one of the coolest things that has  happened to me on my mission. It made Elder Reese and I grow a greater love for the ward and the work that is going on in the ward.

Yesterday in ward council, Bishop turned the time over to us and our ward mission leader first. Our ward mission leader started telling the council about how we were the "best set of missionaries who have ever served in this ward." Then he told them about all of the things that we have done in the last few weeks that he has seen effect the ward in a good way.  

 Elder Reese and I have been overflowing with Joy for the last few days. Good things are happening.  I never thought that I would be in a ward that prays specifically for the missionaries in their ward during sacrament meeting. It is awesome!

    This ward has not had a convert baptism for about a year and a half.  We will be having a baptism on the 14th of April and 3 baptisms on the 13th of April. We are so excited!   I have become a more bold teacher since I've been here in Norman. I love being bold because you stay on the same page as the investigators. When there is no miscommunication, lots of progress happens.

     I think I forgot to tell you that there are lots of Shumways in this ward.  This week we had dinner at the Shumway's house. It was cool. Bro David Shumway and I talked about how we are related and he told me a bunch of stories about Charles Shumway that I didn't know. Charles Shumway is not who I thought he was. I thought he was a really spiritual guy who was really close to the prophet back then, but he was a normal guy who made mistakes too!  Bro Shumway let me borrow a book that his dead aunt made. It is Called: "The Charles Shumway Family".  I like to read the stories out of it. I also found out how I am related to Charles and which wife I'm from.  I never thought I would be like this about genealogy.

     Did you know that Charles Shumway was excommunicated from the church for a short period of time?  The story is actually funny.  He was a short tempered guy at times and one day he got really mad at some guys who were working on his saw mill in Shumway AZ, and he cussed them out pretty good. So these men Excommunicated him! But after about a day, they let him be a member again. haha!  The church was a little bit different back then.  But Charles Shumway was a really cool guy. He was a hard worker and he had a lot of faith. And he was obedient to everything the prophet asked him to do.     ..... Anyway. just some cool stuff I thought I'd share.

   

                   This is a picture of me and David Shumway. He is from a different wife. He is the Dad of all the Shumways that live in our ward. They live out away from town. It must be a Shumway thing to live in the country.

                 Love Elder Shumway

Transfers Again!

 The massive wave of missionaries hits our mission tomorrow. Tomorrow is when all of the new missionaries come from the MTC and fly into OKC. Wed is Transfer day, when all the new missionaries meet their trainers and go to their first areas.  This transfer, next transfer and the one after that will be the biggest transfers ever! Our mission is getting 40 missionaries added to it between these first two transfers. 

       I will be getting transferred to Norman on Wed. Elder Hardt and I stayed together for two transfers and he is staying here in Lawton again. He will be here for 6 months by the time next transfer ends.
     
       I'm Excited to go back to Norman. There are great people in that town. And I think I will be safe from tornadoes this year. What are the chances of a tornado going through the same town two times in one year? It's like jumping into an artillery crater to take cover from the other artillery going off.   Right?

       I will be going to the Norman 4th ward. it is on the east side of Norman. My first time in Norman, I served on the west side. I am very excited because I have a recent convert who was baptized last year in Norman. But they moved from the 2nd ward to the 4th ward!  So I will be in their ward again!     My new comp's name is Elder Reese. He is a cool guy. We have served around each other a few times before. 

  
       I have been blessed with very good companions. I have never had a comp that didn't want to do missionary work or wanted to go home. I have had great comps to do missionary work with.  I am thankful for that.

  Dad, that is a cool story about meeting your trainers son as an Elder in Medford!  It reminds me of a story in PMG.... Or maybe it is from a talk I listened to recently. It's about how a less active member of the church who thought his mission in Spain was a failure because he only baptized one person. But he met a missionary from Spain many years later who was the son of his only baptism.  It showed him how many people really did benefit from only one baptism.   That is a cool story. I hope I have an experience like that some day.

       We did have some Blizzard warnings lately. Northern Oklahoma (Stillwater, Ponca City area) received about one foot of snow when that storm blew over. That is a ton of snow for Oklahoma!  In Lawton we just got some sprinkles of rain and lots of clouds.  But, today is a great day! It feels like spring again. It's a warm day. I decided to wear a short-sleeve shirt today.

             Good things are happening, but it all takes work to get'em done.
                                 Love Elder Shumway

                                       

Miracles

  Our mission has been handling the death of Sister Smith very well. As a mission we have been reading the Book of Mormon together. The week that sister Smith died we read Alma 26 and verses 34 & 35 apply very well to our mission.   This has been our drive and our mentality these last few weeks. Lots of missionaries have risen and become more diligent and obedient since this has happened. Others who think they had no connection to Sister Smith have not changed or been affected at all, but they could still learn from this experience later in their lives.

         Cool things that have happened lately?   ...... Cool things always happen.  Last night all of our plans had fallen through so we had nothing better to do but knock some doors for 30 min.  It was 8:30 at night and we were knocking houses that had lights on inside.  It's funny being in a military town because there were a couple of times where the head of the house brought a rifle to the door. Haha!  You can always tell when they do because they will look out at you through the window in the door and set the gun down behind the door.   But anyway, we knocked doors until 9:00. The last door we knocked, a guy named Brian let us in to pray with him. He is a high school teacher and he was very interested in our message. We prayed with him and set up another time to come back and teach him. All miracles that happen to missionaries, happen between 8:45 PM and 9:00 PM,  when you are really showing the Lord your faith to find.

          We have been teaching a lot more people lately too. It has been great.  I love the members here in Lawton.  There are all different kinds of people in Lawton because of the army.    We have lots of investigators who are getting close to baptism. They each have a few concerns that we still need to find and/or teach to.

          I am looking forward to the spring. At times I miss the Oklahoma summer.    It's good to hear about all the young men preparing to leave on their missions.  How many missionaries are from the Ashland ward?  Is this a new record of missionaries gone from the Ashland ward all at once???      God is in the details of our lives. He really is.                                                                           -Elder Shumway

Very Sad News

Family,

    Something very devastating happened this week. On Friday, February 1st at 8:30 PM, Sister Smith

 (a missionary in our mission)  was hit and killed by a truck while she was riding her bike home from a teaching appointment. I had been her zone leader in Quail Creek for 3 months. She was a great missionary.  She lived in the same apartment complex as us so we saw them a lot.

    Our mission is devastated. Sister Smith was Training a brand-new sister missionary; the only 19 year old sister in our mission. They were assigned to open up a brand new area in Woodward, OK. Everyone feels like this couldn't have happened at a worse time.

     But, President Taylor is an inspired man and I know that those diligent sisters were where the Lord wanted them, and doing what they were supposed to do.

     I just want to ask you to pray for Sister Smith and her family in Arkansas. And also to pray for her companion, Sister Wendel.  Also pray for President and Sister Taylor and all that they are going through. President Taylor has also asked us to pray for the young man who was driving the truck.

 

     I had the opportunity to talk to Sister Smith on Wednesday at transfers. She was so excited to train Sister Wendel and open up a new area.  She is a great missionary and I'm sure that she is still applying the missionary skills that she learned while she was here.

 

     Tomorrow, Tues. the 5th, The whole mission will be gathering in Moore for Sister Smith's memorial service.

 

      I'm glad I was able to serve around Sister Smith. She was a hard worker and she made a big impact in this mission.

 

 

                                                            -Elder Shumway

Dinner with Cousins

This Evening Angela (Strickland) Jones fed dinner to Elder Shumway who was on splits. She sent the following note to us:

Wendy and Scott,

It was an honor to feed your son tonight!  He is a wonderful missionary, we feed the missionaries often in our little ward here that is more like a branch.  After feeding all types of missionaries you know when you have a solid one with a solid testimony, Elder Shumway fits the bill.  He is working hard and is tired from it.  You should be so proud of your son.  

When I asked him if he knew how we were related he said, "I think through some aunt on my Mother's side."  It made me chuckle,... he had no clue who I was.  I tried to explain it in terms of his Great Grandmother Donna and my Grandmother Nellie and he just looked at me and said "OK" So I pulled out the Blue Johanson Book, and then a light bulb went on.  He said, " Hey, I have seen some of these pictures in my Grandma's house."  As we talked a little more about our relation, I could tell there was still some doubt about how close my  family "really" was to the Clark family.  So I finally looked at him and said," Hey you know your sister Sheralyn; MY sister is Sharilyn!"  Finally a REAL  connection and all the light bulbs turned on.  He knew about the kids in the wheel chairs, and especially about Madeline, the feisty one in the wheel chair.  He also knew about the tough girl cousins, "the 5 girls who play street hockey." (Michelle's girls). We  had a wonderful visit, We didn't get the chance to exchange any stories about my Grandma, but we just had a wonderful visit.  

It didn't hit me until he left, but I am so thankful for all the the Johanson Reunions and for how close the Johanson cousins have been.  I really started to reflect on how excited Nellie and Donna must have been  to see us sitting there together, family, although we had never met, talking about the work of the Lord and Family; the two most important things in this life and the life to come.  It made me realize what a strong legacy of Faith our Grandmothers left for us and I only pray that I can do the same for my children. So thank you for raising a great son who came on mission and gave our family the chance to feel his spirit and allow his spirit and testimony influence  my young boys.  

Love,

Angela, Tann, Samantha (7) Payton (6) Landon (4) Jacquelyn (1 and asleep in her crib)

Good News, Bad News

Scott wrote:  Elder Shumway, I will be speaking in the Singles Ward Sunday about Missionary work. Do you have any suggestions for me?

  That is cool that you are speaking in the singles ward.  When Elder Bowen of the Seventy came to our mission, he made a good point. Everyone talks about the "full time missionaries"  when they refer to the full two-year or 18 month missionaries.   But Elder Bowen  helped us notice that these missionaries don't serve for more than two years at a time. Two years is a very short amount of time.  Plus,  each missionary is transferred in and out of different areas throughout their mission.  I have personally averaged 3 months in every area I have served in. 

So, who are the REAL full time missionaries??     The members in each ward are usually going to stay in the ward they are in for way more than three months. Even in singles wards.  THEY are the full time missionaries in their wards because they will be there full time. THEY should be considered the full time missionaries.
  
     Today I found out that A_____, the investigator we had in Moore, is getting baptized on Sunday.  I have permission to drive up to Midwest City (where the YSA building is)  and attend her baptism. 
I'm super excited!  She will be the best member ever!!!   

      We had a great week this week. Sundays are our hardest working days in this area. My companion went to teach the soldiers on Fort Sill with the other two elders and I went to both Lawton wards with another missionary. When my assigned ward started, we had 7 non-members come to church. it was hectic!  I love the members who take the time to stop and talk to the investigators and invite them to dinner and things like that.   That is where the real missionary work happens.   We found some solid investigators this week too.  It was great.

   Now that I've shared the good news, let me share some BAD news that you will not like.   On Wed  Jan 2, 2013  we were on our way up to the city for ZLC.  As we passed Fort Sill I was pulled over by a state trooper.
 ( The not very nice cops).  I was speeding but I didn't even realize it.  He gave me a pretty big ticket for  $226.50.   I was going 72 in a 60 mph zone.  But it was right before the speed went back up to 70 mph!   SO  Dad. I need your help, because I am broke.   I promise I will re-pay you when I get home.  .....and get a job.....  

Hopefully,... your broke son.....Elder Shumway