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