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

Christmas and a Transfer!

  Last week I went to go buy a Christmas tree for our apartment. So I went to this place where the boy scouts were selling trees. Guess where the trees were from? !

Our tree looks pretty good with lights and presents under it. I'm excited to open the packages I've gotten.

    .

    I am getting transferred on Wed. so I don't know what we will be doing on Christmas day or what time I will call you. But I will be sure to call your cell phone.  Tell Aunt Stephanie I said congrats!!  

   

    I will be serving with Elder Hardt (Heart) in Lawton, OK.  That is in the same zone that Texas is in. I will be able to go to Texas on exchanges.  There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in Texas, and some of the missionaries down there are struggling. When Elder Ali'ifua left me, he went to Texas to help some missionaries out. There has been a history of slacker missionaries in Texas, but a few years ago, it held the record for the highest baptizing area in the mission.  So there is a lot of potential there!!

    I am sad to leave Moore.  We have an investigator (A____ who is so close to getting baptized! She just wants to think about a date while she is on vacation over the next few days.  I hope I can come back for her baptism.  I am going to miss teaching her. 

 Building the trust of others is so important! I like those scriptures you sent. I can see how that has worked with A___. You can tell when investigators trust you by the way they act in lessons and if they keep commitments.  It is also very important to build the trust of the members. We saw that a ton in this ward when we told them what our goals were and our vision for the area.

    This week  has been so busy. We spent two days with some seinor missionaries, moving new stuff into our apartment and moving other stuff out because the AP's are moving into our apartment by Wed.  The AP's were too busy to help us because they are opening up a new sister missionary area in the south zone. The Moore first ward will have the AP's and the Sisters in it.  We are starting to see the big wave of missionaries begin to come!!

      Elder Naisbitt (my trainer) goes home tomorow. It is sad to see him leave. I love that guy.  He'll be home for Christmas.  He lives in Hooper UT,  a small town outside of Ogden.   We are going to visit him in the mission home tonight before he leaves in the morning. 

      Good stuff is happening!  There is always work to be done!     Time is flying by for me!  This was probably the fastest transfer of my mission.   Elder Hanes and I had a lot of fun together.

                           I'll Talk to you on Christmas!

              Love Elder Shumway