Hellooo Family!!! I love you very much and miss you as well :)
Elder Gisseman was very sad to leave the Pilgrim Mill Ward. This was his first area and he wanted to spend a little more time here. We spent Monday and Tuesday packing and saying goodbye to people. Dang, I can't believe that was only a week ago. It feels like we have done way more than 7 days worth of missionary work.
It was a crazy transfer meeting. My friends Elder Zundel and Elder Lealao went home. After weeks of fretting, at transfer meeting Elder Zundel finally seemed excited to go home. Elder Lealao's mom and brother came to the transfer meeting. It was soooo heartwarming to see him and his brother hug after not seeing each other for two years. Haha, it was precious to see, but kinda made me a little homesick. Not for too long though hahaha.
I still can't believe how quickly time flies. During transfers meeting, President King asked me to get up and share the story of how we got an article published in 5 NEWSPAPERS ABOUT THE TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE!!! Woooo! That really was super exciting for us. We have had other missionaries call us to thank us for the article, because they have seen results from it. We just keep praying that we can see some success from it too. I will tell you the story about the article and another story about the temple open house in a bit.
At transfer meeting, Elder Waters (one of my buddies from Payson; we got another missionary from Payson in the group of new missionaries too--Elder Allen. Elk Ridge/ Payson rules!) got switched from an English speaking missionary to a PORTUGUESE speaking missionary. After that was announced President King said, "We've got three books for you up here, get to work." hahahhaha, he is super excited about that.
My new companion is Elder Braden Scothern. He is from West Jordan, UT. He is 19 years old and graduated in 2010 from Copper Hills High School. He played hockey and guitar in high school and worked at the Olympic Oval. He loves ice skating and wears glasses. Haha it was funny, he was one of the only two greenies that I talked to before the district meeting. He is a good kid, excited to be a missionary, had a blast at the MTC, but is kinda unconfident in his abilities as a missionary. (haha on his first day here he got bashed on the Marta by 3 baptists, poor kid.) He's not a bad teacher or missionary by any means, he is just super nervous. It's hard to think that I was that nervous once haha. It's also hard to think that I've only been out for 9 months and that I'm already training someone.
Haha, funny story. On Tuesday after district meeting, the Coal Mountain Elders stopped by our apartment. We have a little kid's fake motorcycle pedalbike in our front entry from a family in the ward. They asked Elder Gisseman and I whose it was and we told them that it was the new missionary's, and that the Assistants had dropped it off last night. They said, "Really?" and we said, "Yeah." Then Elder Hamptons exclaimed, "You're training a midget!" We played along with it. I said "Oh no, I didn't even think of that! Crap!" They kept going on, it was hilarious.
We totally forgot about that, but right after transfer meeting on Wednesday they gave us a call asking about what happened. I told them everything, and then at the end of our phone call Elder Disbrow asked, "Are you next to your companion? (We were in the car driving back to Cumming.) Is he...you know... How tall is he?" I said, "Ummm, well he's not super tall (He's 6'2".) But he's right next to me so I gotta go, bye!" I hung up and told the whole car the story and we all laughed. Until they met him on Friday, they thought he was a midget. Haha.
It's kind of annoying (yikes!) and kind of scary to think about, but my greenie companion watches and mimics my every move. Pressure on me! I feel kind of bad because it's been an odd week for me because of the temple open house. We have been calling people, working with people, meeting people like crazy trying to get everyone that we can to the temple open house. On Saturday I had kind of a tough day. I have been working soooo hard trying to get everyone that I can to go to the temple open house, and I just haven't been seeing too many results. We knelt in prayer and told God all of our efforts to get everyone to the temple, including the newspaper article, invitations, talking to everyone, calling everyone, temple tracting, etc. We then asked that He help us. We also fasted for this on Sunday. We then went out and had a much more productive evening than we did day, inviting a Part- Member family to the temple open house.
We went temple tracting on Thursday and had two cool experiences. The first door we knocked on in the apartment complex was a 19 year-old kid, and he was super excited to go the temple open house. The last door we knocked on the old lady got mad at us and said, "There's no soliciting in this neighborhood!" We said, "We know, sorry, we just wanted invite you to our temple open house." She got so excited and said, "Ooh ooh ooh I'm going I'm going I'm going! Thanks so much for reminding me, I went last time when it opened in 1983!" She then talked to us about all of her experiences that she has had with our church and how much she enjoyed it and then she ended it by saying, "But, I'm a die in the wool Baptist." Hahah it was funny.
On Friday we went to the temple open house for the first time with a former investigator. It was soooo pretty. It was absolutely beautiful. I am so grateful that I have this opportunity while I am on my mission. The second that I walked into the Celestial room I was flooded with the Spirit. I loved it.
The first referral that our mission received was quite a blessing. A member in Lilburn invited her neighbor to the temple open house on Saturday, the first day. The neighbor agreed to go, even though she was a strong member of her Methodist church because she knew that Saturday would be the six year anniversary of her husband's death, and she knew that she would be having a hard day. She went on a tour through the temple and when she went into the Celestial room she had a very spiritual experience. She said that she felt the Spirit tell her that everything the tour guides were saying was true, and that she could be with her husband again after death forever. The missionaries came over, she told them this, and then she asked, "How long does it take to become a member of your church and what do I have to do to be sealed to my husband?" This woman wasn't even searching, but she felt the Spirit in the temple and desired to learn more.
I know that there are people in our area that are ready and wanting like that. We are praying that God will send them to the temple. We shared that story in Priesthood, Relief Society, and to the Youth on Sunday and encouraged everyone to invite everyone, because we never know what will happen and we never know when they are ready. I know that the temple is God's house. I know that Jesus lives and that this is his church. I am so grateful to be a missionary and pray that I can do better and help all that I can.
We taught Nicole on Sunday. She is coming to the temple with us on Wednesday. Haha, she asked us to baptize her daughter for her. Hopefully everything will work out.
This story below was written in my President's Letter to President King:
Here is the story about the newspaper for you:
After reading your email with the AJC (Atlanta Journal Constitution) article that you had written, Elder Gisseman and I decided that we wanted to try to get an article in the local Forsyth County newspapers. We flipped through the phonebook and found out that there were two local papers that covered our areas. We called both of them and only got a response from the editor of the Forsyth Herald. Aldo (the editor) asked us to send him the article so that he could review it and decide if it was something that they would be interested in. You sent him the article, he read it, and we talked the next day.
He said that it was interesting, and a good article, but not local enough for their paper. He asked me to get some quotes from someone living in Forsyth County, or do something that would make it more interesting for their readers. I told him that I could do that and explained to him that we have multiple congregations within the area, and that this temple will serve all of the members in Georgia. After talking to you, you gave me the phone number for Sister Beverly Howerton, the Stake Public Affairs Specialist. I told her about how we were working with Aldo, and she sent him an email inviting him to the Media Tour of the Atlanta Temple.
His tour of the temple interested him so much that he did all of the work to write a brand new article suitable for the Forsyth Herald. He spoke with members and Elder Walker, and took photos of the event from outside the temple. When he talked with me again he thanked me for all of the work that we had done, but said that he had it covered. Aldo then published an article about the temple online, as well as in the Forsyth Herald, Johns Creek Herald, Milton Herald, and Revue and News. The article was extremely positive, very intriguing, and included many color photos of the Temple. I have a very strong testimony of the power of the Spirit that resides in our temples. I am so very grateful for this opportunity to have the Atlanta Temple opening again, and I know that hearts will be touched as they enter into the House of the Lord.
This is the link for the online version. I hope that Sister Williams already gave you a copy of the Forsyth Herald. : http://tinyurl.com/3dzz3n4
Elder Caplin
Closing note: The bathrooms at the temple open house are nuts! Those porta-pottys are air-conditioned, they smell good, AND there are pictures on the walls!
LOVE YOU!!!! Sorry I don't have time to write more! Keep praying for me and the temple open house and Elder Scothern!
Ya'll be good and safe!
Elder Mikey Caplin
