E-mail 11/16/2015

(Head pounding brick wall) Ello there! 

Well this week can be extremely summed up.

So Monday, after emailing we went shopping and caught the bus home, then grabbed our laundry (it stinks not having a washer) caught another bus to a members home to do our laundry. It went well, all four missionaries were there, the members fed us dinner then we had a lesson for them. Then we took the bus home, because it goes right in front of our house, but on the 1/4 mile walk to the bus stop, the top clothes probably needed to be dried again because of the downpour, but it wasn't to bad, except for a car trying to splash us with a huge puddle of water.

Tuesday was fun, we got to teach a lot and several were with members that drove us around. And I got a haircut! It looks pretty good. The member doing it made the comment, "You're hair is changing colors, the longer it is, the redder, the short, the blonder." I found that rather amusing.

Wednesday, we weren't able to get a whole lot done, but we did go over to the church and helped out were we could.

Thursday we had district meeting, it was Elder Morrows first training as a distinct leader, and it went really well, then ten minutes before we finished a guy walked in and asked if this was a bible study, so that was interesting... But it all got taken care of. And everyone LOVED the cake cookies that I made. Then we went home and the next few days can be summed up like this. Elder Morrow sleeping on the couch because he gone done got sick. He was feeling good enough to go to the temple Saturday with someone he taught in Etown, when he served there a year ago, so that was a lot of fun.

And that was my week. Hence, Head pounding brick wall.

Love ya!

Elder Durrant

Great Kentucky Louisville Mission

Scripture for the week: 2 Nephi 11:4

"4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him."

The four of us on Elder Seymores last night. 

They told us to switch around, and this was as far as we got. 

This is what happens when Elder Morrow gets sick 

This is what happens when Elder Morrow gets sick

E-mail 11/09/2015

HELLO EVERYBODY! (Like Fozzy in the moppets)

So not a whole lot happened Monday or Tuesday, so I'll move on. Wednesday, we were going to help a less active member clean up his house, but Elder Morrow woke up not feeling well, so we had to cancel and let Elder Morrow sleep, so it was an extra long study time for me.  Later he was feeling well enough to see some of the people we had set appointments with. First we had Dennie, he is doing amazing, he said, in his own words, "I am determined to get baptized!" How awesome is that! And he really wants to be able to baptize his wife, I'm not sure how that will work but they both love the church. Next we saw a guy who was a referral from his catholic uncle, which that alone was funny, but this guy just soaks everything in that we say.  He doesn't argue about anything we teach him, and even with the chaos at his house, he can feel the spirit and readily accepted the baptismal invite. Last we saw a member family that we reactivated and they fed us home made fried chicken, it was delicious!

Thursday we went out teaching with the YMs president, Bro. Neilson, who has only been back from his mission for about a year and is already married. He is awesome to teach with. Well we first saw a less active member who will probably be coming back to church this coming Sunday. Then we taught Dennie and his wife with him, and that went really well. .

Friday we had Zone Meeting, which was fabulous! Then we had an exchange of prisoners, oh wait wrong kind of exchange. We had and exchange where Elder Matealu came down to my area, and we were able to teach the referral guy, Steven, which was interesting, because there were a lot of people in a small amount of space, but he loved it, then we went to catch the bus home, and this guy came up to us and was telling us how him and his family had met with missionaries in the past and was interested in meting again, so he wrote down his number on a card and told us to call him as soon as we could, then we got on the bus and went home, but when we got home I pulled the card out of my pocket and the number was smudged, nooooo! Oh well.

Saturday we went and taught Dennie and when we got there he was just finishing setting up a guest LDS account, how awesome is that?! Then we went and saw Steven again and taught him the second lesson and it went much better, because there were not nearly as many people as last time. Then we went home had lunch and then President Brough call! My hart nearly stopped because I forgot it was transfer call Saturday, but it wasn't for me it was for Elder Morrow, so I still have my hundred percent streak of guessing what happens to each one of my companions so far, Elder Morrow got called as District Leader, so that makes me District Monkey! Mwa ha ha ha!

Sunday was great! It was the primary program and we had The Adams family there, and they loved it! Then we got asked last minute to teach gospel principles, we had the Adams, the Carbines (Mission office couple), the Burrus's, the branch president and one of his counselors, so no pressure. But it went amazingly well and the Adams loved it! Sister Adams gave the closing prayer and basically bore her testimony and said she was home! Afterwards everyone in class introduced themselves! It was a good day!

Love ya'll!  Have a great week!

Love
Elder Durrant
Great Kentucky Louisville Mission

E-mail 11/02/2015

Hey Family!

Thursday, we had our district meeting, and it will very inspiring. Instead of a planned meeting, we had an open discussion that ranged from gospel questions to how we can become better missionaries. Then afterwords we all went out and had lunch together. And yes I got pictures! Later we had a lesson with this guy we are sort of teaching, but he's fun to talk to, because one moment he's subtly trying to disprove us, then the next moment he's complementing us on how we follow Jesus Christ. He's a funny guy. Later we taught Dennie, who is planning on being baptized, November 21st, and we started teaching his wife too, and she is scheduled for December 5th, and they are both amazing!

Friday, we had lunch with an amazing older sister in the branch, she's always fun to talk with. Then in the afternoon we saw some less actives, then in the evening we had an appointment with a part member family that we have been trying to get in with for the past couple of months.  We tried really, REALLY, hard to get someone out with us but no one could come, so we went over and... They forgot! The daughter we were there to teach wasn't there, so we talked with her mom for a while at the door, and set up a return appointment.

Saturday we taught Dennie and his wife again, and they were exited to go to church. Then we tried to see a few more people, but when people started answering the door thinking we were trick or treaters, we decided it was time to go home. Then at 6 we were given time off, so all the Elders in the district went to one of the bigger church buildings and had a ping pong, and a corn hole tournament. That was a lot of fun!

Sunday, we had a great day, Dennie and his wife Mary came to church!!!! But we will be having to teach "keeping the Sabbath-day holy" soon, because someone mentioned going home teaching to "Sister Wendy's" or "Brother Burger King" and he liked that idea, so that will be fun to talk about. Then later we were asked to give the temple prep classes to a sister in the branch, so that will be interesting.

Today, we were going to go to the zoo with some other Elders, but they all pulled out at the last minute, so today will be a normal P-day.

Love Y'all!
Elder Durrant
Great Kentucky Louisville Mission

Look what I found!

My first KFC, in Kentucky. 

Corn hole

Us at the end of Halloween night. From left to right -
Elder Bennett, Elder Money, Elder Matealu, Elder Seymore,
Elder Durrant, Elder Morrow, Elder Waite, Elder Sharp,
Elder Millitt, and up front Is Elder Steadmen 

Us at lunch after district meeting.

E-mail 10/28/2015

Hi Family!

Not a whole lot has happened this past week so I'll cover the highlights.

Monday when we got home from emailing and shopping, the front panes of our 2 pane windows were all off. But don't worry they were just panting, so we were not getting robbed.

Friday, the other Elders planned a chess tournament in their area to get people together and involved, and there was going to be a lot of people there, but it got rained out.

Tuesday, was wet. All day long. It wasn't too bad in the morning when we did the furniture thing, but by the end of the day we were drenched.

This Wednesday, was amazing! We went to the Temple, as a whole zone and it was a lot of fun.  It was a smallest temple I've ever been in, but it was still beautiful. Then after we finished, we got to ask the temple president questions, and it was awesome! Then we got a zone picture in front of the temple, then we all went out to eat, there were a lot of missionaries there. Then sometime last week our washer broke, so we are now at our branch mission leaders house doing our laundry.

Love you all. Sorry for the short letter, but its been a slow week.

Love
Elder Durrant
Great Kentucky Louisville Mission

My zone. (Minus a few that took off)

E-mail 10/19/2015

HELLO EVERYONE!

Well this week we had a lot planed, but so many people kept cancelling on us, I am beginning to understand the second reason why they say in PMG, in chapter 8, "Do everything within your power to achieve your goals while respecting the agency of others." This must be a taste of parenthood.

Monday was a nice sunny day, then at 6 when we went back to work, we saw some storm clouds off in the distance.  We decided to play it safe and take our coats, which turned out to be a very good thing, right before we got to our first appointment, which was a half a mile or so from our house, the rain hit, and it hit hard.  We locked up our bikes and walk up to the door, we knocked and...nothing...yep, so we stood there underneath the canapé, until it lightened up a bit, we then biked home and got drenched.  Oh and the whole time there where flashes of lightning, and I'm on a steel frame bike, so ya, I was biking as fast as I could without crashing. When we got home, we had to reschedule some of our other appointments, because we couldn't get anyone out to drive us at the last minute. So we spent the rest of the evening putting paper work into our IPads.

Tuesday, we did our service for the day, then that night, we had coordinated with Bro. Roy, finally, he's been sick for the past couple of weeks, then we had our Bible study, we went over Geniuses chapters 12-17.

Wednesday, we had Zone Conference with the Louisville Zone, it was them and us in the Crestwood Zone. It was awesome! Well the first part, not many people liked it, the Church has installed little devices in all of the mission vehicles, basically it lets President Brough know when someone is not obeying the rules.  I like it because one - if/when I drive, it will help me be safer, and two - it will not be so scary ridding with some missionaries. Then the rest of the conference was great.

Thursday, we didn't get a whole lot done in the morning, but then in the evening we had a lesson with one of our investigators, and he is amazing!  He's name is Dennie Carpenter, and he loves meeting with us.  If he misses an appointment he calls us up to reschedule! Well he missed our Tuesday meeting, so he asked if we could meet again on Friday to make up for missing, of course we said "YES", Dennie is amazing!

Friday, we had Dennie at 2 so we where heading over there, about 1:20, because our last appointment fell through, and on our way over he calls us, and when I see that it's him calling, I'm thinking, "no, no, no, don't cancel on us!" but when I answered, he was asked if we were still good, because we forgot to call an hour ahead like we always do with him.  When we get there, he had been studying the pamphlet we had left with him the day before, and he was loving it! Well we then taught him The Word of Wisdom, and he really wants to do it so bad.  He later told us he even stopped drinking soft drinks, we told him they weren't against the W.o.W, but he felt like he needed to.  As we where about to leave, his wife got home, and so the four of us talked for a little while, and she wants to learn too, did I tell you how awesome Dennie is? 

Saturday we went all the way to E-town for Kristin's Baptism! It was awesome! I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, it was fun to see all the people that I know from there, and I will be sending PICTURES, I love pictures. Then Bro. Roy took Me, Elder Morrow, Elder Koenig, and Elder Crow, out to eat.  Then we went and saw someone that we all know, because he wasn't at the baptism.

Sunday was great, Dannie came to church, his wife almost did, but she had to go to the vet last minute for there dog. The Temple President was there and gave a talk, he was great.  So when we go see Dennie tomorrow, I can almost guarantee you that he is going to ask about the Temple, that will be fun. Then we went to the second counselor's home all the way in Crestwood, we had fun and dessert was awesome, I got a picture of mine I'll send it to you. Then we got dropped off at an appointment we have with someone else who's getting ready for baptism, the Adams, are a lot of fun to talk with because she is full of questions and they are always fun to answer. Well that was my week. I love you all!

Love y'all!
Elder Durrant
Great Kentucky Louisville Mission

Back row: Elder Butikofer, Elder Koenig, 

Elder Durrant (that's me!),

Bro Loesevitz, Chris Loesevitz, and Elder Crow,

Front row: Kristin!

Back row: Elder Morrow, Elder Crow, 

Elder Koenig, Elder Durrant, 

Elder Butikofer, Bro Loesevitz.

Front Row: Kristin, Sister Harper

Elder Morrow

This was really really good, and yet again, 

I had to quickly eat it.

Funny thing is, I was the only one 

properly dressed for the activity.

E-mail to Samuel 10/19/2015

YOU'RE AN UNCLE!!!!!!

Toryn Thomas Drake

October 18, 2015

3:59 AM

21 1/2 inches long

7 lbs 2 ozs

Hey... This is Elder Morrow, I am replying because this email may have made Elder Durrant pass out... Not sure what to do. Any advice?!?

Elder Durrant

Great Kentucky Louisville Mission

Throw some water on him.  Then you can tell him that his sister will be so excited to know that he did exactly what she was waiting for.  I was too tired last night, so we didn't watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, but we will soon.

E-mail 10/12/2015

Hi Family!
This week has been full of interesting events. Monday, well... We had taken Elder Morrow's bike to get it fixed, but the bike shop was closed, so on the way home we stopped by the library to email.  Elder Morrow didn't take his bike lock, but we thought it would be alright.  While we where emailing, we saw these kids looking at the bike, but before we got up they had grabbed the bike and we went after them, but they just barely got away, and we are still trying to find it, for now, Elder Morrow is borrowing another Elder's bike.

Tuesday, we did a LOT of service, and had the bible study. This week Elder Morrow and I will be teaching it, all about the Abrahamic covenant, that will be fun.

Thursday was amazing, we had district meeting, and it was about how we can't really prove if the Book of Mormon is true or not by facts, but we need to follow Moroni's promise exactly. Then after district meeting we had an exchange where Elder Seymore came here, and Elder Morrow went to his area, and it was an amazing learning experience. Oh and after district meeting, I shared some of my cookies with everyone.  They say Thank you Momma Durrant! And that includes President and Sister Brough!

Friday all four of us help a lady move some things out of her kitchen so she can remodel it and I was the only one who came properly attired, I need to get the picture from another Elder so I will send it next week. Then all four of us biked to their apartment to get Elder Morrows stuff, it was a funny site.

Saturday we got to see two of our investigators with baptismal dates that we hadn't seen the past week.  The first one in the morning we ended up being there for two hours helping him and his wife get over some things, and because they our full of good questions. Then the other one in the evening went really well, we showed him the Joseph Smith video, and several of his concerns came out.  I didn't think people still think we worship Joseph Smith, nether did he but he wasn't sure, but that goes to show that there are still confused people out there.

Sunday all four Elders and one of the youth gave talks, but I did find out there is truth to the saying that there is an invisible heat lamp right above the pulpit.  I was so excited to give the talk but right when I stood there it became very hard to think, and it got hot, this will need further investigation.

Well sneak peek into next week, this Saturday Me and Elder Morrow will be heading down to E-town for a baptism! I'm so excited!!! Well that's it for this week.

Love you all!
Elder Durrant
Great Kentucky Louisville Mission