Dec 29th

Hey Y'all!

This week has been good and bad. The weather has been crazy, our numbers were awful, and Christmas was amazing! To start it off, its been cold and warmish this week. On Christmas it was over 60! On Saturday we woke up to about 4 or 5 inches of snow on the ground and it was still coming down! so the weekend was pretty cold! All of our investigators were either sick or out of town so we didn't get to teach anyone this week which is sad. 

On Friday something really sad happened. We got a call Friday evening from Bishop Bynum. Rocky Drake, one of our investigators, passed away of a massive heart attack. They took him to the hospital and worked on him for an hour but no luck. He has been transferred to new missionaries on the other side. His funeral is tomorrow and we will be going. I was so sad to hear this but I know he is in a better place now. 

Christmas was fantastic though! After a solid workout in the morning we came back and showered and opened presents! Man I am spoiled! I don't think I have ever gotten so many presents in my life! Thank y'all so much for sending me packages and gifts! It truly was fantastic! But after that we went over to Bishops home to skype our families! That was the best part of my Christmas! It made my day! Then we spent the rest of the day at other members homes playing games and eating tons of food! Oh man we ate a lot! We had quite the day and slept very well that night! We have been so spoiled by members! We got tons of ties and t-shirts from them! We got OKC Thunder shirts! Go Thunder! (The only reason I know who they are is because I'm here in Oklahoma so don't laugh). But they are so generous here! Our fridge is full and our pantry is packed! (mostly with junk food) But that's OK (: But thanks to y'all I had an amazing first Christmas away from home! 

One thing that I've really been thinking about a lot this week is studying the scriptures. The scriptures are words, counsel, stories, experiences, commandments, etc. from our Heavenly Father and our Savior. When we pray to our Heavenly Father he often times uses the scriptures to answer our prayers. We have the wonderful blessing of having the Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price all at our finger tips. What a blessing! Many people have gone through so much trial and persecution to bring these books into our lives. These people would have not had such a hard time bringing about these books if they were not true. Satan knows that they are true. He didn't want us to have access to the truth but he could not stop the Lords plan from happening! So here we are! Read them! It does no good for us to let them collect dust on the shelf. That's not what they are intended for. I came out here and my perspective changed so much on the scriptures. I can't get enough of them!!! They are such a blessing in our lives and provide so much inspiration and revelation. So take advantage of it! 

Love y'all and Hope y'all have a fantastic week!

Elder Walker

Dec 22nd

Hey y'all!

This week has been so good! Its been cold and rainy so a lot like home! 

We have had the chance to teach one of our new investigators 3 times this week! Eddy is doing so well! Unfortunately he and his fiance are moving back to Utah in a few weeks but we'll teach him until they're gone. We had some other lessons with Pam, an eternal investigator haha. She is getting there but its gonna take a while! 

We got our Christmas plans all finalized this week! We are going to spend the morning with Bishop Bynum where we will skype our families and have breakfast. Then we will go to the Seagraves family for the rest of the day! We are gonna eat tons of food and play games and have a blast! I'm so excited! We cant go out and knock doors or anything so there's not much we can do those days. 

Anyhow, we visited lots of inactive members and families this week. We had a lot of really yummy dinners this week so that was good! 

We also had our Christmas Conference on Tuesday. We talked about working with members to do missionary work. There are 3 phases of missionary work. 1: missionaries doing all the work, 2: members helping missionaries, and 3: missionaries helping members. Yall are the ones who know people and us missionaries need people to teach! We really love working with members so help them as much as you can! Its every ones responsibility in the church to open their mouths and declare the truth! What a wonderful opportunity! 

Not much else happened this week. We put a cricket in the freezer and tried to freeze it to the point where it cant hardly move then tie a string around it. But we forgot about it and left it in there over night haha. Oops... we took it out the next morning and thawed it out to see if it was still alive but I think we froze it to death haha! We thought that was pretty funny! Anyhow I hope y'all have a Merry Christmas and eat lots of food!

Love Y'all!

Elder Walker

12-15-14

Hey Y'all! 

   This week has been crazy! We had nice weather up until this weekend. We had cold, foggy Oregon weather Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday. Sunday evening it started to rain. Hard. Like harder than Oregon sometimes! Then it started to hail. It only hails when there's a tornado. There were 2 tornado's that touched down in El Reno and Midwest City not too far from here. Luckily it didn't effect us but it was kinda freaky! And the worst part is that I didn't get to see either of the tornado's!! What the Heck! 

  Anyhow, this week has been amazing! We were so busy all week! We got 2 new investigators who are solid! So keep Eddy and Rocky in your prayers! Eddy is a 19 yr old kid who is a Welder for an oil rig out here. He is such a humble young man. He moved out here with his fiance ,Carly, who is a member and is only 18! They have really been strugglin these last few weeks because they don't know anyone and they feel so lonely. We took Bishop Bynum with us to visit them and had an amazing experience! We will be spendin part of Christmas with them at the Bynums home! We talked to Eddy about our church and how it can help him come closer to the Savior and to our Heavenly Father. He is so curious and wants to learn more! We gave them Priesthood Blessings and that was such a powerful experience!

  The power of the Priesthood is so amazing. It is literally the authority to act in God's name and call down the Powers of Heaven in behalf of an individual. What a blessing to have that same power that the Prophets of old like Moses and Abraham had. The same Priesthood Authority that Moses used to part the Red Sea. It truly has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith who received it from Peter, James and John. I have seen many miracles and wonderful blessings come from it. We have so many wonderful opportunities to exercise our Priesthood out here and I love it! For those of you who hold it, always be worthy to use it at any time because you never know when you will need to. And for those who do not hold it, It can still be such a significant part of your lives! Ask for Blessings if you need them. Don't be afraid. The Lord has put the Priesthood on the earth for us to use, so take full advantage of it! 

   Also Another thing that Is such a powerful tool and source of knowledge its the Book of Mormon. For those of you who have not read it, Read it! It is so powerful! And for those of you who are reading it, continue to do so! There's a passage that I love In 2 Nephi Chapter 29, verses 8 and 9. Pg. 110.  It talks about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible compliment each other. The testimony of 2 nations is a witness of God. The Book of Mormon is a testimony and Record of God and Jesus Christ's dealings with the people of Ancient America. Where the Bible is the record of God and Jesus Christ's dealings with the people in Jerusalem and that continent. God wouldn't only provide a savior to one group of people. He Loves all his children the same! What a blessing! Anyhow, The Book of Mormon has changed my life and will continue to do so. And I know it can do the same if you read and study it diligently! 

Love y'all and don't forget where all your blessings come from!

Elder Walker  

Typical lawn in Oklahoma


















This one has been painted green, I'm sure it's so much easier than mowing it all the time.

 His first trailer park

Wouldn't it be nice to see these prices again?

12-8-14

Howdy yall!

This week has been good but slow. It rained a lot this week and its been super cold too, but thanks to my Carhartt apparel I have been warm and dry :)

We dropped 5 investigators this week and only taught 1 lesson. But we did have an investigator at church and he loved it! Also another investigator came with us to the Bishops home to watch the First Presidency Devotional. Which was fantastic!! If you have not seen it I highly recommend it! 

On Saturday evening we had our ward Christmas party and it was great! Sister Young and I performed silent night in the musical program. She printed out a beautiful arrangement earlier in the week and I had to learn it on the piano in 2 days! It was so awesome! Ill send the video home so hopefully y'all can see it! 

Other than that there's not much to talk about. We did a lot of knockin doors and nothin came of it. Most of our appointments cancelled on us so that was disappointing but we are going to have a better week this week! 

We had exchanges with the district leader, Elder Buhler, on Friday. He came up here to Yukon and my companion went down to Mustang for a day. We had so much fun! We taught our only lesson this week to Pam then crashed early! It was a long day! But it went well. 

This week our main focus has been on the true meaning of Christmas. We have been sharing this message with everyone who would listen to us haha! But during this season we need to remember that God loves us so much that he gave us his only begotten Son! What a wonderful gift! Although the gifts and everything are fun, that's not what its about. Its about Jesus Christ and family. Because of Him we can be with our families forever! What a blessing!! Just remember where your focus should be this Christmas season! 

Love y'all!

Elder Walker

12-1-14

Hey Y'all!

This week has been pretty good. A little slow but still effective. 

It got real warm this week. Towards the end of the week it was up into the mid 70's. Saturday it hit 75 and it was fantastic! But its weird to think that its 75 degrees at the end of November. Hmmm... well Sunday was more like November! We woke up to 65 outside, and when we got out of church it was 40. 

These cold fronts blow in fast and hard! The wind chill out here is unreal. Riding your bike in the wind regardless of it being super cold is hard enough! On Wednesday there were 30 mph winds that were nearly impossible to ride in. We were in the lowest gear going super slow! 

Anyhow, to the spiritual side of things (: This week was different because of Thanksgiving. A lot of people used it as an excuse to not talk to us. We only were able to teach 2 investigators this week but they were both powerful lessons. 

The first was with a woman named Pam. She has been taught all the lessons we as missionaries can teach. We set a baptismal date for her for July 18th. Yes July! haha. She is super stubborn so we figured its gonna be a while! We talked to her about President Uchtdorf's Talk about gaining our own testimonies. It seemed to hit home to her that she needed to get to work so she can get an answer to her prayers! 

The next lesson was with the nonmember father of a part member home. Him and his wife were recently married about 10 months ago. She had 3 kids already, twin boys age 12 and a daughter who is 14. 6 months ago one of the boys hung himself because kids at school were teasing him so much. That hit their family like a ton of bricks and literally made their whole family nonfunctional. Last night we taught them, but specifically Him, about the Plan of Salvation. When we said that you can live with your family forever, even your son who is no longer with us, there were many tears of joy. The spirit was so strong and our Heavenly Fathers plan is so perfect. As long as we are doing everything in our power to follow the example of our Savior, we will return to live with our Father in Heaven again. And we can live with our families for eternity! Forever!! How amazing! What a wonderful blessing to have this knowledge. I know that as long as we are righteous the Lord will bless us beyond what we can receive! Be strong and diligent! Be steadfast and Immovable! 

Love y'all!

Elder Walker

Bishop Ketcher and his family. 

Made a thankful chain for Thanksgiving.

Can't move after dinner....

and, here's why

11-24-14

Hey ya’ll!

Another week is come and gone in Oklahoma. It went from snow last weekend to the 70's throughout the week to torrential rain this weekend. It’s pretty weird if you ask me!

This week was slow. We taught most of our investigators and they all committed to come to church but none of them did. We were disappointed but that’s missionary work for ya. This week will probably be just as slow if not slower because of thanksgiving!

Our awesome ward mission leader Brother Bynum is now Bishop Bynum! NOOOOOO!!!! He was such an awesome missionary! But he'll do fantastic as bishop. We are having thanksgiving with them and another Family the Stotts. We get 2 dinners :)

We had a ward family game night to try and get some less actives and investigators to but hardly anyone came... But something funny happened afterwards! We were getting ready to leave and there was this guy who was lying under his truck. He said he had been there for several days trying to fix it. His starter went out and he needed some help putting it back in. So everyone pointed to me and said he can do it! Great, thanks guys... anyhow, I got under there and got to work. He was telling me about how he was a diesel mechanic for Peterbuilt. I was like wait you’re a mechanic and you can’t put a starter in your own truck? Hmm, there’s something wrong here... So while he told me about his life experience of being a mechanic I fixed his truck in about 10 minutes. I put it in place, bolted it down and reconnected the wires :) He was super thankful though. He said I don’t know what I would have done without you! I was like yeah ya’ll need to find a new job or go back to school and learn how to fix stuff haha. I’m just a missionary dude. But moral of the story is don’t buy a Ford. They're a pain to fix :) so that was my fun experience for the week haha. 

I hope ya’ll have an awesome thanksgiving! Remember everything you have comes from the Lord! 

Love ya’ll!

Elder Walker

New Mission vehicles...... just kidding :)

New scripture case, the other one wouldn't fit in the back pack.

11-17-14

Hey yall!

Its freezin cold and snowy here right now! I woke up this morning and it was 17 degrees outside! We have still been on bikes but we'll survive. All thanks to several pairs of long johns and my good ol' Carhartt Jacket I've been stayin nice 'n toasty (: I think its supposed to warm up this week though. I sure hope so cuz this cold is gettin to me!

Anyhow the work here is fantastic! I love it! We got 3 new investigators this week and 2 committed to baptism! Freddy and Larissa and then Marty. 

Larissa was a media referral and her friend who was recently baptized told her about the church. She wanted to learn more so we went and talked to her. Turns out her husband Freddy is real curious too. They both said that they would be baptized in the first lesson! They are sincerely seeking for the truth. 

Then Marty is the husband of a member in our ward. Their family has been through some very, very hard times within the last few months so he is reachin our for help and support which is a perfect opportunity for us to help him. 

These people truly have been prepared by the Lord to hear the Gospel. We finally set a baptismal date with a more stubborn investigator (that being said in the nicest way possible haha) For July 18th 2015. Shes gonna take a while so it was a miracle that we could even set that date with her! 

We are gettin fed some of the most delicious fattening, deep fried, BBQ'd amazing food I have ever tasted, almost every night. Last night we had Chick-Fil-A or somethin like that... Fried Okra is real popular here and its alright as long as its fried. I can feel my arteries slowly cloggin up with every meal I eat but thats why we're on bikes (: 

The people here are so friendly and loving. Even if they dont know you. Freddy and Larissa offered to drive us home after our lesson with them because we were on bikes and it was near zero degree temps because of the wind. So they drove us home (in a very very nice cummins I might add:) And that was the second time ever talking to them! Then they told us they were feeding us next week regardless if we had other plans. They thought it wasn't right that we only get $135 a month for food haha. 

The work is great, The food is good and the Lord is so generous! I see his hand in everything we do. The way our plans work out, the people we meet and in the lives of the people we teach! He loves us so much and wants us all to return to him again. That is why it is so important that we accomplish everything we can according to his plan while we're here on the earth. Such as Baptism by Priesthood Authority and other sacred ordinances. And its our responsibility to help others prepare to meet God. (Alma 34:32) Keep it up and the Lord with bless you in more ways we can ever comprehend. 

Elder Walker

They had to get matching companionship shirts for service days of course.

11-10-14

Hey Yall,

This week was so much better than last week. We got 2 new investigators who are really interested in the gospel! We also taught a ton of lessons and we got a referral from someone in Georgia? I know that's weird but we visited with the lady and she was so curious and she's comin to church next week! We got fed so much this week its hard to keep it all off haha. Me and Elder Staheli made a goal this week to lose 5 pounds! We'll see how that goes... 

This week its supposed to snow on Thursday and Friday! Crazy! The weather here is so bipolar and it is so random. Today its in the 70s and tomorrow its supposed to be in the low 40s! Oh well. We'll see how ridin bikes in the snow goes haha.

But on a more serious note, there has been a big focus on faith in the mission. As it says in Alma 32:26-27, faith is not to have a perfect knowledge but just to believe. And if you can just exercise a particle of faith and have no more than a desire to believe then let this desire work in you until you do believe. But as part of that we must act. We must show that we have a desire to grow our faith. In verse 42 and 43 it says If we nourish and exercise it we will reap the rewards and enjoy the fruits of our faith. Such simple yet powerful words from Alma! 

I hope ya'll have had the chance to take missionary moments and open your mouths! But most importantly, know that the example of your actions speak louder than anything you can say. 

My time is fixin to run out so I hope all ya'll have a fantastic week and I'll talk to ya'll again next week!

Elder Walker

11-3-14
Hey everyone! 

The work has been going good here in Mustang and Yukon but this last week was a challenge. Every single appointment we had scheduled, cancelled on us. We taught no one and got into 2 doors. Even the less actives we are working with didnt really want to talk with us. But thats missionary work and the Savior knows exactly how I feel. This next week will be better and I hope we can find more investigators. November hit and so did the November weather! It was down in the 30's this weekend and windy too! Crazy to think it was in the 90's the week before! Elder Staheli is such an amazing companion and trainer! He is such a good example to me and the other missionaries. Our temple trip on wednesdaywas an amazing experience and our recent convert, Rodney, loved it!! Not much to report on this week other than we put a lot of miles on our bikes and got lots of exercise! But the members here feed us really well so thats a good thing! This week has truly been a patience building experience and I am greatful for the things I have learned from this. I am so thankful for all your prayers and they have helped so much. I can see the Lords blessings in my life everyday and I know that he will continue to bless us as we share the gospel with others!

Elder Walker 

Hey Yall!

Oklahoma is rubbin off on me big time! I love it here though. The people are so nice and receptive to the gospel. It has been so hot here all week! Its been in the 90's and Saturday it got up to 96! Whew! This week I've been losin weight because it's so hot outside. Also our area is approx. 120 square miles so we bike anywhere from 15 to 25 miles every day. A majority of it is farm land but there's still people that need the truth there too! The Ward here is amazing. They are so focused on missionary work. Bishop Ketcher is on fire and has several new people for us to teach. The work is truly hastening and I love being a part of it. President Walkenhorst told us about an apostle that came last year to speak to the whole mission. He said, "The south with soon explode with missionary work! The people here will flock to the True Church because they will not be able to stand their own preachers!" Wow!! So amazing! I could not believe it when he said this. I think that we are just beginning to see the start of this explosion. The members here are doing more work for the missionaries than we can handle! It's a dream ward for missionaries! It's keeping us busy and bringing many souls to the truth. A recent convert here is goin to the temple to do baptisms for the dead on Wednesday so me and Elder Staheli got permission from president to go with him!! Any excuse we can find to go to the temple! The work is so strong here and the members make all the difference! I love it! I love the people, I love the work and I love this gospel. I love that I now have the wonderful opportunity to share it with others! Its definitely not easy but it's worth it. I left my family for 2 year so the people of Oklahoma could be with theirs for eternity. How amazing it is to see the gospel work wonders in the lives of others. I hope y`all are taking every chance you get to share your beliefs with others. You never know who the Lord has been preparing to receive the gospel. Remember that the Lord loves all of us and wants us all to return to live with him again. Trust me! I know it can be hard but its so worth it!

With lots of love from Yukon Oklahoma!

Elder Walker   

Gated comminuty living

No, it's not a mission vehicle even thought he would love it. 

Nice truck!

I'm thinking this is some new form of transportation but I'm not sure

MTC buddies. Good memories and life long friends

Hello Everybody!

Oklahoma is amazing! I am serving in the Mustang 1st ward west area (120 square miles actually) Our apartment is in Yukon though. My address is 

501 Pointe Parkway Blvd. Apt 3206

Yukon OK 73099

It is so nice here. There are lots of really big trucks and everyone has a southern accent! Yes!! I am already starting to pick up some of it... dang haha oh well.

We are in a biking area so I'm putting my new bike to use! My companion is Elder Staheli (staylee) and he is amazing! He is from springville utah and we get a long very well.

The people here are so nice and caring. Most everyone down here is southern baptist and they love their bibles. Its different trying to teach people who know so much already! The only thing they need in their lives is the truth and they're good to go!

We have 3 investigators right now and we have found a few more potentials. These people here are really curious and receptive to the gospel and all have a desire to follow Christ. The food here is too good. I already had fried okra or however you spell it haha. Its alright and I'm not a huge fan of fried vegetables anyways. I probably have the nicest apartment known to man so I'm kinda spoiled. I have already seen several miracles here and come to know that the Lord does work in mysterious ways. This work is so important and I love being part of it.

Share the gospel with as many people as you can! I think about all the people I could have shared it with but I didn't and I wish I would have so don't be selfish! The salvation of their souls depends on it!

In stake conference this weekend, President Bean talked about missionary work and how it's the same as temple work. They are both so important but they go hand in hand with each other. You cannot be a great temple attender and not share the gospel and you cannot be a great missionary and not attend the temple. Then he said something very bold and powerful. You cannot expect to make it to the Celestial Kingdom and Live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ if you do not do your part to bring lost souls unto Christ. WOW!! Slap in the face I know!!! Anyhow just a thought for the week (: Share your beliefs with everybody!

Elder Walker

10-14-14

This morning about 5am we woke up to the phone ringing. With blurry eyes we answered to hear our Elder Walker saying hi. He sounded good, tired but good. He was at the Salt Lake City airport and only had about twenty minutes before the flight started boarding.
As Quickly as we could we asked about the devotional and how the past week had gone. He said that he and Elder Gonzalez had done well in the devotional, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall.
He also said that the one day while they were in class, they heard over the speaker asking Elder Walker and Elder Gonzalez to come to the front desk. They went down to the reception area and were asked to perform the number for incoming elders and sisters. Shane said it was a neat experience.
He said his boots Carhartt jacket came in handy because they had done some service outside and it was a bit cold.
That was about it, we all said goodbye and went on with our day wondering if we would hear from him later in the day.

About 5pm we got this.

Hey guys! I made it to Oklahoma safe and sound. The plane rides went well and President and Sister Walkenhorst met us at the airport and took us to the church, they are the nicest people. All the people here are so nice and loving! Talk to you next Monday!

Elder Walker

He looks tired but happy. 

10/‎9/‎2014

This week has flown by! We had all the new Elders come in yesterday and it's crazy to think that I was them a week ago! I have seen countless changes in myself and the other elders in my District. It literally is a spiritual meatgrinder here and its pretty tough. 6 or more hours of class everyday, service projects, teaching investigators and lots and lots of eating! 

Right now we are teaching Damitric who is so excited to learn more about the gospel. We invited him to be baptized in our first lesson and he accepted pretty readily. He is already praying and reading from the book of mormon and loves it! Our other Investigator is Ben Smith and he is much harder to teach! Its like teaching a brick wall haha. but we're making progress. 

Anyways I leave next Tuesday morning at 3:30am! We fly to Atlanta Georgia then to Oklahoma City. Should be interesting (: 

Elder Gonzalez (another Elder in my district) and I auditioned today for a musical number in the Sunday night devotional and we got it! Im playing the piano and he's singing! We are doing "I know that my Redeemer Lives." Super nervous but we'll do fine. 

I have an awesome companion and an awesome district. I'm so blessed to be here learning and teaching as a representative of Christ. I have come to learn that my purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them recieve the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. It's becoming a reality finally! 

Lots of Love from Provo

Elder Walker

Here is his first email from the MTC

Hey everbody!

   Life is great here at the MTC. I have an amazing companion Elder Morton who was just called as our district leader last night. I was assigned to be the senior companion for the rest of our time here so I'm pretty excited about that. My zone leaders are Elder Cole and Elder Guiterrez and they are powerhouse missionaries!

I have two amazing teachers Bro. Mills and Bro. Stanley. They are such great teachers and have so much love and compassion for us Elders and the gospel. They are examples to us of the Missionaries we all should strive to be.

We have the opportunity to teach our first investigator Damitric today and I'm nervous. It should be a good experience for me and Elder Morton!

The food is great and the people are so loving and welcoming here. I know that this is where I'm truly supposed to be. Take care

Elder Walker 

 Elder Shane Walker

 Saying Good Bye one last time

 Safe and sound at the MTC