8-22-16

Hey yall! 

   Its been a wild week! Holy smokes where to start... We started out the week with lots of service. We didnt even put on our Pros clothes until wednesday! We were workin hard doin everything from mowin lawns, choppin down trees, wrestlin sheep, weldin fence and it keeps goin! But we were given a wonderful chance to help a potential Investigator weld up the front gate of his ranch so we did! It was awesome! We developed a great relationship with him even in that short time! His name is Joe Ledbedder and hes a true Okie haha. But he's awesome! 

   Wednesday we had quite the little adventure. We were bikin down Highway 77 to find a little subdivision and we ended up not finding it. So we started bikin back up. Well Elder Whitten was in front of me and saw a little pile of sand. He thought that it would be a good idea to jump his bike on it haha. Well he did and he beefed it hard. Really hard! I was behind a ways so by the time I got up to him he was propped up on his hands sittin down. His face was all red and he was tryin to breath but he couldnt! He got the wind knocked out of him pretty bad. So I was yellin at him like "Elder! are you ok!?!" Well I got up to him finally and I watched his eyes roll back into his head and he proceeded to pass out. Boom. I just killed my companion. That's what I thought! I started freakin out. I was diggin through his pockets tryin to find the phone and call 911. I was yellin at him and shakin him and sayin, "Wake up! Wake up Elder!" I was seconds from callin 911 and he opened his eyes. I asked him if he was alright and he looked at me with a really dazed look and said, "yeah man Im great!" Whatever! About then a car pulled up and I told him to stay there while I talked to this lady (Who turned out to be a nurse) and he ended up gettin up and seemed to be fine. It was the weirdest thing but I guess he's ok haha. Strange I know! That asphalt aint got nothin on Whitten! Haha. Crazy guy! 

   The rest of the week we spent some good time trackin down less active familes. Lots of ours live way out in the boonies so its kinda hard to see em all. We met a few that were super promising and very welcoming to us. But no one hardly ever sees them because they live so far out! Sad! 

   But I also found out this week that Im gettin transferred on wednesday! Im leavin the land of Pauls Valley to go to Wichita Falls Texas! Not only am I getting Transferred but I am also opening a new area and finishing the training a new missionary! Its been so long since I've trained and I've never opened a new are before. I guess we'll have to see how it goes! Its gonna be a wild last 6 weeks of my mission. I cant believe how fast it all has gone. And now I have 1 transfer left. Dang. Im sure am gonna do my darndest to work the shoes right off my feet. But its a good way for me to finish strong and go out with my boots on! I have loved serving here in Pauls Valley and I will miss it greatly! I wish that yall could meet these people out here. They are wonderful! Love yall! 

Elder Walker 

8-15-16

Hey Yall! 

   This week has been a really good one for us. Even though things have been fallin through, we have been workin hard and Im so tired! The weather is starting to cool down and it is so nice! Its gone from the 100's to the 70's and 80's. Its crazy that it can change so fast! But we have had some fun this last week! 

   I want to thank yall for the birthday wishes! It was a great birthday for sure! The Bishop Family threw me a little suprise party with the help of my wonderful parents! It was amazing! Thank yall for the notes too! I also got a pair of new boots too! It was a good day and Im glad that I got to spend it with wonderful people who we love! Thank yall for your wonderful love and support as well! It makes missionary work so much easier when you have friends and family who love and support you. Yall Rock! I hope that everything is well with yall and that you dont forget where your blessings come from! Love yall!

Elder Walker

A gorgeous sunset

Carla Stokes Ranch 

and my new boots!   

8-8-16

Hey yall! 

   I wanna apologize for not writin the last few weeks! Our mission president has limited us to 2 hours for email so I have had tons of emails to respond to! Last week we had even less time to email so when I opened my email account to find 48 messages from different people I felt bad because I knew that I could respond to all of them! So sorry for that but thank you for your emails!

   But this week we had some awesome times! We had our Specialized Training Meeting/Zone Pday on Monday, A Leadership Training Meeting on Tuesday, our Zone Temple Trip on Thursday and a District Meeting on Friday and Exchanges with Both the AP's and the Elders in Ada too! Holy Smokes! Its been wild! And in there we had a little bit of time to work (: But we still killed it! 

   So I wanted to share an experience with you that I had this week while I was on exchanges in Ada. We went to a Drug rehab center because they have some Investigators there. Their names are Andrew, Mike and Ricky. We walked in and everyone there started talking to us about God and asking questions and stuff. We pushed our way through the crowd and had to find a spot where we could sit down and have a discussion. We were sitting there with 3 criminals. Very rough individuals. They were all covered in tattoos and scars and honestly looked pretty scary. But I had never come across anyone on my mission that was so humble. These 3 men were so hungry for something more. Something that would change their lives and give them hope. Something that could allow them to feel forgiveness. In Enos 1:4 is starts out by saying "And my soul hungered..." These mens souls were so hungry. They ate up every bit of what we taught! They had amazing questions and wanted to learn more! When we invited them to be baptized they were so fast to say yes! It was amazing to see how these men were prepared to receive the gospel. To see someone who was so hardened by drugs, alcohol, prison, and who knows what else, what really humbling. There was a light in their eyes like their spirit was trying to come out and say yes! This is what I need! That was super cool. Too bad there isnt a rehab center here in Pauls Valley! Anyhow, that was the highlight of the week!  

   We also caught a wild tarantula on the road on friday night! So we held him and named him John. Hes pretty friendly! Anyhow, its been a great week and there are lots more to follow! 

   To all those whom I didnt respond Im sorry! I'll getcha next week! Love yall and have a great week!

Elder Walker

Elder Van Halder goes home this week! ): I made the departure list! and The Pauls Valley Zone! 

July 18th

Hey Y’all!

   This week has been a great one! On Wednesday I said good bye to Elder Riffenburg and Welcomed Elder Whitten to Pauls Valley! He is from Blackfoot Idaho and comes from a farm! He’s my second farm boy companion from Idaho and I love it! He's been out about a year and came here from Vernon Texas. I am so excited to work with him! He is a new Zone Leader which is fun. We get to learn together! 

   We've been busy and hard at work this week. We have lots of People that we visit and teach! Its been fun to see all the progression and miracles here! We had a crazy experience just last night!

    So last night we were walking. We are low on miles and figured we could walk for an evening. Since my bike is out of commission) As we were walking we saw this man sitting on his porch smoking. We walked up to him and started talking to him. We gave him a "Jesus Card" (that’s what we call them) and asked about his beliefs. He said that he was Baptist and loved God and Jesus. We were starting to get into a really good conversation and then his neighbor pulled in the driveway and got out of her car and stormed over to us and started firing off questions that were very provocative and rude. Completely interrupted our discussion we were having. She was railing joseph smith and the Book of Mormon and Thomas Monson and I started getting really mad. How dare someone start talking about my prophet like that! Then she went off and said that God doesn’t work through prophets anymore and that it’s a bunch of bull **** blah blah blah. That we were liars and false prophets and all this other stuff. I was then extremely mad. Then a quote popped into my mind by elder Holland that he shared in a mission president seminar. He said, " Don’t bash, don’t bash, don’t bash, but when you bash, bash to win!!" I hate bashing. If there is anything about Oklahoma that I hate, its the bashers. But I asked her a question. I said, you believe in the bible. There are many prophets in the bible. If God is the same yesterday today and forever, why would things be any different now? God Doesn’t change! She was real quiet for the first time since she came over and said, "I can’t answer that question." BOOM Got em!! From there, I started teaching and testifying of the Prophet Joseph smith and the Book of Mormon. I don’t even remember half the stuff I said. I know that it was the spirit talking. Not me. I honestly felt like I was gonna grow wings and fly away. It was an interesting experience. But by the time that she left, she had her heart softened a ton. It was amazing to witness firsthand how the spirit works on people. It never ceases to amaze me! Anyhow, crazy experience of the week. 

   Moral of the story is, testimony never fails! I love the chance that I have to bear my testimony and have that even be an expectation! 

   I just found out that my bike is finished being fixed! I will get it back finally after about 2 months of not having it! And we can bike now! The Lord is good to us and the work is going forward here. Love y’all and have a wonderful week! 

Elder Walker

Cadillac Monster Truck!

Elder Whitten