6 October 2016

Today was a very happy day for the Walker household. At 1:07pm Elder Walkers plane landed in Eugene and he made his way along with the other passengers to the main terminal where the family and few friends were waiting, some patiently and others not so patiently.

Of course mom got the first hug, she has been talking about this moment for almost two years now. Tears were welling up in her eyes as he walked toward her, and as you can imagine, she couldn’t wait anymore and rushed in for the first hug. By the time dad moved in for hug number two Elder Walker’s face was a light shade of purple, once they were pulled apart dad got his hug. A few handshakes and quick hugs later, not to mention about a thousand pictures we were on the way to the stake center for the final testimony and the official release with President Ennis.

It was so nice to hear the testimony and words of wisdom Elder Walker has learned and gained over the past two years. There were several references to hunting and fishing analogies on both sides of the table, several commitments made, invitations extended and received and it was done. Our once Elder Walker is now Shane again, when he was asked to remove his name tags to signify the release he asked “that’s all there is?” to which the reply came “yes, that’s all there is.” He hesitantly removed the name badge on his suit coat, then the one on his shirt pocket, looked at them both for a few seconds before putting them both in his coat pocket. And it was done, no longer a missionary on the outside but forever changed by being a missionary on the inside.

Welcome home Shane

October 3rd

Hey Yall! 

   It has been an amazing week full of miracles and an abundance of blessings! We pounded the pavement and were able to find 4 new people to teach! Our teaching pool has gone from 2 to 12 this transfer and we have some really genuine and sincere investigators! It has been amazing to see the Lord's hand in this work as we have worked hard and trusted him. Opening a new area is not an easy thing to do but with the Lord we can do anything! I have truly felt and seen that time and time again here and throughout my mission. There are times when you feel like you cant take another step or you cant knock another door. It is during those times that we are being tested. The Good Lord truly blesses us during those times! Whether its as a missionary or during everyday normal life. As we rely on Him, He really helps us so much! 

   As I have served here in Wichita Falls, and throughout my mission, I have grown so much! I have seen the Atonement of our Savior help others so much and I have seen and experienced it changing me too. I can testify of the power and ability that the Atonement gives us. It has more power to help us than we can comprehend! Because of our Saviors love for us, we can repent! We can change! We can become truly converted and true disciples of Christ. What a blessing!

   Our Heavenly Father has given us the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it will keep us safe and keep us on the path that leads back to him. Through His son Jesus Christ, we are able to make it home! We are able to live in a way that is pleasing to our Father in Heaven and bless the lives of those around us. I have seen time and time again, those who have the gospel as an important part of their lives, and those who dont. Those who do have the gospel are so much more happy! They are confident and know that they are living the life that God expects them to. Although we arent perfect, we can have faith that our Heavenly Father will exercise His Mercy on us as we do our best to improve and live a righteous life. It is not easy! In fact it is often times very difficult. This Gospel is not a gospel of convenience! It is hard to be obedient sometimes. It is hard to make the right choice sometimes. But when we do we come one step closer to our Father in Heaven!

   There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that I love! 

Alma 5:33

 33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.

The Invitation is extended to ALL men to repent. And our Savior will be there to receive us. Every single time!

   I know that I have not been a perfect missionary, yet I have no regrets. Just lots of learning experiences (: I have had so many chances and opportunities to grow. To be shaped and molded into the person the God needs me to be. And this is only the beginning! I am thankful for these changes that I have experienced and seen in myself. 

   I am also so thankful for the wonderful leaders that we have to guide us and direct us! As we have just heard from them this last weekend! It is so comforting to know that we are not alone and that God has it all under control (: 

   I am extremely thankful for the mission leaders that I have had as well. I have had the privilege to serve under 2 amazing mission presidents! President Walkenhorst and President Mansell! They have both taught me so much and have been outstanding examples to me in showing me the kind of person I am to become and the way that I should treat and work with others! Also all of the other missionaries that I have served around as well. They have taught me so many wonderful things! I love them all and have been blessed to serve with them in this wonderful work. 

   I know with everything that I've got, that this Gospel is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that it is true! Our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy! So that is why he has given it to us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lords Kingdom on the earth today! I know that Joseph Smith was and is the Prophet of the Restoration. He was instrumental  in restoring the Gospel in its fullness to the earth once again! The Book of Mormon is the word of God and provides so much essential doctrine and principles that we must live. I know that it is true. I have prayed about it and received a witness from our Father in Heaven by the Power of the Holy Ghost! And I know that anyone who desires that witness can and will receive it! 

   As I have reflected on my mission experience, I realize how much I have come to know personally my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I have grown to love the saints of Oklahoma and Texas so much! They are faithful and righteous and do so much to strengthen and build the Lords Kingdom!

   As I leave them to return to my home, I pray that I will have helped them and served them in every way that I could. I pray that I have left my mark as President Mansell has so lovingly encouraged. I love them and I love all of you! My mission as a member of the Lord's kingdom is not over. Its just time for another transfer (: There is much work left to do! I pray that the Lord be with each of you always, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Shane Walker

Oklahoma Oklahoma City Mission 

In a few days this email account will no longer be open but I would still love to hear from each of you!  My personal Email address is : 303094@gmail.com Please keep in touch! Love yall! Hey Yall!

   It has been an amazing week full of miracles and an abundance of blessings! We pounded the pavement and were able to find 4 new people to teach! Our teaching pool has gone from 2 to 12 this transfer and we have some really genuine and sincere investigators! It has been amazing to see the Lord's hand in this work as we have worked hard and trusted him. Opening a new area is not an easy thing to do but with the Lord we can do anything! I have truly felt and seen that time and time again here and throughout my mission. There are times when you feel like you cant take another step or you cant knock another door. It is during those times that we are being tested. The Good Lord truly blesses us during those times! Whether its as a missionary or during everyday normal life. As we rely on Him, He really helps us so much! 

   As I have served here in Wichita Falls, and throughout my mission, I have grown so much! I have seen the Atonement of our Savior help others so much and I have seen and experienced it changing me too. I can testify of the power and ability that the Atonement gives us. It has more power to help us than we can comprehend! Because of our Saviors love for us, we can repent! We can change! We can become truly converted and true disciples of Christ. What a blessing!

   Our Heavenly Father has given us the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it will keep us safe and keep us on the path that leads back to him. Through His son Jesus Christ, we are able to make it home! We are able to live in a way that is pleasing to our Father in Heaven and bless the lives of those around us. I have seen time and time again, those who have the gospel as an important part of their lives, and those who dont. Those who do have the gospel are so much more happy! They are confident and know that they are living the life that God expects them to. Although we arent perfect, we can have faith that our Heavenly Father will exercise His Mercy on us as we do our best to improve and live a righteous life. It is not easy! In fact it is often times very difficult. This Gospel is not a gospel of convenience! It is hard to be obedient sometimes. It is hard to make the right choice sometimes. But when we do we come one step closer to our Father in Heaven!

   There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that I love! 

Alma 5:33

 33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.

The Invitation is extended to ALL men to repent. And our Savior will be there to receive us. Every single time!

   I know that I have not been a perfect missionary, yet I have no regrets. Just lots of learning experiences (: I have had so many chances and opportunities to grow. To be shaped and molded into the person the God needs me to be. And this is only the beginning! I am thankful for these changes that I have experienced and seen in myself. 

   I am also so thankful for the wonderful leaders that we have to guide us and direct us! As we have just heard from them this last weekend! It is so comforting to know that we are not alone and that God has it all under control (: 

   I am extremely thankful for the mission leaders that I have had as well. I have had the privilege to serve under 2 amazing mission presidents! President Walkenhorst and President Mansell! They have both taught me so much and have been outstanding examples to me in showing me the kind of person I am to become and the way that I should treat and work with others! Also all of the other missionaries that I have served around as well. They have taught me so many wonderful things! I love them all and have been blessed to serve with them in this wonderful work. 

   I know with everything that I've got, that this Gospel is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that it is true! Our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy! So that is why he has given it to us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lords Kingdom on the earth today! I know that Joseph Smith was and is the Prophet of the Restoration. He was instrumental  in restoring the Gospel in its fullness to the earth once again! The Book of Mormon is the word of God and provides so much essential doctrine and principles that we must live. I know that it is true. I have prayed about it and received a witness from our Father in Heaven by the Power of the Holy Ghost! And I know that anyone who desires that witness can and will receive it! 

   As I have reflected on my mission experience, I realize how much I have come to know personally my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I have grown to love the saints of Oklahoma and Texas so much! They are faithful and righteous and do so much to strengthen and build the Lords Kingdom!

   As I leave them to return to my home, I pray that I will have helped them and served them in every way that I could. I pray that I have left my mark as President Mansell has so lovingly encouraged. I love them and I love all of you! My mission as a member of the Lord's kingdom is not over. Its just time for another transfer (: There is much work left to do! I pray that the Lord be with each of you always, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Shane Walker

Oklahoma Oklahoma City Mission 

In a few days this email account will no longer be open but I would still love to hear from each of you!  My personal Email address is : 303094@gmail.com Please keep in touch! Love yall! 

General Conference Breakfast at the Church! 

Last night with the Bike!

Greenie Graduation!

Sept 19

Hey Yall!

    This week has flown by so fast! It’s been hot and humid and all sorts of sweaty. We had our zone conference on Tuesday in Lawton. That was so good! President Mansell taught us about change and how we can allow ourselves to change. Then he also taught us about personalities and how to adapt our teaching to different personality types. I think that it was very interesting and not really a common thing to talk about but also very helpful!

   The rest of the week was really good though. Lots of miracles and lots of work to be done! We are building up our teaching pool more and more every day. It’s awesome to see how the Lord directs us in all that we do! We also get lots of referrals from members and the church headquarters. That makes it nice and easy for us too! It’s amazing to see how these people are so prepared and willing to accept the gospel!

   We got the cops called on us Wednesday. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.

   Then on Saturday we were invited to go to the Shepard Air Force Base Air Show! We have a member of the ward here that is a pilot and was flying in it! Also the U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds were flying in it too! For all yall who don’t know who the Thunderbirds are, they are a United States Air Force Team of some of the best pilots in the country. They fly the F16 fighter jet and do all sorts of crazy stuff! Really amazing maneuvers and tricks. Some things that are really scary too haha. But that was super awesome to see. Those jets are so loud it’s not even funny! It was super cool to see that and be there as a part of it! There were plenty of people to talk to as well! It was so cool! 

   Then we got to go to the sister’s baptism that night! They have been working with a guy named Erick and he was baptized after a year and a half of meeting with the missionaries! That was a really neat experience for sure! All is well here and the work is hastening! We are super busy and there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done. Sorry if these emails are lame but I can just tell you in person in a few weeks (: Love yall!

Elder Walker

September 12th

Hey yall!

   I dont have too much time to write today but I will do my best to fill yall in! This week has been amazing! So many miracles! Its amazing to see how the Lord blesses us when we are obedient. It seems as though almost every person we talked to this week was interested and wanted us to come back! We have had so many return appointments and people asking us to come over and teach them more about our Savior Jesus Christ. 

   I dont know what it is about Texas but its pretty awesome! Even though the people here are super prideful about bein in Texas is all good (: They are humble when it comes to learning the Gospel. Texas pride is a real thing! 

   God is good and we are blessed! Elder Larsen is a stud and we are killin it! Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I hope that yall never become content and that you are always growing. Once we become content, thats when Satan makes the attack on us. If you arent growing, you are digressing. There is never any comfort in the growth zone so keep on growing! I love yall and hope that yall have a wonderful week! 

Elder Shane Walker

September 6th

Hey yall! 

   This week has been a wild one! Its been hot, humid, and fun! We have been so blessed this last week. Opening a new area is unlike anything I've ever done before. Its super hard because neither of us know where we are goin at all. We pretty much have to start from scratch! But its good because we pay more attention now! 

   My comp Elder Larsen is a stud so that helps too! He is a hard worker and I'm pretty sure that he came pre-trained. I'm not doin much trainin at all because he already knows and does it all! But anyhow, I don't think that I have ever seen this many miracles happening everyday. I have seen so many miracles on my mission but never this frequently! It is amazing! Its so great to be a part of something like this. 

   We have been focusing a lot lately on prayer and the preparation and work that goes into it! So many times we take prayer for granted. We have the chance to communicate with God! Our Father in Heaven. We cannot take this sacred privilage for granted! Its such a blessing to be able to talk to Him in that way. It states in the Bible Dictionary about prayer:

"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."

   We cannot forget this relationship! It is so important that we put in the effort so that our prayer is not wasted. Heavenly Father wants to help and bless us in every way that he can.
Anyhow, just a thought yall. All is well here and we are so blessed! See yall in a month!

Love yall!

Elder Walker 

PS we got our new address! Its:

504 Kemp Blvd. #247

Wichita Falls, TX 76301

August 29th

Howdy yall!

   Well here I am in Wichita Falls Texas! I never thought that I would serve here! Its been an amazing week full of miracles, craziness, gettin really lost, and fun times! 

   My new companion is Porter Larsen from Linden Utah and he has been out for about 2 months. He is a diabetic so that's a new experience for me. Yall know that I don't do needles so maybe the Lord is tryin to teach my somethin! But he is a cool guy. Its been a bit of an adjustment because I haven't trained for a year and I'm used to havin a Zone Leader companion that knows pretty well what hes doin. I am finishing Elder Larsen's training so I have to remind myself that he is still green around the gills. But he is learning! He is so much further ahead of where I was at towards the beginning of my mission! Its a blessing to be his companion. 

   At transfers on Wednesday I got to see a lot of missionaries that I know! All the ones that I came out with were there! So we got a picture of that! Then also I got to see Sister Haley Bash who is a good friend that I knew before the mission! That was so cool! And of Course a picture with President Mansell (: Fun stuff!  

   But were thrown right into the middle of all this craziness. There are now 3 companionships in this ward and there was 2 before. There is so much work to do around here! Its amazing! The 2nd night we were here (Thursday) we had a referral that we went to go see. She had requested a large print bible. The Other elders dropped us off and we said that we would get home from there. We gave her the Bible and a Book of Mormon and she said that she would love for us to come back next week! So that was super awesome! Then we talked to a lady right outside of her apartment building who used to investigate the church a few years ago. She also said that we could come back next week! Super awesome!! Then we got super lost tryin to go home. So we ended up having to call some other missionaries to come rescue us. It was pretty funny! We even had to hop over a train to get to where they were gonna pick us up! It was a fun night! But things are great here. The other missionaries that we are serving with are awesome. Elder Anderson and Elder Loos, and Sister Woolner and Sister Medeiras. They are solid! We are blessed! 

   On Friday we volunteered at the annual Hotter N' Hell Hundred bike race that they have here. We helped with the registration! It was a blast! And we even met a few members that came from other parts of the country! We even had our Zone Leaders ( I love not being a zone leader by the way! ) ride in the race in full pros! They were also interviewed live after the race was over! Such a cool experience! We got to talk to so many people there! We even got a free tshirt for volunteering (: Its hot and humid down here and life couldn't be better! I have every bit of trust and faith that President Mansell knows where the Lord needs his missionaries to be serving. We are so blessed and happy to be here! I pray that yall have a wonderful week and know that I love you and appreciate your love and support so much! I couldn't do it without yall! Love yall and dont forget where your blessings come from! 

Elder Walker Texas Ranger (:

My New temporary Address is:

3001 Kemp Blvd. #1313

Wichita Falls, TX 76308

Elder Walker

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