Teach People not Lessons

The mission field is great, and the investigators are coming along fine. I'm still getting along with Elder McHan well. The bike is holding up, but we bike a lot and my butt is often sore. I actually didn't eat fried chicken this week. That's great about Ryan I actually never even heard of Roseville.  

We are currently teaching one family who wants to be baptized really, really, really badly. However they still needed to learn more about the restoration before we could baptize them. Telling them that we have to postpone their baptism was the hardest thing I had to do, we thought that they would get upset and stop investigating the church, but this is the Lord's work and he calmed them and we decided to set the Baptism date for the 17th of August. But we only did this after they had a talk with the Bishop and had the seeds of their testimony of prophets be planted ( hopefully permanently).

     

We also are teaching a newlywed family with husband inactive and wife is nonmember. They have no furniture in their apartment ( not even an actual bed) and today a random neighbor knocked on our door and said he was moving and had a spare bed and other things that I think they could use. We could have as many as 5 baptisms this month which is super rare to have that many in one month if everything goes well.

The ward is smaller than in Utah, and it's very fluid because the ward always has Marines and their families coming and going. I would hate to be the Bishop in this ward trying to make callings. Our Sundays are busy in the morning we actually have to wake up even earlier than usual ( ugh) but  we have no meetings in the afternoon, so that's usually when we do our studies and the evening is just normal proselyting. 

Other than the Military base there are not a lot of interesting places. Despite the fact we are so close to the ocean I have yet to actually see it. The military owns most of the coastline around here and unlike California, people don't tend live next to the beach anyways. I have yet to take that many pictures there has not been much worth taking pictures of. Don't misunderstand me I love Jacksonville its just not a tourist place, it's almost the exact opposite of it. I did hear about the alligator but I have no idea where it was at.

All the wards celebrate Pioneer Day with a multi-ward BBQ. I didn't go to it, we had some lessons and appointments during that time. Thanks for this week's message, it's told a lot because it so important. We often say "Teach People not Lessons". Thanks for the updates I'll talk next week.

Love

Thomas Lakey

And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also (D&C 84:88)

More emails from Elder Lakey he is doing well and would love to hear from more of you.

Letter to Dad

It's nice here in Jacksonville and me and Elder McHan get along well. Elder Mickelson is in the 2nd ward and I'm in the 3rd ward. We actually have to share a car between the two companionships, so I see him a lot. I have talked to him about our dads but neither of us know how you two are friends.  (Elder Mickelson's dad and Thomas' dad are fraternity brothers)

I spend my whole morning studying each day and then in the afternoon and evening we go out and teach. Camp Lejeune is in my ward and we go into it fairly often but just like Hill AFB we just have a military member drive us in. We have 5 baptismal dates right now but I'm not sure if it's to happen. We are teaching a family with a baptismal date who just yesterday found Anti-Mormon stuff and are struggling with their faith and 2 marines with a baptismal date who can only teach on Sundays and are being deployed in late August.  Humidity is bad but overrated. 

 I'm nothing with out the spirit that's rule #1 of missionaries I think. We always examine and read My Purpose as a  Missionary (from Preach My Gospel), and  no where in it does it say to teach or convert. Thanks for the prayers I have been praying for you guys too.

Love, Thomas

Letter to Mom

The weather is not cooler it's all the same throughout the state same with the humidity. Me and Elder McHan are getting along well. We usually eat dinner with someone but Lunch and Breakfast by ourselves, there has been a lot of fried chicken that been served to us. I'm in the Jacksonville 3rd ward and Elder McHan has been in this area for one more transfer than me. There has been a lot of baptisms before I got here but I think we might have some difficulties with getting current investigators baptized. That's awesome about Cheyna (mission call) and that is a little scary about Darien (earthquakes in New Zealand). Thanks for all the news it sounds like things are going well back home.

Love Thomas

Jacksonville, NC!

No emails this week due to P Day being on the same day the new missionaries were traveling to Raleigh from the MTC.  But we did get a few pictures sent to us.  Looks like he will be teaching the gospel to lots of Marines.  Camp Lejeune is right next door.




Arriving in Raleigh after a long day of travel.



Group shot of the new Elders.



President Bernhisel and Elder Lakey at the airport.





Elder McHan from Gooding, Idaho is his first companion. 
They have been assigned to the Jacksonville, NC area.



They shall go forth for a little season (D&C 42:5-6)

Here is some of the latest news we have received from Thomas.

I got the cookies they sent me, and I'm grateful Valerie is sending something too, it's a big deal when someone gets a package at the MTC. I am leaving early monday morning ( ugh) if I recall right I will leave SLC at about 7:30 in the morning I'll try to call if I can, but please forgive me if I don't , I'll have a 45 minute layover in Detroit and then fly to Raleigh. 

We are told that everyone is either a non-LDS actor a convert using his/her actually story, or and actual inactive member, and they won't tell us either way who we are teaching are. I'm glad everything about my bike is taken care of when you stress there is no spirit.

In a separate letter he talks about his first week in the MTC

The MTC is busy and intense because we only have 12 days to learn everything.  I feel bad because there not that much time to even take picture, I think I have taken a grand total of 2 pictures. The food is OK, but gets old because they always serve the same stuff. We did not get to welcome greenies that's for the foreign language missionaries today because they have alot more time at the MTC, but I did see the other Greenhaulgh twin when he came in, just by chance.  

My comp. Elder Wilkenson is going to Raleigh with me and that's normal for most companions to be heading to the same mission at the same time with the same language. Elder Lynch is going with most of the district to the Mesa mission.  It says there are 17 missionaries traveling with us but I'm not sure what that exactly means because there are only about 8 or so missionaries going to the Raleigh mission at the MTC. I think the group include missionaries that are going to other missions but will travel with us as part of the same group. For example, I layover in Detroit so I might be traveling with missionaries called to the Detroit or Lansing missions.

The temple is closed for remodeling for the next couple months so, no Provo temple for me but I did walk around the grounds of it.  Thanks on the baggage reminder I willl keep it in mind.  I will send home pictures once there's enough photos worth sending home, and thanks for the more money I have been getting conflicting reports on whether I can bring both my backpack and carry on onto the plane.  

Give Rascal some meat for me and don't let William scratch up the car too much, I want it back when I'm home. And thanks for checking my AP score it was a really easy test. 

Thanks for the scriptures we are told that if we forget ourselves and our concerns and not stress that not only we will have the spirit when we teach, but that we won't even have to worry about if the thoughts my head are from me or the spirit because the only thoughts in our heads are the spirits. And also that everything will work out ( D&C 31 ).

First MTC Email

Hey this is my first chance to email you guys back. My companion is Elder Wilkenson from Mesa, Arizona. All the elders and sisters in my district are either going to Raleigh, NC or going to Mesa, Az. Me and my companion are getting along very well he was named district leader but yet I'm been called the senior companion because my last name is higher in the alphabet than his which is a little weird. I also met Elder Lynch he used to live in West Point, Ut. And while we never knew each other we had alot of the same friends I had in Junior High and High school but he moved after 6th grade so we never actually met till now,  we even had a crush on the same girl but at different times!

 It's very busy in the MTC and it seems crazy that I only been here 2 days it feels a lot longer than that, I'm glad I have P-day today. Yesterday we had a fourth of July meeting and watched 17 miracles and then we went outside and watched the stadium of Fire. We weren't able to see much because giant trees were in our way but it was still nice. I also got to see Elder Hill and Elder Boyle I'm kinda of jealous because those two were put in the same district. On the day you guys dropped me off I saw alot of people I knew from back home and every single one of them asked where Elder Hill is which I found funny.

I also have a basketball player from Davis High who has some basketball scholarships and a BYU Track and Field Thrower in my district. The average height in the district among Elders  is about 6'1 I have been feeling rather short. There are three sisters in my district because one of them did not show up for some strange reason.

 Next week on Monday we will start teaching people some of the people we will teach are either actors, real investigators or very inactive people which means me and my companion must always try our best and always have the spirit to be with us.

Overall I have been doing good, I'm taking care of myself and not regretting my decision to come here

Love, Elder Lakey

And so it begins

Dear Elder Lakey
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission. You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 3, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language.

That was four short months ago.  Today it began in earnest.  Elder Lakey will be in the MTC until July 15th.  During this time his address will be:

Elder Thomas Durrant Lakey
JUL15 NC-RAL
2011 N 900 E Unit 297
Provo, UT 84602

After July 16th you can send letters to him at the North Carolina Raleigh Mission:

Elder Thomas Durrant Lakey
North Carolina Raleigh Mission
6508 Falls of Neuse Ste 100
Raleigh, NC 27615-6845
United States

 

You can also email him at thomas.lakey@myldsmail.net.