Elder May's Homecoming Talk - 09/30/18

Below is the link to Elder May's Homecoming Talk in case you missed it or want to hear it again... Enjoy!!

Well Done Elder May

Below is a link to view Elder May's "Best Two Years" video we showed at his homecoming... Enjoy!!

https://youtu.be/HhC8POL0GJQ 

Elder May - August (and final) Email

This report-out is Elder Bryson May’s last report as a full-time missionary.  What an incredible journey!  Brian and I had front row seats to all the experiences from beginning to end.  We are both in awe at the spirit and capacity to love, as the Savior loved, within Elder May.  Are there things he missed out on being on a proselyting mission – Sure.  But in the end, his mission was perfectly perfect for him.  It reaffirms my testimony that our Heavenly Father knows us – individually and perfectly.

We could not be more proud of Elder May.  And we are blessed to be his parents. We love him more than anything and couldn’t be more proud of him!  Enjoy!!

Hi everyone! This was a very busy final month and I’m excited to tell you all about it! We had our YCSM Sports Spectacular, Elder Lott and I went to a YCSM Mission Orientation, there was a party at Elder Clifford’s house that Dayton and I got to go to, there was a Zone Social for Mesa, my very last Leadership Council, and a separate zone social for Gilbert. I got to enjoy a dinner with the mission leadership with Dayton and a bunch of other missionaries for our departing dinner, Save the Family threw me a surprise party, there was my very last mission council, I was able to give Dayton his gift, and finally, Elder Lott threw me a surprise party. 

On Saturday, August 4, we had our monthly mission social activity. The activity was our YCSM Summer Sports Spectacular! We had a bunch of different games like Corn Hole and some version of soccer. Elder Lott and I got asked to come up with a game so we decided to create Angry Birds. We found exercise bands for the slingshot, we found some spike balls to be the birds, and then we took tables and cardboard boxes to be the pigs. As AP, it was my first and only time conducting the entire event which was pretty scary. If I moved an inch to the left or the right while holding the microphone, it would go in front of the speakers and cause an awful screeching sound. We had at least over 20 missionaries that gave their farewell testimonies that day, including Dayton and I. We even Elder Bowen sing “I’m Still Standing” for his testimony. I think out of the entire event, Dayton was the only one that cleared out an entire table full of boxes with one ball. I held the ball and started going back more and more. I would move around and try to get the angle perfect and every time I would move, I would ask Dayton if this is where he wanted it. Once he said yes, I let go of the ball and he knocked over every single box of about 6-8 boxes and completely cleared the table. It was so awesome to see that happen! I also know that when we took our mission picture, we took one good normal smiling picture and then after that, I asked if we could do a certain funny picture of our group. I heard at the storehouse that there were missionaries that were learning how to “dab” for when the pictures got taken so I asked to see if we could do a missionary group dab picture. Needless to say, the results were exactly what I had envisioned and I’m so grateful for all of our missionaries. 

On Tuesday, August 7, Elder Lott and I as the Assistants to the President, were asked if we could go to the YCSM Missionary Orientation that evening. We both were so excited and immediately tried to figure out how we were going to get there. When we were informed about it, we were having my last district meeting while I was district leader at the Bradshaw’s home. Sadly, no one came to participate in my district but fortunately, it gave us more time to prepare for this orientation. 

Because I didn’t know about the orientation until just a little bit before it started, Elder Lott and I were informed that the meeting was final dress. Because Elder Lott was already at the ROC all day, he was still dressed up. Because I was at Save the Family before the district meeting, I was not dressed up. Luckily, Parker, the Bradshaw’s oldest son, told me that it would be okay if I borrowed one of his white shirts and a tie. Parker is just so kind and selfless and hilarious. I put on one of his white shirts and because I was a little big bigger than he was, the long-sleeved shirt only covered up to about half of my arm, but it worked! Elder Lott and I then went to that meeting and just had the best time meeting new missionaries. We got to meet Elder Sapon, Elder Yeaman, Sister Rowan, Elder Cluff, as well as some others as well as their parents and their stories. I got to learn that Elder Yeaman was going to start taking Dayton to the temple, even after his mission. It was so fun to meet everyone, to hear testimonies and answer questions, to hear my own testimony and welcome all these new missionaries!

On Friday, August 10, Dayton and I went to Elder Clifford’s house for a missionary get together that was put on by him and his parents. His parents were so kind to Dayton and I. They had me park on the driveway so it was easier for Dayton and I to get out of the car and into the party. Not only that but they wanted to know all about Dayton, they helped me lift him up the two giant stairs in front of their house, and they always left a spot for him either at the table or at the couch. He and I loved playing bingo together, charades, and just talking and meeting his family. We had a blast! 

The following evening, Saturday, August 11, was the Mesa Zone Social event that was put on by Elder Lott. We had a game and movie night by playing outburst together and then watching the movie Aladdin. Dayton and I were together and our team won by just one point! It was so much fun because we all had to work together to get points on certain topics such as every game console that has come out to celebrities that were born in Australia. It was a pretty intense game and we had a ton of people together at Sister Bradshaw’s house. Dayton was smiling the whole time and I just love the time that we get to share together. 

It was my very last leadership council this past month on Friday, August 17. Apparently for both Elder Lott and I because he also had to bear his testimony that night, just like me! We were able to talk about struggles that we were having as our mission. I can proudly say that even if I don’t know every single missionary, I am happy to say that Elder Lott, Elder Tassainer and I would speak about every individual missionary in our mission and how to best help them. From the zone leader, to the district leaders, from the missionaries that only had one week left to the missionaries that started their 2 year mission in a week. We would make sure the two zones were equal, we would plan social activities with the district leaders, and though we couldn’t make companionship’s without authority, we would make sure that every companionship was running smoothly and we would assign temporary companionship’s until something definite had been created. Elder Lott and I designed the weekly reports and figuring out exactly how to make the time-sheets better and figure out what exactly we could do for each of our missionaries and how to better support them. I loved all of the missionaries that I was able to work with and help support.

I just want to say that I especially love Elder Lott and all the work that he does. When Elder Hulme left, Elder Lott was by himself for a little bit and was able to control all 8 districts by himself. When I was called, he was so excited to hear that I was the new AP. He trained me and supported me in every way that I could’ve ever imagined. He and I spent countless hours together, either in meetings, AP meetings, district meetings, or zone councils. We also spent a lot of time helping all of the new missionaries at the Bishop’s Storehouse. He has even visited Save the Family and have met all of my favorite coworkers and has even been ready to help out there when we need an extra hand on someone to speak in Spanish for us. He has now thrown me a surprise party which I will talk about later, he has driven out over an hour to bring me a card from Elder Keim, and he and I can be talking about the missionaries over FaceTime for several hours without even realizing. He loves all of my friends, and he loves Dayton especially the most which is how it should be, and now he and I think the exact same when it comes to missionaries. He now also makes sure that whatever the missionaries do, that there is a way that every single missionary has a way to participate if they would want to. He is the perfect Assistant to President Pugmire and he is a perfect example of Jesus Christ as he has taught me to be a better missionary and person. 

Again the evening after on Saturday, August 18, I was able to host my event as Assistant to the President and play District Projector Jackbox Party Games. Elder Atkin was able to schedule the church building, Elder Tassainer brought a ton of desserts, and Dayton and I got to be in charge of the games and making sure that things ran smoothly. We didn’t have a ton of people, but that was okay! We had a few people from each district be able to meet up and be on teams and get to know each other better. My parents were even able to play too which was awesome! Yeah there were a couple of bumps in the road with technical difficulties and such but life wouldn’t be fun without some obstacles to overcome! Dayton was there to listen to me with everything going on and he was ready to win every game that we played, which he exactly did! 

The day before I got released, Tuesday, August 21,  I was able to join a few missionaries that started with me for a YCSM departing dinner. I was able to go with my parents to the Pugmire’s home, enjoy hamburgers, and enjoy company with Elder Hayward, Elder Guthrie, Elder Burrell, Elder Hillman, Elder Clifford, Elder Taylor and Elder Bowen and each of their sets of parents. I was also able to see the Mortensen’s, the Pugmire’s, the Bradshaw’s and Elder Lott there. I am so grateful that I was able to spend time with all of these people and I’m so grateful that I have been able to work with each of these missionaries individually in some way. I was able to first start as a service missionary and have orientation with Elder Hillman, I’ve been able to serve at the temple with Elder Hayward, I’ve been able to serve at the storehouse with Elder Guthrie and Elder Bowen, I’ve been able to work at the ROC with Elder Burrell, I was able to enjoy a party at Elder Clifford’s with Dayton, and I was able to spend time in Elder Atkin’s district with Elder Taylor. I’m so grateful to work with all of these missionaries and I’m so grateful to the parents that help them with each step and for my parents for supporting me with my entire service mission. 

On my last day at Save the Family, Wednesday, August 22, I remember walking into work and being stopped by a coworker named Steve. He told me how sad he was hearing that it was going to be my last day and then he told me that he was excited to share a slice of cake with me. In my mind all I could think of was “Cake? No one mentioned anything about having cake today...” The whole day was super quiet and ominous and I didn’t see Laura for a majority of the day. I remember talking to some of my coworkers like Nicky and April and sooner or later Laura, telling them that Steve told me that there would be cake and I have made it to the end of my work shift and still, there was no cake to be eaten. They all just played it off like Steve must have just been confused about something or that he just told me that to work harder. Needless to say that my last hour at Save the Family had me very unmotivated! Right before I was about to leave, Laura asked me to follow her to the kitchen. The kitchen door was shut, there were no coworkers to be seen and no one was in their offices so I knew something was up but I walked into the kitchen and I was blown away by the amount of people that were in there, wanting to celebrate and congratulate me! Laura said she told everyone about it the day before and just needed to keep it secret for less than 24 hours but Steve already had spilled it to me in less time than that. Still though, the cake was delicious and I got to enjoy my entire team with me at Save the Family! 

Laura is the best operations manager I could’ve asked for. When I first came to work, I was very shy and introverted and afraid of what had just occurred in my life. Laura took care of me emotionally and started me on tasks that were simple and together, we were able to move to more and more tasks that were more difficult and important. She helped me grow into who I am today. She helped learn to talk to people that I never knew, she taught me what defines homelessness and how to best help anyone in need, and love people, no matter their struggles. She showed me the Family Housing Hub and I remember that one day, her and I drove out to Phoenix to see this exhibit of each person’s different identity. It was way more fun than I was expecting! Together, we went to each booth around the exhibit and filled out different note cards, first about our age and gender, all the way to questions that really made us think and have really thought out answers. My answers could have been completely different than Laura’s and that’s okay! Her and I enjoyed desserts together, our first choice was this chocolate and peanut butter brownie which was delicious. Then, her and I decided to try this brownie that looked very strange to me but we both decided to go for it. The brownie was pumpkin and lemon mixed, two of the grossest things to me. Laura loved it and she loved to watch me slowly eat this brownie out of respect. I still remember that as one of my favorite memories of Laura and I together at this exhibit in Phoenix.  She let me be the first missionary to help in a Mesa nonprofit, she let me have my district meetings at Save the Family, and she was okay if I needed to leave for family or missionary business. She is so kind and she is so funny and she has helped me so much that I am just so grateful for her and everything she has done for me. 

After I was released, Dayton gave me a beautiful book of us serving our missions together as well as matching shirts of the Arizona Gilbert Mission. After receiving it and feeling his amount of love for me, I only knew it was fair if I gave him a gift in return. I decided to make him a video of all of his service in his mission as well. I decided to have the theme be his YCSM Mission Marathon, showing all of the different marathons that he has run, as well as all of the medals that he has received, but there was only one marathon that exists like his mission. A lot of the credit goes to Sister Hayward, who had a lot of the pictures and videos ready for me to use. After creating the video, the day had been chosen but I felt like I could’ve given him another gift, just like he did. I felt like there was more that I could do. I have had a missionary coin for a little while now so I worked with Elder Lott and my parents and we took some ribbon, cut out the sleeve for the coin, we threaded the ribbon through a small hole we made in the leftover pocket of the coin, then we used Velco for the ends of the ribbon to go around his neck. With help from family and friends, I was able to create a medal for Dayton for his most recent marathon, with the medal at the bottom being a missionary coin of the Army of Helaman, “to bring the world his truth.” I was able to show it and give it to him that following evening, Friday, August 31. Dayton and his family absolutely loved it. He loved the medal and the video and I just love him so much.

Dayton is so awesome. I still remember when I was first hearing about my service mission with the Pugmire’s, they mentioned that I was going to do endowment sessions with a missionary that has cerebral palsy. That was the first thing that really made me think about this service mission. I’m so grateful that I accepted and I was able to enjoy the journeys that he and I have shared. There have been numerous occasions when people have visited us in the celestial rooms and have shared their stories with us. Dayton and I were able to meet Tony’s mom and learn about Tony’s story in the Tucson temple. Tony also has cerebral palsy and her mom was unsure about if he would be okay being in Tucson temple for the open house. She had been praying that she would know if Tony was going to be okay. The next day, she went to the Gilbert temple so that she could get her answer in the celestial room and it just so happened that I was taking Dayton through the temple for an endowment session that day. What a powerful answer for her to receive! It’s amazing that even though Dayton does not communicate verbally, I am grateful that I was able to learn that he communicates through blinking and relying on the Holy Ghost. 

Not only is Dayton awesome and I’m so grateful for him, but I also have to give a shout-out to Brother and Sister Hayward. Every day, Sister Hayward will get everything ready for Dayton. She will bathe him, get him dressed, feed him, and also take care of 5 other smaller kids at the same time. She will have him ready for the temple and would always drive him to the temple for me until I had the courage to do so myself. She does this every day, but also would get him ready for the temple about 3 times a week. He would go to every extracurricular activity like our sports spectacular or mission conferences. There were multiple times that Dayton and Sister Hayward would invite me to the siblings events too, like Amity’s basketball games and Kresenya’s volleyball games. Once Brother Hayward gets home from working all day, he will get Dayton ready for bed, as well as help Sister Hayward with dinner and helping the rest of the family get ready for bed. He is in charge of family prayers and scripture study and making sure that Sister Hayward gets the time and rest that she deserves. Missionaries on teaching missions always have at least one family that just absolutely love that missionary and some of them stay in contact even after the teaching mission is done. I know that the Hayward’s are my family. I love their whole family and I love Dayton so much. I love Brother and Sister Hayward and I am so grateful for everything that they do for my best friend. 

On Saturday, September 1, it was just a normal day for me. I did a lot of work at home and was just spending time with my brother, Hayden when my mom asked me to take my younger cousin, Peyton, to Chik-fil-a for dinner. Peyton and I not only went there, but then we went shopping at her favorite store, Target, and then went to Sonic afterwards for drinks. When Peyton and I got home, I was walking in with all of these drinks when I hear someone coughing by the door. It totally sounded like Dayton to me but I just figured that I had the sound in my mind. I open the door to see all of my friends and family surprising me and celebrating for the end of my mission. I was speechless, but at the same time, I was holding all of these drinks for my family so I didn’t know what to do. I slowly put the drinks down and just started hugging everyone. My absolute favorite moment was when I opened the door and I saw Taylor there and he just says “Hey, what’s going on....oh yeah! Surprise!” and then everyone else noticed and yelled surprise too. I was able to spend some time with Taylor Ferrell, Elder Michael Tassainer, Elder Wesley Atkin, Elder Larence Lott, Dayton Hayward, and my wonderful mom, dad, and brother. It was such an awesome feeling that all of my friends and family loved me so much that they all secretly prepared a party for me without letting me know. We had hamburgers for dinner, played my favorite party games, took awesome photos, and had all of my favorite desserts and candy bowls ready to go. Elder Lott even planned on Dayton being there and made sure that he could enjoy having his own cotton candy and ice cream for himself. There were streamers and balloons all around my house, it was just awesome. I’m so grateful to all of them and how much they love me. 

My mission has been an incredible experience. I owe a lot of understanding of my mission to Elder Taylor Ferrell. Being my companion for 14 months, he was one of my favorite companions and has become one of my very best friends. He taught me a lot being a service missionary. For those of you that don’t know, Elder Ferrell has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. His muscles aren’t as strong as they should be and it’s a little bit more difficult for him to as much as he wants to do. He has to do physical therapy every day for about an hour, as well as something called cough assist that helps him breathe for about another hour each day. I’m so grateful that I was able to learn to be his caretaker because of the different adventures that I’ve been able to do with him. I was able to live with him for 3 weeks while his family was out of town, I was able to travel to California for a week so that he could learn to be independent. One of my very favorite things that he has said to me was when I was asking why he is so happy about his disability that he was given. He said “I could either laugh about my disability or cry about it. I would rather laugh about it.” Because he had a physical disability and I have a mental disability, we would often call each other, one regular person. I would help him physically with anything he needed, and he would help me stay calm and focused on what mattered most. If I had a problem, he would always take time to listen to anything that was on my mind, if it be stuff with family or myself, or my past in the MTC, or stuff going on in the service mission or my role as a district leader. Even though he was always 40-60 minutes away from the district meeting, he showed up every week to the meetings. He became my gaming buddy and him and I still talk almost daily even after our missions. We give each other gifts for Christmas and for birthdays, if we are able to. Our houses are about an hour away from each other by car, but we always made sure that we spent at least a weekend or a few days each week spending time together. He helped me think a lot more about the service mission and what it means to maintain the Lord’s vineyard. There were a couple of times that I had to change what the activities were or that they could work with Elder Ferrell and Elder Hayward. We would have the entire choir come down to the bottom of the stage so that Ferrell and Hayward could participate. My biggest goal after getting to know both of them was that each individual missionary knows that they are all equal and important in this mission, regardless of their disability. Elder Ferrell and I always found a way to get past ramps. I wouldn’t walk down stairs unless there was a ramp right next to me for Elder Ferrell. I’m so grateful that I have a best friend like him in my life. I love him so much and I’m so glad that we got to serve so long together. 

I’ve been able to do so much because of my mission.  I feel like none of it would’ve been possible without others. Yes, I was able to help many people but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without all of the support of my family, and all of the help I have received from my friends. For my mission, I was able to help those in need at the MTC, come home from my mission, learn what a service missionary is, and become a pioneer. I can’t help but feel so grateful for my journey and proud that I was able to work at Save the Family. I was able to be the first missionary in a nonprofit in Mesa, and now there are over 29 different nonprofits that have missionaries and are requesting more. I’m grateful that Save the Family loved what I was doing and I’m grateful that Laura opened her mouth and told other nonprofits about service missionaries and the work that I was doing so that all of these missionaries now have a place that they can serve the Lord more fully. I’m so grateful that I got to be a part of the Arizona Young Church-Service Mission and I was able to help bring service missions around the world. Because of my work, thousands of missionaries and more will now have the opportunity to serve a service mission. There may come a day that you don’t have to specific qualifications to serve a service mission. I love each missionary and all of the different abilities that they have because it gives us unity for our service mission. 

Elder Keim gets stressed kind of easily but he makes the most beautiful artwork. Elder Martineau took a few days to trust me, he told me that he had to verify with Elder Lott to see if I was trustworthy but after that, I love hearing about his projects that he is working on all the time and everything going on in his life. A couple of our missionaries have Down Syndrome but they are the happiest missionaries ever. I was the only missionary that was able to work with both missionaries with physical disabilities throughout my mission and theirs. Some people worked with one or the other but I was able to be with both of them all the time. They are both now my greatest friends and I love them both so much. I’ve never liked the term disability. I don’t see our missionaries as having a physical, mental, or emotional disability. I think the best word is difference. Because of our differences, we are united. Each missionary is a little different so I have learned to communicate with each missionary differently. I love the conversations that I can have with each of them. I want to become an occupational therapist now because of my mission, so that I’m spending time with people like them all of the time. 

I’m so grateful for my mission. I think I will have forever have more and more thoughts about this mission that I won’t be able to get them all in my head for just this report. I have loved my time as a missionary, as a District Leader, as a Zone Leader, and as an Assistant to the President. I am forever grateful that so was able to be a Young Church-Service Missionary. Even though the name is being changed, I know that I was able to be a pioneer for the first mission when it first begun. I love my family and everything that they have done for me. My parents have always listened to my stories, they have helped with every gift that I’ve made, and they’ve always found a way to let me serve others. My brothers have always been there to help me lift me up, and they’ve been the best brothers and my best friends throughout my entire life. I have the best friends too as they help me as much as they possibly can. They care about me so much and I love every friend that I have. I love my mission and I’m so grateful for it each and every day. This is the most perfect mission for me. 

Love,

Elder Bryson May

May 18, 2016 - August 22, 2018

List of Companions:

Elder Eric Davis: 9/17/2016 - 12/10/2016

Elder Thomas Phillips: 12/10/2016 - 3/2/2017

Elder Taylor Ferrell: 3/2/2017 - 4/15/2017

Elder Dayton Hayward: 4/15/2017 - 6/3/2018

Elder Larence Lott: 6/3/2018- 7/14/2018

Elder Gray Martineau: 7/14/2018 - 8/22/2018

 

The words on the cake were words that each of my family lot about me

Elder May - July Email

This is a bittersweet post for sure for me as Elder May’s mom.  This journey has been one of the best things I have ever experienced.  As I read through this report, knowing he has very limited time left on this mission, I cannot help be filled with humility and gratitude for this mission and for his unrelenting service.  I have watched him grow in ways that I didn’t think were possible as well as become an ambassador for the Church Service Mission program.  The best part is that we have had a front row seat.   We adore him and we love him and we are oh, so proud of him!  Enjoy!!

Hi everyone! Sorry for such a late reply. For news that I will discuss later in this report, I’ve just been really busy and I kind of have been forgetting to write this one. However, there was a lot of stuff that I was able to participate in! I got to spend a week with family up in Montana, I got to become one of the Assistants to President Pugmire, I got to participate in my first Gilbert Zone Meeting and my first Mesa Zone Meeting, I got to volunteer and help out at the Bishop’s Storehouse, I got to have my first temple trip with the Mesa Zone and I got to help Save the Family with a project that they needed help with. 

I got to have the opportunity to go with my brother and my grandparents to spend a week up in Montana to have some time with my aunt and uncle. We stayed at a location in the northwest of Montana called Choteau. It was so beautiful! We got to go to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone and go on hikes and just spend time with our cousins. Hayden and I were also given the opportunity to check out Temple Square in Utah. We got to check out the different visitor’s centers there.  I also was given the opportunity to spread the word about the YCSM program. I wrote this down into my notes on the day that it occurred while my memory was still in my mind. 

“On July 11, 2018 I was in Montana with my brother Hayden and one of my cousins at a Mini MTC activity. As returned missionaries, they asked Hayden and I if we could pretend tp be investigators so that the youth could practice teaching the first discussion to investigators before their own missions. At the beginning, the investigators were paired up together and I was paired with an older gentleman in a grey suit. The two of us were then put with my cousin, Abbygail, and another sister that had special needs, named Ashelin. She also told us that she had special needs by telling us that she has a short attention span, and has short term memory loss. We did our whole discussion and activity and as I was walking into the relief society room for closing prayer, I saw that Hayden was sitting next to a young man who had Down syndrome, named Zach. He was dressed very nicely and would constantly have his tongue sticking out but when Hayden spoke to him, his tongue would go into his mouth, he would say a few words and then his tongue would stick back out again. 

At this point after seeing two different young men and women with different special needs, I was overcome with the spirit that I needed to tell a bishop about the Young Church Service Mission Program. The leader of the activity got up and said a few words and then asked the bishop if he could say a few words. At this point, I thought it was excellent timing that there was bishop close by that I could talk to about this. Then he stood up and walked to the front. I then learned at this point, that the bishop was in fact the older gentleman in the grey suit that I was paired to practice with earlier. After his remarks and the closing prayer, I didn’t want to take the time to second guess or anything, so I stood up, tapped him on the shoulder and asked if I could speak with him privately.

He and I walked into a room and I told him that my name was Elder Bryson May, one of Scott Hadlock’s nephews. I told him that I didn’t know anything about him but I was just prompted so strongly by the spirit to tell him about my mission and what a Young Church Service Missionary is. I told him about my mission and I told him about the two different youth with special needs that I saw tonight. I told him that young men can either come home early from a proselyting mission or because of physical or mental needs that they can serve a service mission instead and that sisters can serve a service mission as well. He was so happy to hear this news from me. He gave me his email address and was excited to hear from me about more information about the YCSM program. 

God is real. I am writing this now as my memory will fade details of this experience as time goes on. I know Satan is trying really hard right now to tempt me and to get me to stop writing this down. As I am sitting outside the Church right now, Satan has sent a swarm of at least 10-15 mosquitoes to bite me and try to get me to stop writing but I am not going to move. If I move and stop writing, then I am in fear that I will forget certain pieces of this memory that I do cherish. I know that God knew exactly what needed to happen for tonight. God planned on Elder Lott and I to have companionship prayers just a few minutes before the activity started, He knew that I was going to be late to the meeting. He made sure that there was only one seat left and only one group left that still needed another investigator. He made sure that I was paired with the older gentleman in the grey suit and that I was paired with the sister missionary with special needs. He made sure that I was aware of my service missionaries and he knew how to make me feel so overwhelmed with the spirit so that I wouldn’t second guess myself. He made sure to put the bishop in my group so that it was easier to approach him about the YCSM program. He made sure that all of this would happen, that my cousin would be in this ward and that my uncle volunteered us to help out and he made sure that Hayden and I would be at that church on that date and that time. I know that this mission is a true mission. I know that God knows exactly what he is doing and that he has a plan for each and every one of us. He knows us perfectly. Even if this isn’t a “real” mission to everyone yet, I know that this is a perfect mission for me.”

On July 15, I got asked if I could have an interview with Elder and Sister Pugmire. Before the meeting, I asked Sister Pugmire exactly what the meeting was about and she told me it was just to see how things were going. I thought it was going to be releasing me from district leader but instead we start the meeting and it turns out that they wanted me to be the Assistant to the President with Elder Lott, as well as the Gilbert Zone Leader. So now, I am the Assistant to President Pugmire, the zone leader of the Gilbert Zone, and the district leader of the Mesa Nonprofits district. I also got my new companion then too! His name is Elder Gray Martineau and he serves in the Mesa ROC district. He is absolutely hilarious and I love being his companion. I’ve been a little busier than usual but I am loving every moment, every meeting that I get to be a part of. I love having a purpose and having the feeling of being needed. It’s such a wonderful feeling to have. At this point, I knew I only had a month left to serve so I wanted to use every second, every minute and do everything in my power to serve the people that I have been called to help. 

On that same Sunday night, I asked Elder Lott if we could hold our first meeting. He and I discussed exactly which districts we were going to watch over and take care of and we just split it between Mesa and Gilbert. We invite each other to everything and even if I’m not over that particular zone, I still love to be there and I can still get insight on how to help. Then, only two days later, I set up a meeting with the Gilbert Zone district leaders and we had a Zone Meeting about every single missionary in Gilbert. I don’t serve in Gilbert so I had become a leader to these 30 or more missionaries that I had no idea who most of them were. I love my district leaders that help me through it. Elder Atkin of Gilbert FM, Elder Tassainer of Lauren’s Institute, Elder Chelsey of House of Refuge, and Elder Lambson of Midwest Food Bank. Each of them came prepared and knew exactly what to say to help me better understand my missionaries. Elder Lott and I have been working on a big project to make our time-sheets and reports easier for everyone, not just us now, but for all the missionaries even after Elder Lott and I complete our missions. We have been working so hard on it and I love the work that we do. Yes, it gets frustrating, but the thought of making things easier for everyone, even people we don’t know that might come in the future, is a big enough motivator for us to keep going. 

On Saturday July 21, we had our Mesa Zone temple trip. We had a total of 7 of our missionaries in the Mesa Zone come and participate in baptisms for the dead. I got the privilege to baptize a lot of those missionaries as well. There’s no stronger way to grow closer to your companion or the people that you love, than serving together in the temple. If you both are there, ready to serve and love one another, then serving in the temple is the greatest way to do that. I have learned to love the temple, especially because of Elder Dayton Hayward. He has shown me how much you can still have while helping others in the temple and he has taught me how to love my companion and even people that I barely even know because of the temple! It’s an amazing place and I love to be there whenever I can. 

Speaking of Dayton, the time had come for me to learn how to transfer Dayton and take him in my car by myself. I remember going over to the Hayward’s house, which their whole family is awesome by the way and I’m not sure if I say that enough. I went there and with so much patience and love, Dayton and his parents helped let me practice lifting Dayton on my own and learning how to transfer him from his wheelchair to my car and then back into his wheelchair. I’m so grateful that I got to learn this now because now I get to spend even more time with him. I get to pick him up for our endowment session, be with him for an entire session, spend time in the celestial room without feeling rushed and then take him home afterwards. I just love Elder Hayward so much. I know our missions are closing soon and I feel like I just can’t share enough how much I love spending time with him and his family. He just has the most awesome and celestial spirit and he helps me so much. I love how his mom’s perspective on Dayton his. He doesn’t owe her anything and she doesn’t owe him anything. All of her care and all of his spirit make them equal. I’ve learned that that’s how true friendship is. One person doesn’t do all the work for the other, expecting that the other person will pay them back or be indebted to them. Two people will be just who they are and care for one another and be equal to each other. I feel like that’s the biggest point of all of this, especially in my mission. It’s okay to ask for help. Asking for help does not make you weak, it makes you strong but humble, knowing that you cannot do it all on your own. 

Another place that I have been helping out at lately is the Bishop’s storehouse in Mesa. Elder Hepfinger has recently received some new missionaries and with the storehouse opening back up at the end of this month, some of the on-site leaders were still out of town or just not in attendance. Elder Hepfinger asked Elder Lott and I to come and help out and I got to spend my whole day with Elder Guthrie. My job was to make sure that Elder Guthrie stayed on task to whole day. Elder Guthrie is hilarious by the way! He makes jokes all the time and he really knows what he’s doing. Elder Lott got assigned with Elder Buck who just loves to see everything there is to see in the storehouse. Elder Lott kept him on task for a little bit and then would take him to look around the entire storehouse and then they would go back to being on task. It was so much fun to work there and I’ve been able to do it a couple of times now. Every time you go to the storehouse, you never can expect what you’re going to see at the storehouse that day. It’s so wonderful and exciting each time that I go there. 

So, since I haven’t had a calling since our ward split, like a year ago I think, I haven’t had a calling. For awhile, I couldn’t find a place that seemed permanent for me. My mom was called to be the Primary Chorister and my dad has been called as Primary Teacher over a few different classes now. I started to gradually start going there and I was able to help a lot with the Sunbeam classes. Now, the whole Primary presidency knows me, I help out a lot in the primary room and help my mom when she needs me, I’m able to sit with either my dad or some other class if they need help, all the kids call me Elder May and they know who I am or ask where my badge is if I forget it. At the end of most of the classes, my mom passes out candy to the Primary children afterwards and normally, I help out and do that for her. It’s gotten to the point that now all of the kids see my face in the window of the classrooms and smiles just beam on their faces. They start asking me each week what candy I have and what I’m going to pass out and I tell them every week that it’s a secret! I love these Primary children. They can be a little wiggly and crazy at times but it’s just their celestial spirits just beaming to us. I love working in Primary and I love how my entire family have callings in Primary so that we all get to work together. It is so much more fun with the whole family. 

Recently, I was able to go to a development meeting at Save the Family where we were informed of a drastic need for school uniforms for each child that was participating in Save the Family. I was sitting there and my mind started having these amazing ideas of how the LDS church could help Save the Family with this. Before I opened my mouth about it, the CEO of Save the Family raised her hand and said “Why don’t we look into options within the LDS Church?” I was so excited and happy and just feeling all of the good emotions. Because of my service mission and everything that I have been able to do, I was the first thought for when a struggle came up, and not only that, but I was the CEO’s first thought. I asked if I could be in charge of that and she happily accepted. I put it out on Facebook and I asked people to share about it in their wards and I have been getting a ton of donations for it. The next day, Elder Lott and I left to go to a district meeting at Deseret Industries and we saw a bunch of school uniforms there! I didn’t think it was a good idea but he helped me with the idea and after our district meeting, I asked one of the store managers, if they would ever consider donating those items to Save the Family. She told me about something called a Community Grant Application. Save the Family would fill it out and hand it to the LDS church. If they approve, then Save the Family and the LDS church would work more closely together and the LDS church would give Save the Family certain resources every year. I was able to receive it and hand it to Save the Family and they are still working on it. 

Because of the mission assignment that I accepted, I was able to sit in this meeting. Because of the work that I have been doing, I was able to be my CEO’s first thought on where to turn for help. Because I was called to be an AP, I was brought into this meeting at Deseret Industries and I was able to see all of these school uniforms. Because Elder Lott helped me open my mouth and ask for help, I was able to receive a grant so Save the Family can have another resource that they can look forward to every year. God has a plan for each of us. I can’t ever stop expressing that. There were so many moving pieces in order to get this to work and now that it’s working, I can’t help but feel proud of the work that I have been able to do. 

God knows what’s going to happen to us, two years in advance and if it’s a good thing, he knows how to nudge us in the right direction to do it. My mission has had an impact! I was #49 on joining into this service mission pilot program, back when it was a pilot program and now we are nearing 150 missionaries! I was one of the first missionaries to work in a Non-LDS nonprofit and because of the work that I’ve done, and Laura telling people how awesome I am, there is now a total of 29 nonprofits that missionaries have been serving at. Because of my work, I was able to creat my own district based on nonprofits for missionaries to serve at in Mesa. I was able to open all of these nonprofits for all of these missionaries to continue serving others. Not only that but now I am able to help continue pushing the work so that my assignment can have the resources that it needs, even after my mission has been completed. 

This is a wonderful job that I have been so blessed to do, but of course I couldn't have done it without others that have been helping me along. I wouldn’t have been a part of this service mission, had my parents not have been there to show me all of the good that I could do. I wouldn’t have wanted to continue in that district, had Elder Ferrell not have been there every week to help support me in my calling. I would not have had my own district with all of these missionaries, had Laura not been able to speak about me to other nonprofit leaders or to the Pugmire’s. I would not have talked to that store manager to get the grant, had Elder Lott not have motivated me in order to do so. I love my mission and I love everyone that has been supporting me so much in my call to serve. 

I love my mission. I love the people that I have been given the opportunity to serve and I love the people that I serve with. I have had the opportunity to work in the Gilbert temple, Save the Family, and now the Mesa Bishop’s Storehouse. I have been able to serve with so many people. Elder Wesley Atkin, Elder Michael Tassainer, Elder Dayton Hayward, Elder Mike Hepfinger, Elder Larence Lott, Elder Spencer Lambson, Elder Spencer Chesley, and so many more. I love all that I’m able to do. I love how much I’ve been able to do and I love all of the lessons I have learned along the way. I love my family and I am very sad that I am now gone a lot of the time doing all of these mission things, but I know that they are backing me up every minute of every day. I love the short times that we get to spend together and I’m so grateful for them. I love them all so much. I have been able to learn so much about gratitude, working on a team, being able to lean on others for help, and being able to love everyone unconditionally. There are so many missionaries that I have been able to learn how to communicate and work with and I love each of our missionaries’ spirits. I feel like I can say that I have been able to work with each of the missionaries now and I have grown to love each of them. Even if I haven’t had a 2 minute conversation with them, Elder Lott and I go down our lists and ensure that things are going well with each of our missionaries. Not only that, but we discuss each missionary in their district during our zone councils and I make sure that the district leaders know about each missionary that is serving. I love how much I have been able to do and I’m excited for my last month!

Sincerely,

Bryson May