Elder May - November Email

During this month of constant gratitude, our family could not be more grateful for the opportunity that Elder May has to serve in his mission.  He has found complete joy in the journey and we know that this is exactly what he was supposed to do for his mission.  We are incredibly blessed and grateful for the gospel in our lives and for our two missionaries.  We love him and are oh, so proud of him!  Enjoy!!

November Email:

 

Hi everyone! November was a quick month for me. Thanksgiving came quickly and it just went by so fast but that’s okay. December is my favorite month anyway. A few things happened this month. Thanksgiving Delivery Days at Save the Family, Elder Sanders got released from my district, we had our service project at MidWest Food Bank, we did an endowment session with a ton of people together, and then the Gilbert Half-Marathon occurred as well. 

Save the Family had done their Thanksgiving Delivery Days again and it was my second and final Thanksgiving that I got to be a part of as a service missionary. It was so much fun and a lot less hectic than last time. I was also able to go on my first-ever Delivery too. We load up all these baskets into a van and then a group of us go out together to drop these baskets off to families that we serve so that they can have Thanksgiving as well. Most of Save the Family’s staff is women which is super fun but unfortunately, makes it difficult to go on a delivery run. Most runs would only have 2 people needed and since I would need a second person to go with me, it was difficult to actually be a part of one.

 

Fortunately, two of the staff were kind enough to let me come with them, just for the fun of it. It was truly special to take a basket and it starting out heavy but as I saw their smiling face of gratitude, the basket started to become almost weightless. We were in the van for almost 2 hours, dropping off baskets around Mesa and with that time, I was able to learn and listen to the stories and lives of these two staff members, Renee and Rakesha, two staff members that I normally wouldn’t ever work with but because of this, I was able to have two more friends that work with me at Save the Family. 

Also side story, we had a client come in a few weeks ago with bedbugs that they had received from their apartment complex. I was put with Ryan, the Career Services Assistant, and he and I were tasked with using gloves and, trying to be as careful as possible, remove these car seat covers and any possible bedbug-infested areas and try to clean them with any possible way that we could even think of. Every car seat, every chair in our lobby or any chair that they could’ve possibly spread to, every toy in our two children’s classrooms, basically everything that we could find downstairs that could possibly have a bedbugs attached to it to just hopefully ensure that all of them were gone to stop any possible infestation from happening at Save the Family or at anyone’s homes. Now at least each May child in our family has had their own experiences with bedbugs at some point in our missions. That’s just one more thing we have in common!

Elder Jackson Sanders was released from my district early this month. We were able to have a district meeting and he was able to bear his testimony to all of us about his time on both proselyting and his service mission. He is truly incredible and I know that he’s going to continue to do great things. The last thing we got to do together as service missionaries with him in our district was the service project at MidWest Food Bank. Him and I were in charge of taking these massive boxes that were filled with spaghetti noodles and we had to scoop up two handfuls and put them into a bag and hand it off to Elder Hawks to seal the bag! Talk about a workout! They weren’t tough to pick up by themselves but when they’ve all been stuck together, it was difficult to break through some of them to pick it up and put it into these small bags. These bags basically looked like small Ziploc snack bags. The MidWest Food Bank project was fun though. Altogether, we had 3 of our district missionaries show up, including myself. It was Sister Bennett, Elder Sanders and myself and we all just sat a table and got to know each other better. It was wonderful. Of course though, I forgot to take a picture!

After the service project, Elder Sanders were driving back to my house and I had realized that I still hadn’t gotten him cotton candy. So for those that don’t know, Dayton is not the biggest fan of being awake in the morning but I needed him to come to my lesson when I taught about YCSMs on that 5th Sunday in my ward. So in order to get him to come, I promised him that I would bring him cotton candy. Dayton’s favorite dessert is cotton candy or ice cream or really anything that tastes delicious and I totally get it because who doesn’t love cotton candy? Anyway, I was halfway home when I realized I could swing by his house and drop some off to him so it worked out perfectly and I made sure to take a picture with him for that one! I was really grateful that he came and for everyone else that came to this lesson. It truly was remarkable. 

So Elder Hayward and I have been doing our sessions each Friday that we can but sometimes, it gets boring when it’s just us. We worked together every time we met up and we came up with a date where we could go to an endowment session with more than just the two of us. Overall, it was Dayton, Elder Haws, Dayton’s parents, my parents and 3 of Dayton’s grandparents. We thought this was going to be so much fun. What we didn’t know was that when we got there, the entire chapel of the temple was packed with people because there were 3 new endowments being done so there were tons of people that were there to support these 3. They tried to just put us all into one session and they were putting up folding chairs

everywhere and people were just sitting wherever that they could find a place. Our whole group got in except for my parents which is still a mystery to me on what happened. Dayton and I always get loaded first and so we were waiting for everyone else and as they all started coming in, everyone was shocked when my parents didn’t make it in with our group. Everyone else was super worried about it but to Dayton and I, it was the funniest thing ever. We had invited my parents to come and do a session with us and then they can’t even make it in to be with us and they didn’t really let us leave to just go to the next session with our whole group. Everyone was so confused about it but Dayton and I just couldn’t stop laughing at what had happened. Anyway, we are going to try to do that again after the holidays and hopefully everyone can go with us this time!

 

Finally, I was able to make it to Dayton’s half marathon in the Gilbert marathon. They started at Higley High School and ran all the way over to Mesquite Junior High to be right by the Gilbert Day’s Parade. I was able to see him at the end of the finish line and watch him cross and finish with his teammate, Ryan, who I also learned is a super cool guy. Dayton is absolutely incredible. Every time that I watch him cross one of those finish lines, it just gives me hope and inspiration for myself to become better. He truly is an inspiration to me, as I’m sure that he is an inspiration to all of us.

Well, this is the part where I bear my testimony on how awesome my mission is. As Thanksgiving had gone by, I was able to find the heart of celestial happiness. I was able to tap into what exactly gives you energy to get out of bed every morning and learn and to grow and to just become better. The answer truly is gratitude. I’m truly grateful with where my life has gone so far. I came home after three weeks in the MTC from my proselyting mission, wondering if that was just a funny joke from God. I was pretty upset and pretty disappointed with what had happened and I was very ungrateful with being home and not even noticing the things that I should have been grateful for. Bishop Rae asked me to speak to these people named the Pugmire’s who were in charge of service missions. I looked up service missions before them and they just did not seem very much like the mission that I thought I was going to do. Finally, after a lot of discussion about it, I decided to meet with the Pugmire’s and talk about service missions. That was truly the best decision that I ever made. My mission is truly perfect and if anything, it is better to me than a proselyting mission. Sure, I can’t proselyting where I work but that is a small sacrifice for the wonderful miracles that I have been able to be a part of.

My mission is truly the best mission. I get to work with the two physically handicapped missionaries that are in this program. Visually, they are physically handicapped but after working with both of them for such a long time, one of them being my companion for almost a year and the other being a person I get to be in the temple with at least once a week, I have learned that they are not just people

with disabilities or that they are any less because of their disability. They both have taught me so much about my own life and the things that I can’t be grateful for. I was able to be the first missionary ever to be put into a nonprofit area and be the first to work in an area that was a non-LDS program and now I have my own district of people that also work at Save the Family with me as well as at different non-LDS programs. I was chosen by the Pugmire’s and by the Lord, to be an instrument and be able to serve people at a place that had never had missionaries before me. It was difficult and a little scary to not have a companion and to kind of be on my own for the most part for about a year or so and to know that each of my many decisions could have a major impact on other missionaries but I was told by the Pugmire’s that I was doing amazing things at Save the Family that other nonprofits had apparently noticed and had begun to ask for more of our missionaries. That was the greatest feeling to ever receive! My mission was important! Not only was I serving others that I knew but I was able to be a pioneer for the YCSM program and be able to create a future for other missionaries like me and let them have a chance to serve a mission as long as they truly desired it. I was able to learn that my mission was just as important as a proselyting mission and it was truly the mission that I was called to serve at. I am so grateful for the mission that I have been able to be a part of and I am so excited to see what else The Lord has in store for me.

Sincerely,

Elder Bryson May

Elder May - October Email

More so than any other month thus far, we have seen the blessings of Elder May and his service.  Countless people were touched by the other service missionaries and him in our ward meeting.  People have texted, messaged and commented to me what a wonderful missionary he is and how amazing this program is.  We love him so much and we are oh, so proud of him.  Enjoy!!

Wow, this was a long month. Things were just crazy that kept me busy and it wasn't one of my favorite months, however, it did have a few moments in it that made it special for me and my mission. I think there was a just a lot of stuff that happened at once, things that just were bad news or things that made me more and more busy, that it was a bit tougher for me to focus on the good things in life.  

One of the great things that happened this month, was that I got to teach with my awesome missionary friends in my home ward about the YCSM program. I was able to teach with Elder Ferrell, Elder Sanders, Elder Hayward and even Elder Pugmire to all of the adults in my home ward about what a YCSM is, what qualifies to be one and the differences between a proselyting and a service missionary. I got to tell them my story of coming home early, and showing them what had happened to me and what I was doing since I have been home. I remember that night, I posted just our picture on Facebook and I got a ton of comments from people that I have never really met, just sending me the best comments about my lesson. I felt like I was nervous and stuttering the whole time but I guess the Holy Ghost just delivered it absolutely perfect to these people that my parents and my Facebook post had blown up from all these different people with how amazing the lesson went.

 

The other great thing that happened was Halloween at Save the Family. I remember the first

Halloween here and Laura told me that I should dress up and I am not super big into Halloween but I wore my football jersey and just some face paint. When I got there, Laura was dressed as a soccer
player, so totally unscripted but we were both sport players for Halloween. This year, they were doing a door contest for Save the Family so the kids across the street that we serve could trick or treat as well. I knew I would regret it if I didn't participate so I asked around and I got some supplies from our after-school coordinators and I decorated my door for everyone!

Then not only that, but Save the Family does a party for all of the staff and so I went there dressed as a nurse and it was cool to just unwind and learn more about the people that I work with and it was just so much fun to be there.

I'm just going to take a minute and tell you all about the best operations manager there is. That award goes to my operations manager, Laura. She has been with Save the Family for over 25 years, which is longer than I have been alive! She is a genius, she always has a minute and answers for my ten thousand random questions that I need to ask her. She is patient and kind and hilarious and caring for the people that are around her. Not only has Save the Family been a great place to serve, but it makes it a ton easier to work here with an operations manager as awesome as she is. 

Yes, there were a few tough things that happened this month that made it difficult to keep going. There was a lot of miscommunication going on between Save the Family and the YCSMs that work here but Laura and I are working with the missionaries to get caught up on everything.  There was news that one of my good friends was in an off-roading accident and is still in the ICU and he is still struggling to wake up and recover from what had happened.  Then just people being done and being released and a few new missionaries being in my district and trying to just stay caught up and still doing my regular jobs. 

I am learning to be more grateful for everything that I have. I have learned that when you are ungrateful for things, the energy that you have is sort of sapped from you so when you are grateful for things, you are given more bursts of energy and can actually accomplish more. I find it as one of the keys to pure, celestial happiness. I am grateful for Save the Family and for letting me be a missionary here. I am grateful for them letting me be able to learn how to work here and be a part of a team and to lead in different projects and become a better person. I am grateful for my physical well-being and being able to use my arms and legs in their full-forms and I am able to do whatever I want without restrictions. I am grateful for my district and what I am able to do with them and for them to be okay with me if I make mistakes. This was a tough month, yes, but I was able to grow a lot with this month and I am ready for November!

All my love -

Elder Bryson May

Elder May - September Email

What an extraordinary blessing to have this Elder in our family and in our home.  We have a first hand witness to his growth and evolution as he is in the service of the Lord.  Things he wouldn’t have thought of doing a year or so ago, it is now no difficulty at all.  He is simply amazing!  We love him and are so very blessed to have him as our son!  Enjoy!!

Hi everyone! September was a really long month for me, mainly because I was sick for almost the whole month. Fortunately, even though I was sick and was unable to work with Elder Hayward or be at Save the Family for almost a month, I still had some events that I was able to be a part of that I wanted to keep as a record. There was Elder Ferrell’s surprise party, the joint conference between proselyting and service missionaries and a joint district family history event that I was able to lead with Elder Ferrell and Elder Atkin.

Elder Ferrell turned 21 on September 20. Because he is my amazing companion and has become one of my best friends, I decided to take some of his missionary friends and we were able to surprise him for his birthday. His other main companion, Brett Zollinger was there as well as Elder Sanders, Elder Haws, Sister Briggs, Elder Fisher, myself and my family. We were able to have his favorite dinner of Panda Express be catered to us and we played party games all night long. He had no idea and I’m sure he absolutely loved it.

For the last few months, I was able to collaborate with Elder Ferrell and the district leader of the Gilbert Farm/ FM Group/ Chandler ROC/ Midwest Food Bank, Elder Wesley Atkin. Together, we chose to have a district social activity consisting of finding names to bring for our district baptisms events. A lot of people came to the activity, with almost everyone from both districts able to make it as well as Elder Haws and Hayward were able to join us as well. Most of us were able to get on to Family Search and find multiple names from our ancestries. Not only that, but we were able to look up how each and every one of us were related. I was able to learn that I am 9th cousins with Elder Ferrell, 10th cousins with Elder Haws, 6th cousins with Elder Atkin, and even 4th cousins with Elder Hayward. It was an incredible event and I am so glad that the turnout was so amazing!

Finally, we had our joint conference with the proselyting and the service missionaries. The two presiding leaders that were able to join us were Elder L. Whitney Clayton, and Elder Gregory A. Schwitzer. Elder Clayton is the Senior President of the Presidency of the Seventy and Elder Schwitzer is currently the Assistant Executive Director of the Missionary Department. It was an amazing conference. I was able to shake their hands and be able to have a small conversation with both of them as well as Elder and Sister Greer again. It was a little strange to be on the service mission side instead of the proselyting side but I soon became proud of where I am and I became proud to be a service missionary on this first-ever joint conference between the two kinds of missionaries. 

I have been thinking a lot lately on my mission recently. I have been reflecting on where I started my mission to all of the amazing experiences that I have had. I had no idea that my mission would have all kinds of amazing memories for me to hold on to for the rest of my life. I have been able to not only meet Dayton from Dayton’s Legs but also, I have been able to meet and work with Elder Haws and Elder Hayward to that I get to hang out with Dayton and help him at least once a week and be able to spend time with them. I have been able to receive so many amazing friends and memories at Save the Family and I have been able to learn so many interesting things while simultaneously be able to help so many people while I have been able to be there. I have been able to have such an awesome companion, Elder Ferrell. I have been able to learn how to take care of him physically as well as be able to gain such an amazing friend that I will be able to be friends with, even after my mission. I have been able to obtain many friends that I will continue to cherish even after my mission. None of this would have been possible without our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who was able to receive revelation about service missions and how they will be a new mission for people like me. He receives revelation from Heavenly Father and so I know that Heavenly Father is real. If he is real, then this Plan of Salvation is also real. It all links together and I am so grateful for the increasing knowledge that I am able to receive each and every day of my mission. I am so thankful for how far I have come and how I can notice with myself how far I have come and to see for myself how I have grown. I am so thankful for my leaders, my family and my friends and I am so thankful for my mission and my Heavenly Father. I love everything in my life right now and I am so excited to see what this next month has in store for me!

Love you all - Elder May