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
