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

 

 

Elder May - August Email

This Elder never ceases to amaze me.  He is pushed outside of his comfort zone over and over but always arises to the occasion.  He is my hero and he emulates the light of Christ each and every day.  I am blessed to be his mom and love him beyond measure.  Enjoy!!

Hello!

Sorry for such of a late reply. There were a few things going on this month, that this is the first big moment that I have had to write it down into a monthly report. A few things happened to me this month including our zone temple trip for baptisms, as well as the road trip that Elder Ferrell and I went on.

In the middle of August, Elder Ferrell and I left for Modesto, California and I for about 5 days. He and I drove for about a total of 13 hours, the first day up to Barstow, California and then the second day, we drove another 6 hours to stay in Modesto, California. He set me up inside of a hotel and just had me chill there for about three days as I chilled there doing really whatever I wanted to do, while he finished the other two-hour drive by himself to a muscular dystrophy camp, regarding how to learn how to live  independently with muscular dystrophy. I know that he wanted to do this for around 3-5 years now but he could never find anyone that not only knew how to take care of him but was able to do it by themselves and go with him for another week to a different state. I guess being his companion and having been trained to be his caregiver, there was a bit of trust between the two of us for us to have the ability for us to drive to another state and me being the only one to take care of him for almost a week! He told me that he could go to these different classes to learn everything he could and he could interact with other people that also had a disability that was pretty close to his and that he was able to feel like e regular person, rather than a person with a disability. He told me that that was one of the best camps that he has ever been to and he was so grateful to be a part of it.

The second thing that happened was our zone temple trip. Each time we go, more and more people of our zone come and participate which is a cool experience. We each try to bring our own family names and then pool all of them out across everyone, so that we are all doing family names. In order to help Elder Ferrell feel more included in them, he will do all of my confirmations for the family names that I do and I will take care of all of the baptisms between the two of us. So this time, everyone had about 5 baptisms and confirmations and so Elder Ferrell was one of the witnesses for the 10 baptisms of mine and his names combined and then he takes care of all of the confirmations for our two groups of names.

Another awesome thing that I am so blessed to be a part of is taking Elder Hayward to the temple every Friday. It's neat, we first chose the 2:30 session because of how small it would be, but the more outreach there is that I do, the bigger his sessions have become just slowly being filled with people that either Elder Hayward or I know. More people have been coming up to us and telling me how awesome that he is. It truly is his mission and I am there just to guide him around and take care of him. People try to give me all the credit for taking care of him and I try to push it away because it really is his mission and I am just there to take care of moving him around, taking care of him, and getting him dressed for everything. I try to treat it like Elder Haws or I am not even there and it's just him and only because of the disabilities that he has, Elder Haws an I just try to lift him up so that he is part of this work with everyone else. More and more people have been coming to Elder Hayward and I and tell him that he is such a celestial spirit and that he changes the sessions that he is a part of. I try to invite any of my friends so that they can come and experience this. It has truly been a blessing in my life just to be chosen to help take care of him. I hope it has been a blessing in his life to have other people there that I have invited to come and meet him. I know that when someone comes with us, it being one of my friends from before my mission or Elder Ferrell or Elder Sanders or someone else, he just smiles like crazy there and nothing can get him down. When it is just him and I, we discuss what is going on in our lives and I try to lift his spirit and it's my goal to make him always smiling and happy when he leaves. I don't know if it's the temple or me, but he's happy either way!

One thing that I have been focusing on for my studies is Jesus Christ and how He has blessed my life. It's tough because I have a testimony of the scriptures and I know they are true and they are a blessing n my life but I am not at all good at the history of the Book of Mormon or the Bible I have just been focusing on what He has done for me as well as the kind of person that He is and how He sacrificed so much for me and how if anything, how I should repay that debt to Him even if he doesn't ask for it. I have been focusing on how I can help lift myself up and lift other people that He sacrificed for. It helps me help other people and it makes me think if I am doing everything that I can be doing to push along not only mission work but that I am doing everything that I can as a son of God. An important thing that I gave been focusing on too is music. To and from the temple or to and from work, I try to listen to instrumental music that is calming and peaceful, mainly just music without words so that I can be more in tune with the Spirit while I get ready to serve.

I have been pondering a lot on my service. I have been thinking a ton with where my life has gone in just less than two years. I have such amazing friends and I have come close to so many people that could have only been accomplished because of my mission. It is crazy to me where my life is now It is just a testament to me that God knows each one of us. He has a plan for each one of us and even though it is most likely not the plan that we want in the beginning, it is the best plan for us in the end. I have been trying to be the best district leader that I can be as well as the best missionary that I can be for other people. I know that as we serve and help other people, we can become closer to them. Our relationship can be strengthened with them and we can love them more and more. We grow closer to the Savior who served every person on this Earth, who taught us that everyone has a worth and a talent that we need to show to everyone. As we serve, we will become perfected in our character traits as we become closer to Christ. I absolutely love my mission. I love my district and the unity that we share. I love my companions that I have had and how they help me become perfected. I love Elder Haws as he trained me to help Elder Hayward and I love them both and all the love and support that they show to everyone, no matter who they might be before this mission and who they might be now, mission or no mission. I love my family as they show me an unconditional love and always help me be the best person that I can be. I love my Heavenly Father and His plan for me. I love how He knows everything about me and He showers every blessing on me that I might need, as long as I endure to the end with him and help others do the same along the way. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had and I am excited for the adventures and experiences that await for me in the future.

Love,

Elder Bryson May

Elder May - July Email

One of the highlights this month for Brian and I was we got to attend the temple with Elder May and Dayton.  What an awesome experience.  I knew what Bryson told me about the way that they communicate but to see it in action was humbling and amazing.  I am so grateful for the YCSM program and the opportunities that it affords our missionary.  Experiences that he wouldn't have in a traditional proselyting mission.   It reaffirms my testimony that Heavenly Father is deeply aware of us and our needs.  We love him and are oh, so proud of him!  Enjoy!!

Hello!

July was honestly an interesting month for me. I am serving and I am back up from the fight, ready to be district leader and to help push the work along. I took Dayton to the temple on July 21 and he helped pray with me and I got my answer on what I needed to do. It seemed so simple to do but at the time that I felt it, it was pretty difficult for me to do but now I'm back to normal.  

During the midst of this, a woman came up to us while Dayton and I were in the celestial room with tears in her eyes. She kept saying that we were an answer to her prayers. I asked what she meant and she held my hand and told me that she her son, Tony has special needs like Dayton. She was concerned with how Tony would do if he went to the Tucson Temple Open House. On the same day as her concerns grew more and more, she came to an endowment session on May 19th, a day that I took Elder Ferrell and Elder Hayward to the temple and helped get both of them dressed before myself. She came that day and saw me take care of them and knew that God would take of her son. She told me that I was the answer to her many prayers. It made me feel absolutely incredible and after that, Dayton could not stop smiling. She held Dayton's hand and spoke to him and I got to be part of that conversation as I told her what Dayton was saying. We took pictures and it was just an absolutely wonderful day. If I could get the PDF loaded, I will send you her story. 

Again, things have been going better. Please don't read this and think I am still going crazy. I am done with being the caregiver for Elder Ferrell. What seemed like something that was going to happen for 8 weeks, had suddenly been something for only 3 weeks. It was incredible though because I got super close to Elder Ferrell and he is now my favorite companion pretty easily, no offense to my other companions. While he was gone in Flagstaff, it was a ton more difficult to interact with him twice a week and I think it was more difficult for me with him being so far away than normal. I don't know, all I know is that this was a tougher month for my mission and I'm glad this month is over because it felt the longest month ever. I'm excited for August!

Thank you for all your continued prayers and thoughts.  I love you all!

Elder May