"WOOP..., there it is!"

This has been such a CRAZY and AMAZING weekend!  We had the Phoenix Temple Cultural Celebration on Saturday and then the Temple dedication on Sunday!  Also on Sunday a good friend of ours was baptized!!  A- MA- ZING Weekend!!   But..., since we had so much going on, I hadn't had the chance to email Pierce yet.  When  I got up today with the younger boys to get them ready at 6 am , Pierce had already emailed!!  It's 4 hours ahead there now.  Luckily, I was able to write and he received it!  I loved the end of his letter today.  It's what all of us parents want /'need to hear from time to time from our kiddos!  :)

Here are a few excerpts from Elder McMullan's email today:

"This place is small.  I finally realized that, but hey it’s prettier than anywhere else in the entire mission!"

"This week we had zone meeting.  One of my zone leaders is like the most intense person I've ever met in the mission.  Basically we have a hymn, prayer, and then he starts talking.  Within 30 seconds, he says (pointing at the group) "You WILL go inactive after your mission if you don’t obey the rules!!" I was astounded. Didn't know what to think, in my head I was like "Woop there it is!  It wasn't directed at anyone in particular, he’s just intense by nature. His companion is just this loose, happy go lucky guy, so its funny."

"We've been really trying to focus on the lessons with members.  We talked to the members and planned meetings with them like 5 days of this past week, and EVERY time, either the member or investigator couldn't do it..... sigh.   But this week should be better."

"Some good news: A less active lady and her Investigator husband came to church and she wants to start paying tithing again, so that’s good.  Also, yesterday a less active told us that he wants to bring himself and his family back too. That’s good!"

" We went to an investigators house the other day and they had a Catholic  Jesus statue on the cross surrounded by different Virgin Mary statues, Catholic prayers, rosary beads, all that jazz……,but the centerpiece was........, a Book of Mormon!  I was really taken back a bit!"

"We walked into a house the other day ….., and all the women here are usually watching novellas.   (Soap Operas?) They’re awful.  Sometimes they’re in Spanglish, don’t know why, but they are..,  and the guy dropped the F bomb and other horrible words in English and the rest in Spanish. WHY?  It’s like public TV too. Made me think what the heck is going on, on American TV?  It can only be getting worse too. Really makes me sad to see the kids these days with these types of norms. Heck, I’m 19 and I don’t think I heard the words "drugs, sex, gay marriage, curse words, rape," all these horrible things at their age!  Now you can’t avoid them. I think more and more how before the mission I thought a lot like "It would've been easier to be a convert and to not be born in the church, because then, you have to find and develop your own testimony."  Now I realize how grateful I am that I was born of "goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father(s)" and not left to "travel for the space of many hours in darkness." Who knows if I would've ever made it. Thank you Mom and Dad, for being good parents and teaching me the right things to do and what real happiness means. "