From President Durrant
Dear Valiant Texas Dallas Missionaries,
You never cease to amaze me! Your leaders set a goal in Leadership Council on May 3rd and you met it and exceeded it on May 31st. The goal was to find 1400 new investigators during the month of May and you all found 1448 new investigators. Terrific! There is great power in setting a goal and then working diligently to reach it. Inspiring! Let me add that for this last week you found 410 new investigators. Our previous high was 363. Amazing! You also contacted 240 referrals. That is also a mission record. The previous high was 204. Fantastic! And let's not forget our main goal which is to baptize and confirm. Sixteen people were confirmed this week. Wonderful!
As I mentioned in my last letter, I would like to ask for a Father's Day (June 16) gift. We have never had more than 209 baptismal dates at one time in the Texas Dallas Heaven. We currently have 147 baptismal dates. I would like to invite each companionship to focus on inviting all your investigators to be baptized. I would like to see 210 (or more) baptismal dates by June 16. That gives us two weeks to invite all our new investigators to be baptized. Would you please do all in your power to help us reach this goal? If you will, it will lead to many children of our Heavenly Father receiving the "greatest of all the gifts of God."
I love being on the same team with each of you. We are on the right side with Jesus Christ and we will be victorious.
Last invitation for today - be kind and forgiving. I love Ephesians 4:32. It states, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you."
President Durrant
Texas Dallas Mission
"Mission of Miracles"
p.s. A Planning Experiment
The Missionary Handbook makes allowances for mission presidents to adjust the daily schedule. With that in mind, for the next 19 days (starting tomorrow, June 4, through June 22) I want to try a planning experiment. This experiment offers two new daily planning options. You do not have to use either of these two new options. It is fine if you choose to continue to plan at night. The two new planning options are: 1) Plan at lunch for 30 minutes of your 60 minute lunch break and then return home at the normal hours of 9:00/9:30 or 2) Take an hour lunch as you normally would and then plan for thirty minutes at a time between 2:30 and 4:30 (away from your apartment) and then work an extra thirty minutes until 9:30/10:00. Either way you are still working the same amount of missionary hours. The difference that these two new options offer is that instead of planning for thirty minutes at the end of your day, you are planning during your lunch hour or during the afternoon. Again, if you choose to plan during the afternoon, please do not return home to plan. This is only an experiment. There are no plans to make these new options available on a permanent basis.
p.p.s June Calendar Reminders
June 4 Tuesday - Follow-up training at the Meandering Way building from 10 to 4. Bring your own lunch.
June 12 Wednesday - Specialized training from 10 to 4 for all East Texas missionaries at the Broadway building in Tyler. Bring your own lunch.
June 14 Friday - Specialized training for all Spanish missionaries from 10 to 4 at the Lake Highlands building. Bring your own lunch.
June 18 Tuesday - Specialized training for all English missionaries from 10 to 4 at the Meandering Way building. Bring your own lunch.
June 28 Friday - Specialized training for all Senior missionaries from 10 to 4 at the Meandering Way building. Bring your own lunch.
p.p.p.s. Questions and Answers
In response to a few items that have come up recently, I am posting a few questions and answers below. Please share this information with your companion if he/she doesn't read these weekly postings.
Q. Is it okay to have dinner with members with two companionships or more present?
A. No. Please eat as a single companionship with members. The purpose of eating with the members is not to get fed (we can all feed ourselves). There is a higher purpose. The Missionary Handbook states, "When you visit, talk to, or eat with members, your primary purpose should be to strengthen them (see D&C 108:7) and help them fulfill their missionary responsibilities. Ask them whom they know that you could teach. Do everything you can to build their confidence in you as a dedicated, powerful servant of the Lord. ... Meal appointments should be an hour or less and should not interfere with prime proselyting time. Ask the ward mission leader to emphasize having less-active and part-member families and investigators provide meals. Ask members whom they know that you could teach, just as you would in any other visit."
The best way to accomplish the purposes of member dinners as outlined in the Missionary Handbook is to eat with the members as a single companionship. If anyone would like more reasons why we should not be eating any meals in groups of four or more missionaries, please call me.
Q. But President Durrant, it is a tradition in our ward/branch to feed the missionaries as a group.
A. I understand. Now let's end the tradition and help the members understand the guidelines that we've all agreed to follow in the Missionary Handbook. The members don't know what the Missionary Handbook says. Each of you do.
Q. Could you please repeat our mission texting and phone calling guidelines?
A. Yes. They are simple. Do not call/text outside of your district without your District Leader's permission. Do not call/text outside of your zone without permission from your Zone Leaders or the Assistants or from President Durrant. Below is text from our Guiding Principles:
Communication: Please do not call and/or text members and/or missionaries from previous areas of service. Do not ask members from previous areas to visit you and do not arrange to meet them. Show all texts to your companion. Put calls on speaker phone when talking to members/missionaries of the opposite sex. Avoid "social" texting with other missionaries.
Q, Can I call or send texts to young women in my ward or branch?
A. No. Please do not do this. Ask your ward mission leader to help coordinate any missionary work that needs to be done that involves the young women of your ward or branch.
Q. Can I email my past converts of the opposite gender?
A. Yes, you can. Below is an excerpt from our Guiding Principles:
Question: Can I write a convert of the opposite sex?
Answer: In response to the clause below from the Missionary Handbook, President Durrant has approved communication via letter or email with converts of the opposite sex while you are still in the mission field. Do not text or call converts of the opposite sex. Please inform President Durrant if you have romantic feelings toward any of your investigators, converts, members, other missionaries, or anyone else here in our mission. COMMUNICATING WITH CONVERTS - Missionary Handbook pages 36 and 37: "You share responsibility for strengthening your converts in the Church. You may not be able to continue to visit them, but you can write them occasionally and encourage them. An occasional note will reassure and comfort them and rekindle the joy they felt at the time of their conversion. After you have been transferred from the ward or branch, receive your mission president’s authorization before communicating with converts of the opposite sex while you are still in the mission field. Use the mission office address as the return address on any correspondence with converts. When you go home, do not forget those you have taught. At all times live worthy of their trust. Write them occasionally and encourage them to be faithful."
Q. When should I do service?
A. Service can be done during the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Do not do service outside of these hours and try to avoid serving on Saturdays because they are such good proselyting days. When you have to choose between teaching or doing a service project, choose teaching.
Q. But President Durrant, my companion and I have been asked to do service outside of these hours. What should we do?
A. Lovingly tell those that are requesting your help outside of these hours that you have other work that you need to be doing from 4:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.
Finally, please do not ignore the guidelines contained within this document. If an exception needs to be made to these guidelines (and sometimes that may be the case), call President Durrant to discuss a possible exception.
From the Assistants
Elders and Sisters of the Texas Dallas Mission, fantastic job finding this week! We truly saw the hand of the Lord helping us to reach our goal of 1400 new investigators. We are grateful for the dedication and sacrifice put forth from each one of you to reach the mission goal. Now that we have a large pool of investigators, it’s time to set dates! Right now we have 146 baptismal dates, but by Father’s Day 46 people are scheduled to be baptized which will put our baptismal dates at 100 even. So, from now until June 16th, all we need is 110 more dates set to hit our goal of 210. That averages out to each companionship setting one date a piece in the next 13 days. Let us follow after the example of Alma:
“And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again.
Elders and Sisters, we must invite everyone to be baptized! We know that the Lord will recognize our efforts and bless us according to our desires. We can do it!
-Elder Chappell and Elder Evans
PS: Our mission just surpassed a milestone of 500 lists! Elder Aidukaitis will be informed this week. Please remember to send in your number of lists to your zone leaders each Sunday night. Our next milestone will be 750. Keep up the great work!
From the Field
Elder Day - Words of wisdom
These past weeks I have been gaining a stronger testimony of how obedience brings blessings. It's so true. When we are following God's commandments and doing what he asks we are more able to be blessed. And we are teaching people about Christ and God and about his Commandments simply to bless them. So if we are inviting others to live the commandments or " keep the rules" we should be doing the same thing. We should be Obedient.
Elder Benard - Why not work harder?
We also are planning on working even harder, we are working hard, but why not work harder. That is something that my dad would always say to me, during a game. Basketball for example. "When you think you're playing hard, play harder." Now this is my spin on it "When you think you are serving, serve harder." That to me sounds great, why not work harder, the Lord will recognize our efforts and bless us.
Elder Pruitt - Companion compliment
Elder Troseth is great, something I love about him is how much he cares about the people he's been teaching before I got here. He truly does desire their happiness. (Dear Elders and Sisters, I love it when you compliment your companions in your letters to me.)
Elder Brown - Question and Answer of the week
I was once asked by a missionary "Why are you trying so hard to be obedient? Trying to get assistant points?" at the time i didn't know how to answer him, I was just being obedient because i felt like i needed to be, and because i do what i'm generally told. Page 4 of the Missionary handbook answers this much better than i ever could. As you obey these guidelines you show the Lord your love for Him. The only reason i sit here today in Texas is because i love the Lord. For those of you who don't want to be exactly obedient, please don't belittle those who are trying to be obedient by making fun of them. You are better than that.
Elder Nunez - From lemons to lemonade
Our area is going well. Except we hit one bump in the road last Saturday. Our investigator didn't show up to her baptism. I was at a loss of what to do, since it has never happened to me. Well I decided to have the baptism without her, it was a short and beautiful serve. The speakers were great and the Spirit was present. We had an investigator couple there, which she loved the whole thing. She is excited for her own baptism. We gave her a tour of the stake building. She told us the whole time of the inner peace she was feeling as we walked through the building. Later, we found out that our missing investigator had gotten an allergic reaction to something and was sick. She should be getting baptized soon.
Elder Wilson - El valor de "Listas"
Las listas van a quedar todo el mundo!!!!! Lo que hicimos fue buscar por los van a salir o que estan preparando para servir una mision y hacer una lista para invitar personas a su "farewell." Con esta idea, encontramos una familia que tuvo una hija que iba a regresar de su mision de Boise Idaho. Hicimos una lista con ellos, y esta familia estaba estatica! Tuvieron mucho animo que los misioneros van a invitar quien que sea y recibimos muchos nombres, pero tambien la familia envio esta idea a su hija en su correo. Su hija encantaba la idea tambien y explico "la lista" a todos en su zona, y lo que escuchamos es que "la lista" ya es otra forma a trabajar en la mision de Boise Idaho! Por favor agradecer Elder Aidukaitis otra vez!!! Y tambien las Hermanas de Garland 1 ya estan ensenando las referencias de la lista que hicimos. Yay for General Authorities that point Gold Mines out to us!
Sister McDonald - Obey out of love
On Sunday we were talking about Obedience and why we do the things we do. There were three main reasons why we obey: 1. Out of Fear 2. Out of Gain (if you do A, you receive B in return) 3. Out of Love.
Now everyone is on this scale somewhere and so it's hard to sometimes take a real look at yourself and see where you are at. Maybe you are getting up at 6:30 and doing all the things you were supposed to because you are afraid of what your companion will say if you don't, maybe you are at the point where you changed and you are now waking up and being obedient because you know it brings blessings! But how many of us missionaries can say that we are being obedient, solely out of love? Ask yourself, for everything you do during the day. Are you knocking on doors because you know you and your family are receiving blessings or are you doing it 100% just because of your love for God.
Just hearing all this stuff really put a different perspective on things for me. It made me realize that it wasn't just about being obedient.. but what's behind it! I want to do everything out of love, and I know it won't come right away, but there is such a change in EVERYTHING when you obey out of love.
Elder Aokuso - A spirit-filled personal study
My week so far has been really Great. I am really happy to be here in Texas Dallas Mission and i am excited to work in this area I have been assigned by the Lord. I have experienced many Miracles in my Area - the Richardson area. I am Grateful for the Companion that I have to help me and strengthen me to become the best potential missionary that Heavenly Father wants me to become. Today during my Personal studies i read about Mormon. Mormon being at a Young age, lead the Nephite Army into battle with the Lamanites. The Lamanite army had an exceedingly great number of soldiers and they both fought in a great battle. The Nephites were wicked at that time and when they prepared for the war, they were afraid and I guess that they weren't prepared. As they went to war its stated in the Book of Mormon that the Spirit of God was not among the Nephites but they fought with their own strength. When I thought of this, I tried to apply this to my life. It reminds me of being Obedient. If I am not Obedient, the Spirit of the Lord will not be with me when I go out to war - Tracting, Finding etc. I will strive to be obedient and not rely on my own strength and to also be prepared throughout my time here on my mission even after the mission. I really felt the spirit today in my Personal Studies.
Elder Beck - Church tours
Sister Durrant will be happy to know that we did a church tour with Hermana De La Cruz this past Saturday. As we sat in the chapel the spirit was so strong! She had to have felt it. She wasn't able to make it to church yesterday due to work, but last night she was able to come with her family to a baptism that happened in the branch. The church tour worked. We got her back in the church, and she felt more comfortable to be there. :)
Elder Taylor - Church tours
This first part is mostly for Sister Durrant since she gave the training on it, but we mentioned to her that on wednesday we did a church tour with a few Hispanics. well, they actually came to church this sunday and it was awesome!!! so i just wanted her to know that it works. at least it worked for us! so it was awesome!
Thank you for reading.
JANUARY: 37
FEBRUARY: 35
MARCH: 66
APRIL: 35
MAY : 41
June 2nd: 16
______________________
Total: 230
Junes Dates: 115
July Dates: 31
