February 29th, 2016

Dear Family,

The second round of zone conferences was much better for collecting
phones. We are down to five phones we need to collect. We will be
having zone leaders bring them to MLC. Hopefully we will be able to
ship the phones off this week. There is a 40 Lbs. box of phones plus a
few other boxes of cords and chargers that we are wanting to finally
get out of the office.

In district meeting this week, Elder Johnson had us brainstorm some
ways that we can make the work we do more fun. I learned that role
plays don't have to be a set block of time or in a rigid structure. It
can be as simple as asking "How would you teach that principle?" or
"Put yourself in their shoes. How would you respond to this
situation?" This helped me realize that role plays and practices can
be scattered through the whole companion study and doesn't just have
to be 10-15 minutes at the end. I also liked something that Sister
Alius said in district meeting:
"When someone says they have already been baptized, we aren't just
telling them they need to be baptized again. They need more than
proper authority; they need immersion, the covenants, and the
sacrament. This gives an opportunity to teach other doctrines than
authority."

The Powell sisters, the other trio in the mission, got their car stuck
deep in some mud. After about thirty minutes of trying to dig it out,
they realized it might be a good idea to call the vehicle coordinator
and ask for help. Elder Long was just going to call a tow truck, but
we were sitting right here in the office and Elder Winkler realizes,
hey we have a truck! So we grabbed a tow cable and went to help them
out. When we got there the sisters were soaking wet from the rain and
had mud all over their skirts and shoes. After Elder Winkler got his
slacks all muddy attaching the tow cable, it only took about ten
seconds to pull the car out. The sisters learned they should just call
the mission office first next time.

The changes to iPad payments has been working out really nice. We have
already seen confirmation emails that several of the missionaries
coming in next transfer have already paid for their iPads. The ability
to pay online for iPads has already proven useful as Elder Vario
needed to pay for a replacement iPad and could do it right on his
iPad. Now all that is left is to deal with the iPads that have been
taken home and not paid for. We called the missionary department
inquiring what the official procedures should be for trying to reclaim
those iPads. The person I talked with said that we should work with
the individual, then with their stake president/bishop, then if things
aren't resolved and the individual is not cooperating, the mission
office files a police report to reclaim stolen church property. We
asked how long we should wait and how many times we should get in
contact with them before filing the report, but they said it is up to
the discretion of the mission president and is dealt with on a
case-by-case basis.

We had another lesson with Bill, a less active member in the ward. He
has been trying to forgive someone that has hurt those he cares about,
but is having trouble letting go of the anger. We shared the bible
video of Christ's crucifixion and also the Mormon message about the
man that lost half his family due to an accident with a drunk driver.
We shared with him how Christ forgave those that were killing him.
Elder Winkler also shared a personal experience that was really
powerful and connected with Bill.

We have been increasing our finding efforts this week. We know we
don't have a lot of people to teach and we have been determined to
change that. We have been asking everyone we talk to for referrals and
it has been interesting to see how willing people are to help with our
efforts even if they themselves aren't interested in our message. We
got a referral this week from the Powell sisters that was a former
investigator. We were able to talk with her for a brief time on her
doorstep and we found out she is still interested in hearing the
message we share. There are also a couple other people we knocked into
we are hoping to teach this week.

I really like how this ward is missionary-minded. The ward mission
leader has done a great job motivating the ward missionaries to want
to go out with the full time missionaries and help with the finding
effort. The ward council also has been really inspiring. I can tell
that they genuinely care for those that are in their quorums and
auxiliaries and want to help reach out to those that need help.

I started reworking the Stake Report spreadsheet so that the formulas
draw directly from the IMOS report instead of needing the indicators
to be entered manually. This should make creating the report a 5
minute process instead of a 30+ minute process that requires data
entry. I have enjoyed learning more about Excel as I have been able to
explore ways to make our work more efficient. My experience with Excel
in the past was on smaller sets of data, so I have never had the need
to look into using functions other than Sum and Average. Now I have
been using conditional and lookup functions to sort through a complex
data set. The skills I am learning in the office are going to be a
great benefit after the mission. I am grateful for the opportunity to
learn these skills.

We got to play some frying pan ping pong, or pan pong as we have been
calling it. If our ping pong setup wasn't ghetto enough, now we are
using frying pans as paddles. We already were using two closet doors
to form the table. The Frying pans make a much louder sound when the
ball hits it.

--
Elder Aaron King
Ohio Columbus Mission

We needed to get some sample photos for our documentation that show
what photos are appropriate or not appropriate to add to our mission
wide photo share. Here is Elder Marvin being a rebel.

Another photo for that documentation. You would be surprised how many
missionaries send in photos wearing sunglasses, flashing gang signs,
being dangerous, or taking bathroom selfies. Some missionaries think
the photo share is Facebook.

This is the picture we used as an example of what missionaries should
send in to the photo share.

February 22nd, 2016

Dear Family,

In District Meeting, I learned a lot about how to work with members
and help them see value in their own testimony. We can help members
discover who they know that could benefit from hearing their
testimony. I also learned that we invite members to keep the same
commitments as investigators, but we add in ways to help them fulfill
their missionary purpose as members. They can hold FHE with a friend,
invite a friend to a baptismal service, and invite a friend over to
watch the Restoration DVD. I also like how some missionaries shared
that they invite the ward and ward council to join in prayer for
investigators. This helps them be invested in the work that is going
on in the ward.

Members have been able to go out with us a couple times this week and
I have been able to meet more less-active members in the ward. I
noticed some people were more friendly and welcoming to us when their
home teacher stopped by with us than when we just came by on our own.

I found the best snack food ever this week: Veggie Straws. They taste
like potato chips and are much cheaper and healthier. You can find
them at Costco in a giant bag for $6. A senior couple in the office,
the Hartung's, have a Costco membership, so they offer to order stuff
for us every few weeks. I am going to miss that when I leave to a new
area.

Thursday, we helped a couple move their stuff out of a storage unit.
When they were looking at their options for a moving truck they found
a tiny horse trailer that was cheaper than a U-haul truck. We helped
clean out the horse trailer then loaded it up. We had most of the
district there to help us.

I taught Elder Winkler how to solve a Rubik's cube the other day. He
picked it up pretty quick. Now he is a little obsessed with it. He
also has a mirror cube that he has been playing with. I miss all the
cubes I have back home, but I know they would be a distraction out
here.

We were able to create backups for all of the office computers. I
Wrote a backup script that automated the process. It was fun to get to
do some programming again. We found a lot of old documents, excel
files, training videos, and other documents from several years ago.
They are taking up a lot of space and don't look like they are being
used. We left them in the backups for now, but in the future it may be
worth sorting through them and weeding out useless files.

Since the switch to AT&T, we have been trying to collect all of the
old Sprint phones and are down to 42 left that we still need to
locate. Our plan is to follow up with each set of zone leaders the day
before their zone conference and ask them to remind their zone to
bring the phones. It has been kind of frustrating that we didn't get
most of them back during this week of zone conferences. We can't send
them back to Salt Lake until we get all of them and missionaries just
aren't getting the hint that we are serious. The next time we will get
a chance to collect phones won't be for a couple of months, so we are
really banking on this week to collect phones.

Sunday we had Ward Conference. The members of the stake talked about
the atonement and how it applies to everyone. In priesthood meeting,
President Bons taught using the New Testament phrase "when thou art
converted, strengthen thy brethren." He asked us to ponder how each
step of our conversion (faith, repentance, baptism, etc) helps us to
be able to better strengthen our brethren. As we are further converted
ourself, we learn how to bring someone to that place too. As we climb
mountains, we can help lift others up.

Last night we had dinner with the Rappleye family. They showed us a
Jello cookbook that had tons of recipes that included jello. There
were your typical recipes like fruit salad and pudding desserts, but
there were also a lot of strange ones. Tuna Jello salad, Jello
Gaspacho (which had vinegar and tomato juice in it), and Jello garden
salad (with radishes and lettuce) were included. Also there was a
three pepper Jello that had different colored bell peppers in it.
Probably the weirdest was a recipe for Jello guacamole and Jello
tortilla chips. Let me know if you want any of these recipes, I
wouldn't recommend any though.

--
Elder Aaron King
Ohio Columbus Mission

-President Daines got up on a snow plow truck to take our photo at
zone conference and I drew him holding the Ohio flag.

District Meeting

February 15th, 2016

Dear Family,

I really enjoyed district meeting this week. Elder Johnson, our new
district leader, taught about ways we can work with members better. We
should bring members who would be best to fellowship, not just those
who would be the easiest to get based on availability. Sometimes as
missionaries we end up bringing the same members to lessons because
they are always available. It is so important that we prayerfully
consider who to bring and then help them realize how they can be part
of God's work. Elder Johnson also taught how we should change our
mindset from "members help us with the work" to a mindset of "we help
them in their missionary efforts".

Now that we are a little ways passed transfer week, we have had some
more time to go out proselytizing. We were able to do some tracting,
contact a couple referrals and reach out to some less active members.
I enjoy teaching with Elders Marvin and Winkler. They are good
examples and care for those we teach.

This week, the three of us made chicken bacon pesto pizza. It is a lot
more work than I remember. Also, our kitchen is really small, which
doesn't help when there are three cooks. It turned out really good. I
was glad to eat our pizza again, but I probably won't make it again
while on my mission. Has the menu at home changed very much in the
past few months? What are some of the new recipes you have tried?

Thanks for the package! Both my companions really liked the muffin
mix. Elder Marvin really loved the sour fruit snacks.

A few days ago, we were walking down the driveway of a referral we
were contacting. Elder Marvin stumbled a little on some ice and caught
his balance. I told him to watch his step, then not even a second
later, I landed flat on my butt. I hit my right wrist and elbow, the
right side of my tailbone, and my head on the ground. Luckily there
was a tiny amount of snow to lighten my fall. When I fell I also lost
my CTR because it flung off my finger. There was a lot of light snow
so it probably fell into a snow drift. We have checked back a couple
times to look for it, but the snow won't melt. Hopefully I am able to
find it.

At church we had fourteen missionaries. Normally we have 6-8 because
there is our trio, the trio of Powell sisters, as well as President
and Sister Daines. This week the Worthington and Dublin wards had to
join us because their building had a plumbing problem. There was raw
sewage flooding into the baptismal font. So we got to have our zone
leaders (Elders Bauman and Brown), our sister training leaders
(Sisters Rogers and Lonnecker), and an office couple (Elder and Sister
Hartung) at church with us. Our gospel principles class had all of the
missionaries except President and Sister Daines. This was definitely a
different experience at church.

I feel like I have been slacking on my studies a bit this past week. I
don't want to get too comfortable being a technology specialist that I
lose sight of the importance of studying the doctrines of the
missionary lessons. My primary purpose is a missionary, so I will try
harder this week. I have noticed a difference in my attitude this
week. Not reading your scriptures for even a few days can have a very
drastic impact on your effectiveness and attitude.

--
Elder Aaron King
Ohio Columbus Mission

February 8th, 2016

Dear family,

I'll start off with transfer news. Elder Taylor is staying in Dayton
YSA 2 and I am now in Powell 2. I work in the office as a technology
specialist (most people call us tech elders) with two awesome
companions Elder Winkler and Elder Marvin. Elder Winkler and I are
both junior companions and Elder Marvin is the senior companion.

Elder Marvin is from Los Angelos, California and Portland, Oregon.
This is his last transfer and then he is going home. He is really
funny.

Elder Winkler is from Orem, Utah. He has two transfers left and will
likely stay a tech elder with me until he goes home. Elder Winkler and
I are second cousins. I found this out while doing family history work
in my first transfer, but I haven't ever had a chance to talk to him
about it. Now that we are companions I have had a little more
opportunity to tell him about it. He is related through Mom's side of
the family. His mom is Renee Rowley (Winkler), who is my Mom's cousin.
The shared ancestor we have is James Aitken/Mary Stoker. It's a small
world, I guess.

Time is moving so fast here. I am on day five, but it feels like I
have only been here two. This area is the one I have felt the least
stressed in. I like that I am able to use the talents that I have
developed to help the whole mission. Another difference is that I get
to see a lot of what is going on behind the scenes. We work closely
with President Daines and his assistants, Elders Lloyd and Peterson. I
usually only see the "business" side of President Daines, but now I
get to see the personal side. I have learned more about him in the
last three days than I have in the past nine months.

I have been learning a lot about how members can be effective in
missionary work. I invite you to ask the missionaries over so they can
inform you how you can be involved as a family to help strengthen the
ward. I can promise you that as you become member missionaries you
will not only help friends come closer to Christ, but you as
individuals and a family will draw closer to Christ. Will you invite
the missionaries over this week?

By the way, our address is:
Elder Aaron King
4884 Emerald Lakes Drive
Powell, OH 43065

But we are really close to the mission office, so you can just send stuff to:
Elder Aaron King
19 Clairedan Dr
Powell, OH 43065

--
Elder Aaron King
Ohio Columbus Mission

Tech elders and assistants working side-by-side during our busy
post-transfer week

January 25th, 2016

Dear Family,

In district meeting, Elder Taylor and I were given the chance to give
a training on strengthening new and less-active members. We prepared
really well for what we were going to teach and during the lesson we
both felt prompted to share something that was extra to what we had
prepared. I really felt the spirit as I bore my testimony of the
experience I shared. Looking back on the situation, the comment from
the worldwide broadcast about the need to put things into our
spiritual treasure chest before we can draw from it is really true. If
we don't make the proper preparations, then we don't give the spirit
anything to bring to our remembrance as we teach.

Going into the worldwide missionary broadcast I did go "expecting to
be taught the mysteries" as President Smith, the mission's first
counselor, put it. With this being the first worldwide mission
broadcast in over a decade, we were expecting some new doctrines,
policies, or something. Instead, the apostles taught simply the truths
we already knew. I feel like the training was a good reminder that the
gospel we share with others is full of simple beauties.

I really liked Elder Oaks' talk. He said we do more than offer to make
bad men good and good men better. The fundamental purpose of our
missionary work is that men cannot be saved in the highest kingdom of
glory without the doctrine of Christ and the temple. We don't help
them settle for a lesser kingdom. Other churches cannot get them to
this highest kingdom. As missionaries, with priesthood authority, we
are the only ones entitled to teach these principles. This definitely
helped remind me of the bigger picture that as missionaries we are
helping them to get to more than just baptism.

We got new phones this week. They are the same kind of phone, but we
switched providers from Sprint to AT&T. President Daines was probably
really happy about that because he worked as an executive at AT&T
before becoming a mission president.

Elder Taylor and I have been walking way more than usual this week. We
have been out contacting on the campuses all day most days this week
because both Sinclair and UD are back. On Saturday we walked about
five miles just to contact two referrals. The weeks that we don't have
the car are quite the workout!

Brother Chatterton gave a talk in sacrament meeting about the
difference between testimony and conversion. He used the story of
Peter denying Christ three times as an example of having testimony but
not being converted yet. He also made a really profound statement
about envy that has stuck out to me. He said envy is looking at what
someone has and trying to get it by taking a shortcut. When people
have a stronger testimony, it is because they worked for it. We can't
just sit back and be envious of their testimony. We need to work hard
to develop our own. We also must have a sure foundation in Christ.
That is the difference between testimony and conversion. Step by step
we must be building that foundation daily by reading our scriptures
and praying. But it is more than just going through the motions, we
must be actively trying to strengthen our relationship with our Father
in Heaven.

God is our Father, and that means we are His children. Remember that
relationship when you pray each morning and evening, at meal times,
and in your heart constantly. Think about the relationship a child has
to a father and prayer will become more meaningful. We don't try to
change His will. We look up to Him for guidance and ask Him to help us
follow His will. The Savior is a great example of demonstrating that
He knows this relationship. In the Garden of Gethsemane He pleaded
with the Father in prayer to remove the bitter cup, then in an
ultimate act of submission as a child to his father, was willing to
follow His Father's will in continuing on with the atonement. I know
that the Savior has borne our trials and He will give us the strength
to follow the will of the Father. Jesus Christ descended below all and
faced more than we could ever imagine. As a result, He knows us
perfectly and knows how to succor His people. Remember that each of
you are Children of God, and He wants to see you succeed.

Another statement that was made by President Smith after the broadcast
has helped me better understand the Savior. He said that when he was
in some leadership position in the church, he had a project he was
working on and didn't know how to accomplish the task. He asked
someone higher up for some advice and they told him to study the
atonement. That wasn't the answer President Smith was looking for, he
wanted help with the task he was assigned. He didn't know how studying
doctrine could solve his problem. President Smith was confused, but
willingly obeyed. As he studied the atonement, he came to feel more
love for those he was working with and that helped him see the
solution that would benefit all involved. He said don't look for
specifics on how to do things, study the doctrines and the rest will
come. This experience has got me to realize that we don't have to have
the answer to every little question and we don't need to know exactly
how things will work out. We study the atonement and Christ's
teachings to better understand the Savior and His sacrifice for us;
after that, the rest will come. I know that trials will keep coming,
but stay true to building your testimony of the Savior and strive to
be like Him. As you do so I know that having a foundation in Christ
will help you all withstand the winds of trials that the devil will
send.
--
Elder Aaron King
Ohio Columbus Mission