What a Week!

Elder Bean working on some drawings.

The Morgantown Zone

Our zone leaders: Elder Millard and Elder Stoddard

Helping a member find coal for the heater in his basement

Real West Virginia coal!

January 11, 2016

Dear Mom, Dad, Aubrey, Ashley and all my Family & Friends,

How's it going y'all? I really loved the pictures that were sent to me. Ashley looked great, Aubrey looked great and Mom's seminary class looked great as well. I'm glad that my staff is being used for good so that Mom can teach about the Old Testament. That's awesome!

Well, this week was nuts for me. A lot of things happened and it feels like I'm still trying to get my head screwed back into place. 1) Because a past missionary (not sure who it was) damaged the grill of the car we are using, Elder Bean had to find an auto body shop to get an estimate. 2) Got sick in the middle of the week. 3) When I received my new debit card from home, I accidentally cut up my mission card thinking that it was my old debit card. It wasn't until I went to buy something at a store that I realized the huge mistake I made. Now, I'm trying to figure out what to do about it. I'll call the mission office again to see what I can do. I promise that I'll do everything I can to get a new mission card so that I can I relieve you from this burden soon. Luckily, we have a lot of food at the apartment so groceries shouldn't be an issue.

However, there were some good moments from this week. We got to go on exchanges with our zone leaders and it was awesome! Elder Stoddard (one of the zone leaders) and I got some good work done here in Masontown. We even got a new investigator and have another appointment with him later this week! I also got to give a talk during sacrament about how God uses witnesses to help with His work and that the Book of Mormon is an additional witness of the Savior Jesus Christ. At the beginning of my talk, I told the members that the reason I was excited to give a talk was because, unlike regular proselyting, I was finally in a situation where people had no choice but to listen to my message. Nobody could say "no" to me then. The Masontown Ward got a good laugh from that. It was great.

Well, I think that's everything. If there is one thing I learned from this mission is that while not all weeks are good, there is something good in each week. The Masontown Ward is awesome and I really enjoy working with Elder Bean. Take care everyone.

I love you all and miss you all. Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Elder Michael Alley

PS The mission office actually just called me back a few minutes ago. They told me that they will send me a new card and that it will arrive in about two weeks. So, it's all taken care of. Thank you so much, though.

2016 Baby!

Hitting the laundry mat: no washer in the apt :(

January 4, 2016

Dear Mom, Dad, Aubrey, Ashley, and all my peeps,

Happy 2016 everyone! Man, it's so hard to believe that this is the year that I come home. Can you believe that? I hope everyone enjoyed their two-year break from me because it's about to come to an end (laughing in an evil manner) ;) Just kidding. I'm definitely excited to see everyone again.

Well, this week was a slow week in regards to proselyting. We were low on miles for the month so we tried walking to a few people's houses but, with no car and no sidewalks, it just took a couple hours to get there. Luckily for us, there was a member from the Masontown ward that gave us a ride back to our apartments. Thank you, Brother Wolfe (the member who gave us a ride)! We also had a New Year's Eve party at the church with some of the members as well. Nothing fancy. Just got together for some food and games. So, not much to report on. Oh well. Can't go wrong with a good New Year's Eve party, right?

To answer Mom's questions:

1) I prefer black socks. 2) Yes, all the clothes I got for Christmas fit ok. 3)Yes, I did get the money from MomMom. Be sure to tell her "thank you" for me. Please and thank you. 4) My thoughts for when I come home are to chill for the holidays first (since I'll be coming home in October before Halloween. I would like to have some fun first ;)) then try to get into BYU-I. I'm currently thinking about a career in Journalism or something that involves writing because I've discovered, since being a missionary, that I like to write things out. That's why I love e-mailing you guys because then I get to type out my story to you ;) At least, that's what I'm thinking about what now anyway.

Well, I think that's everything. I hope you all have a good week. I love you all and miss you all.

Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Elder Michael Alley

P.S. Another idea I have for when I get home is to try something called "blogging". You know, where you can type out your thoughts on stuff and let other people read them. Not sure what I'll blog on but it sounds like fun. Anyway, just an idea.

My Conversion Story

Christmas Day Skype call with Elder Alley :)

December 28, 2015

Dear Mom, Dad, Aubrey, Ashley, and all my Family & Friends,

 It was awesome to be able to skype you guys for Christmas! The best part about skyping is not what was said in the session, but just being able to see your faces and hear your voices. I'm grateful to just be with you guys, even if it's only through technology.

I'm also stoked about Sam's Mission call! He is going to do awesome in the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission. Alley family missionaries unite! (First spiritually, then physically after two years) ;) In the words of Grandpa Alley, "Go give them Heaven!" Good luck, Sam!

This e-mail is going to be a special one because I want to share with you my testimony and and how I came, and am still coming, to know that Jesus Christ lives and that His Gospel is true. First of all, I want to thank everyone who sent me letters with their testimonies and conversion stories. They were amazing and I loved reading them! I apologize for crying during our skype call and talking about how frustrated I was about the work here in the West Virginia Charleston Mission. Despite the difficulties, I know that Jesus Christ lives, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's true church, and the Gospel and all that accompanies it is true! I have had too many experiences to think otherwise.

It all started with my childhood. Like Nephi who wrote in the first part of the Book of Mormon, I was also born of goodly parents. Even better, I was born of a goodly family, with grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, sisters and a brother who are all strong in the gospel and many of them served missions. Growing up with such a wonderful family, I didn't have a reason to doubt about whether God existed or not, I just knew He did exist. As I got older, I was blessed to have friends and youth leaders who were also strong in the Gospel as well. I couldn't have asked for a better family and group of friends.

However, I will admit that my faith did get tested at one point. I guess it happened when I started middle school. While I have always been blessed with great teachers and friends, it was also a time when I finally took notice of foul language and poor moral values. If you don't believe me, just take a look at what's written on the bathroom and locker room walls. After seeing this, and not being a social-butterfly to begin with, I avoided socializing in school for a while because I didn't want to risk getting in with the wrong crowd and was also afraid of being ridiculed for a belief that I was struggling to understand myself. I knew God existed but I was becoming unsure about the Book of Mormon and the whole Joseph Smith story.

To make matters worse, I did not have a habit of reading the scriptures. I didn't read much other than what the teachers assigned us to read. I still attended church, but mostly because that is where all my family and friends were. Despite my struggling faith and less-than-noble reasons to go to church, I knew that the church was good and this is where I belonged.

Luckily, through the Lord's tender mercy, I was blessed to attend Seminary and Especially for Youth activities during the summer. And, while I'm not much of an outdoors person, I also enjoyed going to four high adventures as well. These experiences helped me to come out of my shell and also to strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel. What helped me was that through out this journey, I worked on my scripture reading habit by reading at least one verse to memorize and/or ponder about (#ScriptureMasteryWorksWonders). This led me to read other verses in the scriptures because I developed a love for reading and memorizing short, summarized statements and phrases. This eventually led me to read the entire Book of Mormon from start to finish for the first time during Seminary and even praying about it its truthfulness in the middle of one night. An experience that was powerful and that I'll never forget. When that happened, I knew that the Book of Mormon was true and this church had to be God's true church! There was just no other explanation to to why I felt so much joy that night.

There is so much more to my conversion story than what I have shared with you. But let it suffice to say that this was just one of many experiences that I had that helped me become a better disciple of Jesus Christ.

I know this church is true and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I love you all and miss you all. Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Elder Michael Alley

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Elder Alley enjoying his last moments with Elder Taylor. They had such a great time together.
Looks like the Seahawks socks were a hit. :)
(I have to laugh about all the Star Wars posters. haha)

Transfer Day

Thumbs up from Elder Alley.

A few of the wonderful missionaries serving in the West Virginia Charleston Mission

Can't wait to Skype with this guy on Christmas!!!

December 21, 2015

Dear Mom, Dad, Aubrey, and all my Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas everyone! Wow! It's so hard to believe that I'll be skyping you guys in just a few days! I can't wait to see everyone's faces and catch up on the news back home. It's definitely going to be awesome!

This week has been crazy for me because of all the changes that have been made. I'll do my best to summarize what's happened so far:

I have been transferred to Masontown, West Virginia. I'm the new district leader and my new companion's name is Elder Bean. He is from Sequim, Washington. (Finally, another Washington buddy!) He's a cool guy. He and I both like anime (Japanese cartoons) and video games so we have some fun conversations. He's even shown me some sketches that he's drawn and they are so well done. I think he and I are going to get along just fine. There's not much to report since this week was mainly just me trying to get to know the area and the people here.

Now for Mom's questions:

1) Yes, Brother Bentley did actually carve that walking stick. Is it awesome or is it awesome?

2) I received one of your packages, the one with the stocking in it. Yes, the PO Box address is correct.

4) There's a member couple that invited us over to their house for the Christmas Skype. Time wise, we are looking at doing it before noon. We are still coordinating the schedule. I'll send you a text beforehand to set up a specific time.

 5) Elder Taylor's new companion is Elder Kovac, a missionary who was actually in my MTC district. He's a cool guy. Yes, Elder Taylor is staying in Flatwoods as the new district leader.

Well, I think that's everything. If not, then I'll just tell you during our Christmas skype. I'll see you all soon. Merry Christmas. I love you all and miss you all. Hurrah for Israel!

Love,

Elder Michael Alley

Pics Before My Transfer

Flatwoods Branch Christmas party

Sis. Amy Powell and her children, Cora and Baden

When the walking stick you want to mail home is too long, you make your own box. :)

Sutton Library: site of P-day emailing :)

Flatwoods apartment

Bro. Hanks

Elder Caldwell

Elder J. Taylor & Elder Shirley

The Cowen District: Elder Shirley, Elder Caldwell, Elder Ruda,
Elder Williams, Elder J. Taylor & I