Elder Michael Alley Mission Report

Pres. & Sis. Salisbury visited their district a couple weeks ago

Sis. Bentley sent this last night. (Hooray for pics!)

February 9, 2015

Dear Family,

Man, it's hard to believe that I've been out for almost 4 months! Can you believe that? 4 months down, 20 to go. How are things going in good ole Spokane, Washington? Looks like things are going good, judging by the pics and letters. As for me, this last week has been a week of miracles. First of all let me answer some of the weekly housekeeping questions:

1) The story behind that pic is this: During our companionship study, Elder Barney and I received a text from Church Headquarters with a media referral (a potential investigator who either ordered something from Mormon.org or wants to speak to missionaries). We got so excited about it that we immediately got our jackets on, called the Winns to ask them for a ride to the address, and went out the door. In our moment of excitement and my moment of forgetfulness, I didn't realize that I wasn't wearing a tie or belt until the weather warmed up and I took off my jacket. It was embarrassing, but luckily no one else was at the church when I finally took my coat off. Ha ha.

2) Elder Barney has been out on his mission for 15 months.

3) My zone is the Ashland Zone.

4) Yes, we do have investigators. In fact, we picked up two new investigators and one potential investigator!

This leads up to my report for this week of miracles for Elder and I. One day during our dinner break, Elder Barney got this weird craving for a Dilly Bar at Dairy Queen. I was also in the mood for some kind of desert so we went to Dairy Queen. When we arrived at the counter to order, the cashier looked at us and asked if we were Mormons. We told him yes and then he told us that he had a dream last night about Mormons coming to Dairy Queen! Coincidence or Divine Intervention? I say Divine Intervention because after we got our orders he sat down with us and asked a lot of questions about what we believe and about the church. We answered many of his questions and even exchanged phone numbers! It was awesome! But what really made me happy was feeling so calm and confident as I was answering some of his questions. 4 months ago, I was struggling to figure out just the basics of missionary work and gospel doctrine. I believe that the conversation we had with this employee was a tender mercy from the Lord and that He was showing me that I am making progress. It was amazing!

I'm going to wrap up now, but before I do, I want to invite you all to do something. I want you want you to read hymn 301 "I Am a Child of God", Psalms 82:6, and 1 Nephi 17:36. As you read these verses, ask yourself these questions: Do I truly believe that I'm a child of God? Do I see God as my Father and Jesus Christ as my Savior and brother or do I just see them as just characters from a story book? Do the words from "I Am a Child of God" mean anything to me, or are they just empty words from a catchy song?

The reason that I invite everyone to ponder these questions is because I have also been pondering them. Thanks to my calling as a missionary, I have given serious thought about our divine potential to become like our Heavenly Father. I wish I could describe to you the joy and wonderful personal revelations that I have received from my studies on this one simple but profound truth from the Gospel. But for now, please study the song and the verses. I promise you that there is great joy in coming to know that we are children of our Heavenly Father. Take care everyone. I love and miss you all.

Love,

Elder Michael Alley