In the End

(Typed up from a recording taken from the meeting. A rendition of "O My Father" had just been sung, and Ryan Woodfield, a soon-to-be Elder, just spoke before me.)

Thanks so much for that beautiful song. Ryan, it was missionaries like you that I looked up to as I served. I have also been asked to speak on serving Christ.

So, I was called to serve in the Arkansas Little Rock mission. When I got my call, I didn't know where that was. Just thought middle of nowhere – I had been to Kansas the previous spring and I thought it looked exactly like that: flat and barren. But I'm glad that I was wrong. It's such a beautiful place. There's so many trees; so many creeks and rivers. It's just a beautiful habitation. We kinda pass a joke around in Arkansas that the state bird is the mosquito, and I can't tell you how many churches there are in Arkansas because in one little town, West Memphis, Arkansas – population was a little over 20,000 people – there was about 55 churches. So it was quite the experience going from door to door, talking to each person about their beliefs. About what they knew about Jesus Christ. And for us to share the Book of Mormon and help them come closer in their faith to Jesus Christ.

Service has been something that many of our leaders, particularly our prophet, have spoken about recently. And I think it's very important that we get on this bandwagon, that we ride this wave of service for our fellow brothers and sisters. There are many ways that we can serve others, but the three ways I would like to talk about today are to serve the people that we teach (or serve our friends), to serve our companions and to serve Christ. Now I'm gonna be speaking in missionary terms today, but just know that when I talk about our investigators, or missionaries' investigators, that applies to the friends we know in our daily lives; that the companions that we have on a mission can be compared to the companions that we have in life: both our personal friends or our spouses; and then, of course, we serve Christ who is the ultimate source of love and of mercy.

So I had several opportunities to serve people through physical means. I prepared a short list. So I've up barbed wire fencing, filled potholes with asphalt, moved people out of roach-infested apartments, ran electrical wire, fixed dry wall, volunteered at food pantries, installed whiteboards for a college, helped with gardening, put up chicken wire to keep squirrels from getting into things, cleared a Boy Scout woodland trail, redirected traffic, given countless Priesthood blessings, visited nursing homes, helped others overcome drug addictions, and mowed lawns; and those are just a fraction of the things I was able to do to serve others on my mission. I bet anyone that looks at my resumé is gonna be really excited.

Particularly as an Elder, I had been called to serve under my Priesthood authority. To prepare to serve my mission I was given the Melchizedek Priesthood, and I was able to give my first blessing on my mission as well as many other blessings. I would just like to share one particular blessing I was able to give that will stay with me forever.

We were friends with a recent convert family that had been baptized by the sisters in Jonesboro, Arkansas. This recent convert family was so steadfast in the gospel. They loved every minute of it. Sis. White, a member of the family, she had a friend named Tamara. Tamara was pregnant with twins. One twin was receiving a lot more blood flow than the other one was, and the twin that wasn't receiving that much blood flow – his kidneys were actually shrinking. I didn't know much about the circumstance before I entered into the White's home, but I was called into the room and they asked my companion and I to give a blessing. Tamara asked me to give that blessing. In the blessing – I remember this because Tamara said that a friend had told her the same exact thing before – but I told her to have faith in Christ. Exercise her faith, and that it is through her faith that all things were possible. 

Two days later, she had to go down to Texas to have a blood transfusion for the twins while they were still in her womb.I'm no doctor, but that sounds like an extremely difficult operation and it doesn't sound like there are too many successes. Before the procedure, they had a scan done, and they discovered that not only had the twins been recovering, but that the symptoms of the disease had completely reversed themselves. These twins were healing. I was given pictures of the twins just yesterday, and they're happy and healthy. They are growing as if nothing had happened. That was one of the great miracles I had seen on my mission as I exercised Priesthood authority that was only given to me through Heavenly Father's grace and mercy. That might not be God's will each time, but it was definitely his will at this time to strengthen Tamara's faith and mine.

As a missionary you are under certain obligations that you're not under in real life, such as being with your companion 24/7. That can be very difficult. I was just telling my uncle this morning that it's different to sleep alone when you're not worrying about shuffling through your bed and waking your companion and getting him all stirred up so you don't have the Spirit for the next day so you can't proselyte as effectively. It's a very different lifestyle but there's a reason why we have companions as missionaries. One of the great ways we can serve is to our companion. I've had many wonderful opportunities to serve my companion and I'm grateful that my companions were able to serve me and help me.

Ether 12:27 says, “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” My weaknesses were made strong through my companions. I'm not the best finder. I'm not the best door-knocker. But I'm grateful that I had companions that were; that encouraged me to go out and to do that for myself.

But there was one particular time where I had to help out my companion. I was in process of sending him home, basically. He was in his last two transfers of his mission, and he was in an unusual circumstance because he had been driven out to his mission. I guess the church was having some interesting experiment where they would send missionaries directly out to the mission. He was from Texas; he got to get dropped off by his parents. They drove him to the mission home in Arkansas. He hadn't been on a plane since he was six years old. As he was preparing to go home he was freaking out. He just kept asking me, "How's it like on a plane? What do I have to do to get there? I'm just so scared that it's gonna blow up!" I just kept saying, "Elder, there's less percentage chance for you to crash on a plane than there is to crash in a car. It's ok!"I'm glad that I was there to help him; not to necessarily help him overcome his fear, but to be a temporary comfort to him. Especially just flying from Little Rock to Dallas, it's a little over an hour, so it really wasn't too much for me, because I had taken several plane flights in my time; but I'm glad that I was there to be his companion.

Now, as we serve Christ, I believe that the story we quote most often from Gordon B. Hinckley is very important for missionary work and for our own lives as we strive to serve Christ and serve others. As we know, Gordon B. Hinckley, when he was first out in his mission in England, he was very depressed and distraught because he wasn't seeing much success at all. He wrote a letter to his dad, and his dad replied back and said, "I got your letter. All I have to say is this: Forget yourself and go to work." As I served as a missionary, I was stressed multiple times about things that were going on in my personal life. But I found as I entered into somebody's home, and taught them the gospel, I was able to feel the Spirit and it was there as a comfort. It helped me know that what I was doing right then at that moment was right.

I had many more wonderful opportunities to serve and help people increase their faith in Jesus Christ by simply being there, inviting them to make decisions and to listen to them. As I listened to them I know that Christ was right there, listening to them as well. The Spirit was there to comfort the person as they were telling me what they wanted us as representatives of Jesus Christ to know.

One particular instance was my first area. I was only three weeks out. This was my second time meeting this young man named Blake. He was getting married to a young woman that was a member, and she was off to school. He was living with his soon-to-be parents-in-law. He had been reading the Book of Mormon; he had been studying; he'd been coming to church. His fiancée was doing a good job of staying out of the picture, so it was very much a personal conversion for him. I just remember my second visit with him, we sat down and we said, "Ok, Blake. How has your scripture study been going?" He said, "Yeah, it's been going good." "We've seen you at church, so it's good to see you there." Then I felt prompted to ask him how his prayers had been coming. He said, "I haven't been praying much." That's really, as Moroni 10:3-5 says, how we're going to get an answer – by praying; by asking God if these things are not true. And I told him that. I asked him, "Would it be alright if we knelt down right now and we asked Heavenly Father if these things were true?" He gave such a fantastic answer. He said, "It wouldn't hurt." So we all knelt down and we offered up that prayer. That was the first time in my life – well, I'll say on my mission – where I felt the confirming Spirit, not just for myself but for somebody else; helping them to know that this is true. And I knew it was there, so during his prayer, I said a personal prayer myself, saying, Please let him understand that this is the Spirit trying to confirm to him that these things are true. We just sat there after he finished his prayer. We were kneeling there for a couple seconds. Then I finally asked him, "How do you feel?"He said, "I feel like this is right." So we extended the invitation to baptism, and he was baptized three weeks after that moment on December 10th.

December 10th of the following year, he and his wife were able to go through the temple. I called him before he went into the temple. I said, "How do you feel?" "Oh, I'm really nervous. I don't know what to expect, but I'm so grateful for this church and for the many blessings it had given me." 

Blake, to me was a big testimony that the Spirit is what converts us. The best place we can find the power of the confirming Spirit is through the Book of Mormon. The South is a battleground. Everybody is fighting over the Bible, and it's very interesting to see that. You go from house to house and people start bashing you, asking you what you believe about this or this doctrine and saying that's not right because their Bible of a different translation, or what have you, says something else, or how their pastor said something else. So when they start reading the Book of Mormon, they feel something and see something that they have never felt before. It's really the Book of Mormon that, as we focus on it, we can feel the power of the Holy Ghost and the converting power that Jesus truly is our Savior and our Redeemer, and that Heavenly Father has revealed his gospel in these last days.

I want to end by bearing my testimony that I love the Book of Mormon. That I know that it is truly plain and precious scripture for us to understand in these last days, in a time of confusion. We were teaching somebody in my last area, and he said, "I just feel like they're scriptures based off the newspaper. Like it's news for our day telling us how to go through all these bad times." How many times did Moroni say, I know that there will be wickedness in the last days, so these things are for you? That is exactly what the Book of Mormon is. And how much more of a blessing is it that we have modern day prophets and apostles to help us guide us through these last days? That they know exactly how to conquer cigarettes, pornography – all these things that they didn't have back then.

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer because he knows exactly what I have gone through in these last two years of my life, and has supported me and helped me in conquering my personal challenges as well as the challenges of those that I've taught and loved. I know that Joseph Smith truly saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, and that it was through that revelation that this building, these scriptures that we have today, our modern-day prophets and apostles are here today, and that we can learn and feel of God's Spirit.

I'm so grateful for my family. For the love that they showed me. And for my wonderful friends; for the continuous support they've given me. I hope that I can continue to build my life on this foundation that I have gained these past two years; that these miracles and revelations I have gained will never leave me and will always stay within my heart. It's very challenging to see someone who has served a mission, or who has gone through similar miraculous experiences, that don't attend church anymore. You wonder what happened, but you can't judge them because there are different experiences for each person. I'll admit; there was a time on my mission where I wanted to come home. Things were just too hard. 

There was a man that told me, "You're just another Utah Mormon boy coming out here thinking you can tell us what to do." But I testify that it's through my upbringing in this church that I had the strength to go on a mission like I did. I learned early on my mission that being born in the gospel is the single greatest blessing Heavenly Father can give us in this life. Never let anybody put down your heritage.

I'm so grateful for the Holy Ghost and its power in my life and its comfort.

I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

A Miracle

As my first order of business on my last weekly update as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I would like to discuss... THE WEATHER.

I have never missed home as much as I have these past two days. The weather has been so beautiful. Not a break of sunshine in the sky. Low-lying clouds hover just above my fingertips, and there's a gentle sprinkle that glides around me. I am reminded more than ever of the autumn clouds that graze across the mountains back home, and I can't wait to see them for myself soon. The temperature hasn't gone over 80 degrees these past two days. We've been driving with our windows rolled down. Ah, it's all so fantastic... I LOVE THE FALL.

I am very content with this week. It's been great. I went on exchanges with Elder Duron Tuesday, and we found a couple of really awesome people that have since turned us down, BUT it was a good experience at the time.

I'm perfectly recovered from my sickness, which is awesome because I was wondering if I would ever really have the same appetite ever again. No, that appetite came roaring back. I've been snacking a lot lately. I'm such a chub.

Thursday was a VERY good day. We went out to see the Keeners with a different member than the last time we saw them. We taught them the third lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They absorbed everything. They're excited for Conference, as well. Like I said before, we've kinda been holding back a bit until their crazy schedule winds down tomorrow. After that, it's go time.

After we saw them, we went to Sis. Groves' place, which was a miracle itself since her son-in-law didn't like us over at all. We managed to have a short visit, though, for only 20 minutes. As we sat down, Sis. Groves said that her granddaughter, Sierra, wanted to sit in as well. We read a short scripture with Sis. Groves and then discussed things like going to the temple and getting a patriarchal blessing.

As we were finishing, Elder Merrill turned to Sierra and asked, "Do you have any questions?" Sierra asked very shyly, "What's a blessing?" We explained blessings of healing, comfort and patriarchal blessings to her. It was really cool to see that Sierra was paying attention.

Sis. Groves came to church yesterday, and walking slowly behind in a hoodie and jeans was Sierra. I was so happy to see her there. They stayed all 3 hours. Sierra really seemed to open up in young women's, which only had 3 people in it. I hope they attend General Conference. Apparently, Sierra's parents have no problem with Sierra being involved with the church. They're just kinda keeping themselves out. The Spirit will work on that family, I'm sure.

We have a new senior couple in the area: The Harris'. They have a unique role in the mission. They've been called as military relations missionaries, the first time that our mission has had any. They're in charge of less-active and inactive work within the Little Rock Air Force Base as well as in Camp Robinson, which is in North Little Rock. They work in the Jacksonville, Cabot and North Little Rock Wards. They've been added to my district.

Looking back on it, my district has doubled in size since the transfer began. I gave my last district meeting on Tuesday since this upcoming meeting will be a zone meeting. I love my district. They've been good friends. We've been through a lot together, particularly with the Cabot missionaries. I'm excited to spend my last few days with them since we'll be bunkering down in the church for Conference.

Oh yeah... I was able to play. Y'know, the violin. Yup. Totally happened.

I guess we're saving Fast Sunday for the Sunday after General Conference. I was put as the musical number for our intermediate hymn. I admit, it wasn't too bad. I was able to add a bit of vibrato to my bow strokes from my nervous shaking, but I kept whatever wits I could. Sis. Allred was my accompaniment, and she was fantastic. She reads piano music, and then makes up her own compositions to 'em! She's really talented.

We practiced before church, and she told me to flourish. Get my sound out there. I "flourished" the best I could. We're having dinner with them Thursday, so we'll see how she thought.

We're going to be giving Marty a blessing tonight prior to his appearance at court tomorrow. Please pray for him. There is a lot on the line, and he wants to be with his family.

Well, I'm honestly not going to talk about much else! There's your mission update from yours truly.

I plan to work my final few days. All my thoughts, feelings, insights, impressions and warm fuzzies will be fleshed out when I have time to do it at home. My testimony has been sprinkled around this two-year-long blog. If you haven't seen it by now, READ IT AGAIN. It's there.

I love y'all! I'll be literally seeing many of you next week. Thank you, those who have supported me by emails, or by prayers. I was able to serve these two years because of each one of you. My mission has been a miracle.

-Elder Staib

My last district meeting. We got a new senior couple!

Elder Duron tried doing some touch-up cutting... but he forgot to put a guard on his clippers!

Golden Investigators, Going to the Temple, and a Case of Chicken Pox

It's been an interesting week.

Last Monday we got a text from a man named Derek Keener. Elder Merrill taught him and his wife right before I got here, but when the new transfer started, they suddenly became very busy -- too busy to see us. This past Monday, however, we got a text from Derek apologizing for his being so busy and asking us to come over this week to pick up again with the discussions.

Elder Merrill has been talking so highly of this family for a while, and we got really excited to see them. They live on base, so after our dinner appointment, we had a member come with us to teach Derek and Nicole.

It was a wonderful reunion. They were very honest with us, and expressed their sincere desire to learn about this church. They feel that everywhere they turn, they keep meeting Mormons, so they take it as a sign that they have to investigate deeper. They went up to Fayetteville a few weeks ago for an emergency preparedness conference held at our church building up there, and they loved it.

From what I had been told, Nicole was going to be hesitant. Quite the contrary. By the end of our visit, she was pulling Derek along to keep commitments and to come to church. Derek will be very busy with his job up until October 1, so we'll cut him some slack until then, but once that day comes, they are ready and willing to devote everything to finding out more about this gospel.

I've never seen GOLDEN INVESTIGATOR as brightly as I do with them. Even Nicole suddenly blurted out and said, "The one thing I'm gonna struggle with is giving up tea. I love my tea! It's gonna be so hard!" We hadn't even taught them the Word of Wisdom yet. They've just been reading lds.org and other things. What's most important is that they're willing to change. I'm so happy for them!

Rebecca and Faith are going to the temple, and they're getting a personal tour on the grounds by the temple president himself. It'll be really exciting for them!

Emily Garrett is going through some big changes. She came to all 3 hours of church yesterday. Families in the ward are also having her over for activities and meals. I'm really happy about that.

Elder Duron had the chicken pox from Sunday to Friday, so we had to go on splits with Elder Chapman while someone stayed with Elder Duron. Poor Elder Chapman and Elder Duron got cabin fever bad. It was nice for us, though, because we were technically on "bike week", so we got the car clear up until Friday instead of giving it to the Cabot Elders on Tuesday!

Yesterday, however, I got really sick.

I woke up with stomach pains. I still went to church, but my stomach just wouldn't settle down. After church we had dinner at a member's house, and they gave me something to help me feel better. We walked up the stairs to our apartment after they dropped us off, and once I lay down on my bed, my stomach sloshed up into my throat. I held my mouth as I ran across the hall and vomited into my companion's toilet. I stayed in bed for a few hours, and then when I got up to get a drink of water, I vomited again. I don't have anything left in me. I lost 5 pounds yesterday, so I can't complain about that! I'm feeling better now; still a bit queasy, but nothing serious.

Libby called us earlier this week and told us that her daughter won't allow us to stop by any more. I'm really bummed about it. Libby still wants to see us, but we'll have to make visits outside of her home.

I wrote a couple things for the mission today: I wrote them a page of my Many Mighty Miracles (the stories of miracles I've seen here in the mission) as well as my departing testimony that will be published in the mission newsletter. It's all wrapping up. Next Monday is my last legit P-Day. I don't really have much to say about any of it, as long as I'm still wearing the name tag. So I'll just keep on!

-Elder Staib

We spent our P-Day with Jesse King. He left this past week for his mission in Canada.

Full Moon!

Love Others, No Matter What

I've been bombarded with letters from the mission home saying things like, "Thanks for serving! Hope you come again!" and "Be sure you give your mom a hug!" and "Be sure to pay your companion back for all that money you borrowed!" So my mind has been kinda torn apart, so I will try to reconstruct my memories using small notes I wrote in my planner so that I would have something to write about today.

The other morning, as we walked around to find someone to teach, I noticed a house down the street with a giant Snoopy sitting on a stump. I told Elder Merrill we'd knock on that door. The man at the house was just about to climb into his car when we walked up. We had a nice chat with him for a half hour. He was atheist. He was born Catholic, but it "took him until he was 20 to get indoctrinated out of it." Now he thinks that he's just a blip in the universe, and exists only for pleasure. He'd been depressed his whole life because he felt like he was just working for others to live rich lives. He retired 3 years ago, and he says he's the happiest he's ever been because he gets to do what he wants. He has a wife and no kids. He's living for himself. I have never met someone so selfish in my life. he was nice, certainly. But he was horribly selfish. I asked him what made him happy. He didn't get close to saying family or friends. His happiness came from giving himself pleasure. It was a sad scene.

One of the sisters in my district has had a really tough time recently. She's been praying to know if she should continue to serve a mission. She's engaged, and many of her friends have been saying they would feel better if she came home and got married. Her parents really want her to serve a mission. The Cabot elders gave her a blessing; I gave her a blessing; she and her companion have had several prayers. Finally, on Tuesday, Pres. Petersen talked with her. She has decided to stay. I'm really happy for her, and I testified to her that it wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it. She knows some of the heartache that I've gone through myself, and I told her similar counsel that I received before I left to serve. She's a lot happier now.

When the transfer started, I had 3 sets of missionaries in my district: Jacksonville, Cabot Elders and Cabot Sisters. Two weeks ago, the North Little Rock Elders got put into my district. This past week, we got the Sherwood Sisters. I have to call a bunch of people each night. My stewardship seems to be added unto DAILY. And they all seem so young. I'm so old.

Also recently, a recent convert from Montana moved in with her daughter and granddaughter on the military base. Her name is Libby. She's here because the daughter, Melanie, has a brain tumor. Melanie had brain surgery on the 5th and will go in for radiation and possibly chemo. Libby is so happy to be a part of the church and wants to serve however she can. We're gonna try and go in to teach Melanie and her daughter, Sierra, as well. I feel a lot of love for them.

Because of Faith's promotion, she's been very busy lately. She's eager to progress, though. She really wants her family sealed, so we're gonna do what we can to help get Marty on board.

I'm not putting this next part here to puff myself up or anything, but... especially because this is my last area, and I'm closing my mission, I want to remember this. The Relief Society president was speaking with a less-active woman after church. She pointed to us and said, "These boys will help you with whatever you need." The less-active member needed a blessing. After we gave the blessing, I asked her if she needed anything. The Relief Society president jumped in and said, "They mean it, too. These are the best missionaries that Jacksonville has had since missionaries began serving here again." Jacksonville had been re-opened to missionary work two years ago, and Elder Merrill and I have brought 2 baptisms into the ward since there had been an 18-month drought.

I'm so grateful that God has brought us miracles. These baptisms happened only because it was the right people at the right time. Elder Merrill and I were only the harvesters after the missionaries before us have already sewn, watered and trimmed each individual for us to reap.

I love the members here, and I love to smile around them and laugh with them. We really do have to love people into the gospel. I dunno if it's bad to say or if it's the secret to missionary work, but most of the people I have seen progress the most are people I have loved the most.

Love others, no matter what. That's what I've learned.

Now I'll continue to finish off my whole loaf of French bread. Love this stuff.

-Elder Staib

We Had a Baptism!

I'm gonna try and write this while Elder Merrill and Sister Jardine are playing a game involving tennis balls and using hymnals as paddles. Today's been a very good P-Day. I have some good friends here!

Let me share a couple experiences, involving baptism, violins and roaches.

Baptism. We had a baptism! Faith got baptized, which was a miracle. In the middle of the week, she was approached by her uncle. He asked her if this was what she really wanted, and for her to seriously consider her decision. Faith still wanted to be baptized, but she felt that she didn't have the knowledge and faith to back up the church.

We asked her to pray about being baptized this weekend, and if not this weekend, which weekend? We followed up with her the next night. She got a promotion at work that morning and sees it as a huge blessing from God. Faith got baptized in gratitude to God for the many blessings she's been bestowed recently and along her path of life. She was so radiant on Saturday and Sunday She knew that what she was doing was right. She doesn't want the missionaries to leave her alone, though. And we won't!

Violins. This past week, we had a dinner appointment with a family, the Allreds. Sis. Allred is very musically talented. We had a fantastic meal with them. During the meal, Sis. Allred asked me with a big smile on her face, "Do you play the piano?"

I said, "No, but I played violin for four years in middle school and high school."

Later in our visit, Sis. Allred went into her bedroom and pulled out an old violin case. I put two and two together, and was not ready for her request.

"Play it," she said.

This violin was made in the 60s. It belonged to Sis. Allred's mother. I tuned it the best I could, even though the A string could not stay tight. The only sheet music I had at the time was the Arkansas Little Rock Mission Song in my missionary binder. I played it the best I could. Good enough for a 4th grade recital, anyway.

After I was finished, Sis. Allred got excited to see that the music had a piano accompaniment. She took the music into her piano room and had me play along with her. It was nice to know that I could still read music and play a few notes on my stringed instrument. Thinking back on it, I hadn't played a violin in nearly six years.

Well, word gets around fast in the Relief Society. Sis. Allred and the other sisters have already volunteered me for performing a musical number during my last sacrament meeting of my mission, with Sis. Allred as my accompaniment. My whole district wants to sit in and watch. I am SO nervous for it. I'm getting a different violin to practice on. I get to choose the song and everything. Heaven help me.

Roaches. Short funny story. Elder Merrill and I were sitting on the couch after a long day when he calmly said, "That's a big bug on the wall." I looked into the kitchen. THERE WAS A 2-INCH COCKROACH ON OUR WALL. We grabbed a glass bowl and tried catching the thing. Elder Merrill tried to knock it in, but the roach fell onto Merrill's chest instead! He screamed. I screamed. We both freaked out. The roach landed on the ground on its back and became immobilized. We caught it in the bowl. We proceeded to turn the bowl into slay the roach with fire. Fire and Repel mosquito repellant. I'll leave those things to the imagination, but that was the largest roach I had ever seen on my mission.

My last district meeting went pretty well. I've been working on asking my missionaries inspired questions instead of being boring. We had some good interactive lessons where we shared ideas. In essence, our district meeting was a form of Socratic Seminar. Hey, school taught me something!

Well, I'ma enjoy the rest of my P-Day. Hope y'all have a good week and enjoy school and feel the Spirit in church! CHURCH IS GOOD.

-Elder Staib

Miracles May Happen

Good morning, everyone!

Yesterday was a fantastic P-Day. We went to the ZOO. The Little Rock Zoo, to be exact, which is not quite as popular as the Memphis Zoo. We had a fun time, nonetheless. Some members of the ward took us because they already had season passes. It was fun to see the penguins and the reptiles and the elephants and the monkeys. I took a lot of pictures and a few videos.

One crazy part was when we entered into the indoor exhibit where they let birds fly around freely around you. There was a large spoon-billed bird perched high above me, and as I was taking pictures of it, it swooped down right over my head! It came within two inches of hitting me. I got a picture of it closing in on my face.

Not much else happened for the remainder of the day since it was Labor Day, but I was very exhausted by the time I got to climb into bed.

So I've got news. I am now... a District Leader!

For my last transfer, I get to watch over two other companionships. Our district used to consist of Jacksonville, the Cabot Elders, the Cabot Sisters and Lonoke, but Lonoke has been pushed into a different district. Now it's just the two Cabot sets and us.

I'm giving my first district meeting today, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. It's easy to share two years-worth of experience to a bunch of relatively new missionaries. Sis. Jardine is training, as is Elder Chapman. I can tell their new greenies WHATEVER I WANT, and they'll automatically believe me! Think of the possibilities! Heh, kidding. It is interesting to note, however, that several of my missionary friends have asked me if I've made myself a throne or had my district members refer to me as Overlord or something like that. Awwww, where would they get the idea I'd even do that sorta stuff?

I'm excited to have two new missionaries in my district, though. One is Sis. Hubbard, 19, from Idaho, and the other is Elder Duron (pronounced dur-OWN), 18, from Arizona. They're both eager to be missionaries and do whatever they can to see miracles. I'll do what I can as a missionary to teach them what I've gained in my two years. I get to teach three district meetings this transfer, instead of only two that occur during a usual transfer. Don't remember how that played out exactly, but I'm excited for it.

I'm going on exchange with Elder Boyer today. Faith will be interviewed for her baptism this Saturday. She's excited to be baptized, but not too excited to be interviewed, especially by someone she doesn't know. Elder Boyer will warm up to her, though. He's chill like that (little oxymoron).

Elder Merrill and I are still striving to bring others into the gospel, but no one has been clinging on lately. Once Faith is baptized, we need someone else to really focus on, but we can't determine who. Faith's family has been the only family to even come to church since I've been here. I've gotta do some Preach My Gospel studies about inviting people.

Two Sundays ago, I gave a talk in church. The topic was on member missionary work. I shared my own missionary experience about Brianna, and again, I shared my dad's experience about his efforts as the ward mission leader in El Dorado Hills. I will just share here briefly what I shared in my talk, along with a few ideas I'm willing to flesh out now.

When I got to West Memphis, there was a girl, Katie, that had been baptized the month before I arrived. She was so gung-ho about the gospel. She loved every minute that she got to go to seminary, church, mutual and any other activity.

I'll honestly say that I was a bit jealous of Elder Kowalk; that he was able to find and baptize such a wonderful spirit. Miracles came about because of Katie's baptism. I hoped at the time that I would be able to find someone as prepared to hear the gospel as Katie was, as well as someone who needed the gospel as desperately as she did.

I have a testimony that God calls certain people to certain places at certain times for a reason. Otherwise, I would not wish to ever return to Pocahontas, Arkansas.

When I arrived in Pocahontas, the missionaries were in process of working with the Rasdon family to bring them into the gospel. Three of their six family members had been baptized at that point. After about four weeks of in my new area, we found out that a seventh family member would be returning home. Her name was Brianna, and she had her own share of problems and doubts.

One of the first things she told her parents when she got settled in at home was that she did not want to go to church and she did not want to learn about whatever religion they were studying.

Then Bro. and Sis. Musick happened. They went over and watched the Restoration DVD with the whole family. Brianna cried. She wanted to learn more.

I don't doubt that Brianna had found peace and comfort in her life as she took the missionary discussions, but most of her change did not come before her baptism. Elder Whetten and I asked and asked and asked before she finally agreed to give a closing prayer to one of our discussions. She had a panic attack after we left because of it. What she did have, though, was a willingness to listen to our message, a willingness to act for herself, and a willingness to understand that the Spirit was testifying to her that these things were true.

She and her younger brother, Zac, were baptized April 6.

As I said, Brianna felt the Spirit and was willing to change. A lot of it was more internal than external at the time. Her true change, though, came after her baptism.

She was playing around on her little iPod Touch one day. I think we were having dinner with the Rasdons, so there wasn't a formal discussion going on. But as she played with the iPod, I'm sure that it was an impression that came to me and said, "Tell her about the Gospel Library."

I helped her download it to her iPod right then and there. She spent the rest of the day reading the Book of Mormon. She spent hours the next day reading it. It took her only a few days to reach 2 Nephi. It was at that moment Brianna began to really be converted.

Now she uses her conversion to strengthen and bear testimony to others. Several of her friends are now taking discussions. She knows her purpose in life and her divine potential. She loves God, and has become a huge inspiration to me to know that no matter what happens in your life, you can always find God's love if you seek it. I found the person on my mission that received their own pearl of great price.

Brianna, of course, is one of many miracles I have seen as a missionary. I am so thankful that God has used me as an instrument in His hands. Eternal happiness does not come from personal achievements. For me, it comes by helping a brother or a sister home. It comes from the small smiles you bring to someone's face by showing them love. It comes from the knowledge that you have friends and God by your side to lift you up.

I think that we're called to lose our lives for Christ's sake because it requires us to become more Christ-like to those around us as we strive to serve them. That was one little piece of wisdom I picked up recently.

I hope y'all have a safe week, and don't neglect a person whose hands need to be lifted and whose spirits need to be strengthened. Miracles may happen.

-Elder Staib

Humbling Week

These last few days have been kind of... humbling, I suppose.

The short of it is, I'm staying in Jacksonville. So here's the long of it.

Like I said, at zone conference, we were told that Elder Merrill was training. Last Monday, I emailed President saying something very similar to the email I posted on my blog: that I was sad to leave Jacksonville, but I was willing to go wherever I needed to, preferably to an area I had served in before. President Petersen "heard my cries" and has allowed me to stay in Jacksonville. I'll accept the unexpected blessing and finish my mission in Jacksonville!

But another reason why I'm humbled is the fact that I just poisoned one of the poor Cabot sisters. We were sharing a drink with them that I've grown to love in the ghetto, and as Sis. Cooke took her first sip, I mentioned it had rose hips in it.

Sis. Cooke's eyes got big and she said, "I'm allergic to roses!"

We didn't believe her at first, but sure enough, her tongue became so swollen she couldn't speak, and her throat stung a bit. I felt horrible. The effects were severe for an hour, but she's recovering now. She could still breathe and everything. She was just miserable and everyone else was making her speak with her lisp and laughing.

This past week has been mostly a blur since I was expecting to leave for most of the days. We found a few new investigators and Faith's coming along nicely. I went on exchange with Elder Cassler on Tuesday. He graduated from Karl G. Maeser (my high school) this past year, I believe. Or the year before. In any case, we had a few things to talk about.

It wasn't until Saturday night that, as we had dinner with the Warnicks (the office missionaries), Sis. Warnick said, "Oh, Elder Staib, President told me to tell you that you're staying!"

Elder Merrill and I had many rejoicings, but lots of question marks as well. In the end -- that is, once all the transfer calls had been made this morning -- this seems to be the outcome.

So, at long last, this is my final "resting place" in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission. Jacksonville will be my missionary "grave". I will be well-fed and among friends, both missionary and otherwise, to the very end.

Our district for the transfer, excluding Zone Leaders.

Elder John Whitney from our ward left for his mission in Mexico City this past week.

The Sisters were doing a role play with Elder Draper. As he stretched his arms with the elastic band, he explained that he was training for the world's Unicycle race. We all busted up laughing.

By the way, when I say well-fed, I mean the fact that I've gained 5 pounds in the last week. I have decided to do many sit-ups each morning to get rid of this hideous gut that has sprung out of my core. It truly is an unexpected guest.

I'll continue to pray for y'all each night, because y'all are precious family and friends that I want to see in one piece in six weeks. I hope everyone's having a good start for school! Catch y'all next week!

-Elder Staib

Big Surprise for My Last Transfer

For some reason, I always seem to talk about the weather when I open these things. So I'll get that outta the way. It cooled down a ton and it's felt like California weather. It feels WONDERFUL. We've been walking around more.

I'm honestly not in an emailing mood today. We're making pink chocolate-chip waffles today for lunch with the Cabot Elders and Sisters. We have a date set with Faith: September 7. But y'know, I WON'T BE HERE, so I'm a bit bummed about that!

We had zone conference this past Tuesday, and before the meeting started, one of the assistants came up and told Elder Merrill he would be training this next transfer. I've only stayed in Jacksonville for a single transfer. Both Elder Merrill and I were stunned with disbelief. I don't want to leave a nerdy area, and Elder Merrill doesn't want to be left behind in a nerdy area. I don't want to leave Elder Merrill. But if I return to one of my previous areas, that'd be the bomb dot com! :D

On a more sober note, there have been several shootings around lately. One of our investigators that hadn't really been progressing was among the victims. His funeral is this Saturday. It really made me think of how short this life is, and how soon our calls home may come, but I also find comfort to know that he's met missionaries in the next world that will continue to teach him. He also won't be doing drug deals while the missionaries are around, so... There's an obstacle that's been removed.

We had stake conference yesterday, and a family that'd we've been trying to get to church finally came! She and her 5 kids only stayed for the first hour, but she seemed attentive and glad she came. We haven't had a chance to talk to her since, so we'll see how it turns out.

I made these little "Super Sister" pins for the sisters when they were feeling down.

Oh yeah, back to Faith. She has a few things to work on, but only small things, so we're really happy for her. She loves the feeling of the Spirit, and wants to be baptized so that she can have it with her all the time. The Book of Mormon really brings the Spirit into her life. That's one thing I've noticed about my investigators. I noticed it before, so hold on if you think I'm just figuring this out. BUT. The investigators that I've seen the most converted have done it through their consistent reading of the Book of Mormon. And Faith is a perfect example of that. So we're really excited for her! But Like I said, I'll be gone by the time she's baptized. We're working on Marty as well, but Faith is ready right now.

That's all the news I have this time around. Hope y'all are enjoying your first few days of school, and safe, and all those other things little kids pray for during their family prayers. I pray for my friends and family whenever I pray, and that's a lot of people!

-Elder Staib

Great Progress with Two Families, and Spiderman

This week was really hot. Really. Really. Hot. I guess, it wasn't so much hot as it was humid. We're not talking record-breaking highs here, but 95 degrees with 90% humidity is enough to make someone's shirt drenched after 4 hours.

I will begin with some serious news, and then I will discuss the humor that has occurred this past week. I find I have been lacking in the silliness department.

Good news is, Marty's court date has been pushed to October so that the lawyers can gather more evidence concerning the event. I was on exchange on Tuesday (AND WEDNESDAY. Talk about exhausting!), so I was informed that night after Elder Merrill talked to them. We're now taking this opportunity to allow the Spirit to mold their softened hearts. Faith and Marty have truly become humble. They came to church yesterday, and it seems like they're committed.

We're also working with a part-member family, the Garretts. Emily Garrett has been in the church her whole life, and her husband is a non-member. I get along with the Garretts extremely well. They consider us their friends and gladly have us over whenever we ask. They're getting back into reading the Book of Mormon and have grown a trust with us that I feel is the key to any progress occurring. Last night, we took a member family, the Dinkles (who I also have become very good friends with for nerdy reasons), to meet with the Garretts. Fantastic match-up. We're excited about the whole thing. Friends all around!

Now for the silly antics. We were stopped by a young African-American man that Elder Merrill knew in a previous area. He approached us as we walked down the road and was really friendly. He began to ask us questions. About spiders. This guy was anxiously engaged in hunting for spiders. We told him to look in gardens and stuff. He finally got to his point. He wants to be Spiderman. He seriously wanted to find a spider to bite him so that he could turn into Spiderman. We suggested he find a wolf spider. I taught him how to make a small ecosystem and everything. He wanted to catch a brown recluse spider at first, but those things eat away at your tissue when you get bitten. We also advised him to avoid black widows. He wondered if he should be bitten on the hand or the neck. We suggested the back of the arm. We spent a good half-hour discussing how this gentleman could actually acquire Spidey powers. It made me think of Elder Carter and the kind of conversations we had.

Elder Merrill had an interesting experience on exchanges, and the sisters in our district asked him to write a story about it. Then they asked me to illustrate his story. I'll type up the story when I get home, so I'll leave that story open for a couple months until I get home. But it was a very fun experience to draw up pictures for the story. I've had a couple chances these past two weeks to revive my creative abilities, and it makes me excited to unhinge them when I come home! Until then, I gotta work, work, work.

Love y'all! Have fun getting back into school!

-Elder Staib

I got to feed a bunch of really pretty goldfish! It was so much fun!

Elder Merrill and Jesse, from the Cabot ward, pretending to fly!

Elder Wheatley, who's in my district and was follow-up trained by Elder Kowalk, went to the same Tough Mudder my sister and brother-in-law went to!