Elliot's apartment in Moore, Oklahoma

Elliot sent us his address, so I was able to grab a screen shot of it from Google Maps.  It looks like a very large complex and an upgrade over some of the places he has lived.

A new picture of Carlton Reininger

Carlton Reininger's weekly emails from Argentina are always great to read. And he sends lots more pictures than Elliot! I especially enjoyed today's picture of Carlton and his companion making sock puppets with an Argentine family. Doesn't he look great?

Elliot's October 31 email

Happy Halloween!

Wow that's terrible what happened [we lost a member of the Newhall First Ward in an accident]. I don't think I really knew them too well, or if I did I can't remember, I hadn't been to N1 all that much my year before the mission. But I'll definitely keep them in my prayers. That's the hardest thing to go through I'm sure.

Well I'm in Moore now. My companion is Elder Carlos Soto from Chiapas, Mexico. He's awesome. He's towards the end of his mission (he goes home December 20) and is a great missionary. I've already learned so much from him in just these past 5 days. I'm really excited to be serving with him.

And I'm excited about all of what's going on here! We cover Moore 2nd Ward as well as OKC 7th Branch, which is for all of the young single adults in the area. It's sweet. We have 2 investigators with baptismal dates for the 19th of November, so that's something to look forward to. And Elder L.Tom Perry is coming to our Stake Conference this week! I couldn't have come to the South at a better time. Being a Zone Leader is new and challenging, but it's good. We're setting up some practical ideas and goals for moving the work along in all of the areas. It's tiring, and a lot of work, but that's a good thing and I can feel my capacities growing.

Brother Sorenson is in my ward! [My missionary companion in Caaguazu, Paraguay, and a really great guy!] El era tu companero en la mision, verdad? Hable con el ayer y el me relato una historia. [He was your missionary companion, right? I spoke with him yesterday and he told me a story.] He told me about how you were in the Miami Airport and they asked for your visas, which none of you had. So you called Salt Lake and they told you to just get on the plane. He said he had no idea how y'all got on but you did! [I don't remember any of this but if Sorby says it happened, it must have happened!] I'm super excited to be in his ward. Maybe I can get some more stories off of him. [Oh no!]

Our apartment is way nice. We have 4 missionaries in it which is fun. The address is [redacted], in Moore. I'm in President Taylor's ward, and live pretty close to him as well as the APs [Assistants to the President]. I should be here for at least a few transfers and am very much looking forward to it!

Life's good!

I love y'all!

Elder Elliot

Oh and that's me and Mike Oseletto in the picture. He took care of me while I was in Texas. [He must have forgotten to attach the picture. We didn't get it.]

Welcome to Moore, Oklahoma, Elliot's new area

Elliot is now in Moore, Oklahoma, his new area and the fifth area where he has served since leaving the Missionary Training Center. Let's see what we can find out about Moore.

Moore is a city with approximately 55,000 residents, located midway between Oklahoma City to the north and Norman to the south.

According to the Moore Chamber of Commerce,

Moore was founded during the land-run of 1889. The early settlers came on train, horseback, wagon and some on foot. According to local historians, the town’s original name was Verbeck, as designated by the railroad company. However, a railroad employee named Al Moore, reported to be either a conductor or a brakeman, lived in a boxcar at the camp and had difficulty receiving his mail. 

He painted his name – Moore – on a board and nailed it on the boxcar. When a postmaster was appointed, he continued to call the settlement Moore. When the town incorporated in 1893, the name was legalized.

Moore is the home of a couple of people you may have heard of.  Country star Toby Keith (pictured) hails from Moore. So does Danny Cooksey, who joined the cast of Diff'rent Strokes toward the end of its run. Major league baseball pitcher Michael Hinckley grew up in Moore (although it looks like he is looking for another shot at the big leagues after being cut by the Toronto Blue Jays in June).

There are lots of places to eat and things to do in Moore, which is the home of Andy Alligator's Fun Park. with go-karts, bumper cars, a 32-foot climbing rock, Bayou Blaster bumper boats, batting cages, and more. I hope Elliot gets to eat at Van's Pig Stand, the oldest Bar-B-Q restaurant, owned and operated by the same family, in Oklahoma.

And then there is Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers:



Moore has three high schools, the Moore Lions, the Westmoore Jaguars, and the Southmore SaberCats, five junior high schools and 23 elementary schools. And Elliot, who loves photography, would undoubtedly enjoy the Oklahoma School of Photography in Moore, a private, family-owned school that trains students to succeed in freelance photography, graphic design, studio ownership, or employment with a company in the graphic imagery industry.

The City of Moore publishes a monthly newsletter with local news and information. You can read the November 2011 newsletter here.

You can find out lots more about Moore on the city's official website and through the Chamber of Commerce. We'll look forward to hearing all about Elliot's experiences in Moore, starting tomorrow with the first email from his new area.

Church-service missionaries

Elliot's mission to Oklahoma is a typical two-year proselytizing mission, where his primary purpose is to share the message of the gospel with those who are interested. As summarized on a Church website, his typical day might look something like this:

A common morning for a missionary might consist of waking up at 6:30 a.m., studying the scriptures, and meeting new people to share the gospel with. The afternoon might include discussing gospel lessons with people they meet and volunteering for service in the community. A good night has them teaching the gospel to interested individuals and helping them learn and keep God's commandments or attending a baptismal service for someone who's decided to join the Church. They return home around 9:30 p.m. and fall into bed, usually exhausted and happy.

But that's not the only kind of mission that members of the Church serve. Sunday's Deseret News features a story about Church-service missionaries, where the primary purpose of the missionaries is to provide service in one form or another. In April 2011, the Church announced that 20,813 members served Church-service missions in 2010.

"At any given time there are 13,000-14,000 church-service missionaries out in the field serving," [Joel S.] Moriyama [director of the Church-service missionary program] said. "During 2010, those 20,813 missionaries donated more than 8.8 million hours of service. How many employees would we have had to hire, and at what cost to the church, in order to accomplish all that these wonderful missionaries have accomplished during the course of a year?"

Unlike Elliot, whose mission took him to Oklahoma, most of these Church-service missionaries stay home for the duration of their service, which can range from six to 24 months. They volunteer for a wide variety of assignments, ranging from service in Bishops' storehouses and at Church recreational properties to serving at mission offices or on humanitarian projects. As shown in the pictures, Church-service missionaries can help build a visitor's center along the Mormon Handcart Trail or help care for the grounds at Church headquarters.

"There is no such thing as a 'typical' church-service missionary," Moriyama said. "They come to us from all walks of life, young and old, single and married. Many aren't able to serve a full-time mission for one reason or another, and so they volunteer for a church-service assignment." 

The Church has a page on its website dedicated to Church-service missions, including videos of service missionaries, current opportunities, role descriptions, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Primary Choir at General Conference

One of the highlights of the recent General Conference was the performance of the primary choir from Pleasant View and North Ogden during the Saturday afternoon session. They were terrific and fun to watch.  I always enjoy when different groups perform at General Conference, like when Elliot sang with the MTC choir during the October 2010 Priesthood session. In case you missed, here are videos of the primary choir's three numbers.  Enjoy.


Medley: "God's Daily Care" and "I Thank Thee, Dear Father"




"Families Can Be Together Forever"




Medley: "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" and "I Know My Father Lives"

Elliot's October 24 email -- off to Moore, Oklahoma

Hola!

Man this may have been the biggest roller coaster of a week on the mission so far. I don't even know where to begin really.

[I redacted a portion of Elliot's email about Adrienne, who has been investigating the church. She's doing great and expects to be baptized very soon.]

Transfer calls was just another hill on the roller coaster that was this past week. I was visiting with a member, Mike, who is incredibly awesome, one of my favorite people I've met on the mission, when the ringtone that sounds like an alarm, specifically assigned for when President Taylor calls, went off. Immediately my heart skips 3 beats, and after almost dropping the phone I answer it. He asked if I would be one of his Zone Leaders. Knowing never to turn down an assignment I said yes. I'm going to be going to Moore this week with Elder Soto as my companion! I have mixed feelings. I love this ward and the people here, but I think a change will be good and I'm excited to go back to the city. I definitely don't want to pack, but oh well.

For our last p-day we went mountain biking this morning. Wichita Falls has some really cool  trails and jumps and stuff, but don't worry, I'm not being too crazy and no one got hurt lol. We had a lot of fun, though we're a bit tired.

!Les amo a cada uno de ustedes! Have a great week!

Elder Elliot Adair