More Pictures and Memories

 

Lots of Memories

 

Missionary Christmas from the Mission Secretaries

Dear loved ones of our missionaries,

Thank you so much for offering to send something to our missionaries that may not get much for Christmas.  This year was a real challenge for us as many parents did not send packages for the Dec 1st deadlines.  Many were not even close.  Also the US Mail was having difficulties and many packages that were to arrive in a reasonable fashion did not.  We could not identify particular missionaries until Christmas.  Well intended packages arrived after Christmas as well.  The mission provided and filled stockings for each missionary as well as a mission sweatshirt.  We could not get the information to reach out to you.

Thank you so much for offering to help us and the missionaries.  From all reports all have had a wonderful missionary Christmas.  We hope You and your families did as well.  We are so grateful for your thoughts.  Please know that.  We pray next year will be better. 

Sisters Weidner and Halley
Mission Secretaries
Ohio Columbus Mission
614-880-9960

New Year, New Beginnings, and New Mindset

Was last week awesome or what? So grateful for what this last week brought with it. Over the last 4 weeks, I have driven over 1,000 miles with trips to Columbus, Athens, and Jackson. It has been quite the ride 😉 What did you all do this week? How did the first half of Christmas break go? 

I thought I would start this weeks email out by coming up with my "New Year's Resolution". I decided that for the year 2021, I want to focus on the mindset of  "Creative Engagement". I want to be creating and making things happen, and I want to be always staying optimistic. When we stay positive and optimistic, we win everytime. I am so grateful for the opportunity we have every January 1 to start over and start fresh on a new year, and to be just a little better and stronger that year we are going into. Let us make this year our best one yet. So many experiences and adventures will happen as we turn to Jesus Christ and allow Him to help us to achieve our goals and plans. 

Well 2 weeks ago I thought my week had been busy with 2 training visits and zone conference. But this week was just as, if not even more busy. It was my first district council as district leader, and so I sent out the Prepare to Learn agenda for it at the beginning of the week/assigned trainings/and made sure everything was as ready as it possibly could be. It ended up going super well on Wednesday. And there is actually a back story as to why I was late to district council, but we will talk about that in a sec. So yeah district council was great as we focused on Setting Goals and Plans, and focusing on our purpose as missionaries. We went on exchanges right after district council with the Jackson elders, where we went and helped a member down there work on his garage that he is turning into a house for him and his wife. We nailed, cut wood, etc etc. Kind of reminded me of doing some of that once upon a time ago ;) We got back to Chillicothe at about 9 pm, I reported numbers for the district, and then I think just went to sleep after that.

So remember how I said there was a story to being late, well so here we go. And trust me, it was such a great way to be late! Brother Heer called on Wednesday morning and said that he needed us to go with him to give a priesthood blessing to Brother Kaufman and his son. They live about 35 min away from our apartment. It was 8:40 am and so I was like, yeah lets do it! We got to Brother Kaufmans house at 9:30 and visited and then gave the 2 blessings. Left his house at 9:55 to drive 35 min back to the apartment to then hop in our car, and then in Elder McEwan's best driving mode (only passed one cop, and thankfully I saw him earlier so I slowed down) drove down to Jackson for district council which was supposed to start at 10:30 but ended up starting at about 11:15. Haha it was a fun morning! Oh and I had a district leaders meeting with the other Dl's in the mission and President H and the assistants on Wednesday morning at 8 am. We talked about how we can best be helping the other members of our districts and how we can be leading and serving in love. Such a great meeting!

Thursday morning, the assistants called us and said they needed us to drive up to Columbus to pick up E. Bennett's medication for him being epileptic. So we called Sister McMahan and told her we needed to have our lesson/pick up our food just a tad bit earlier, picked it up, and drove the hour and a half to the mission office in Columbus, got his meds, and drove back to Chilli. Got back and we picked up some food from Walmart to make for Christmas day. Then we had 2 more lessons that night over the phone. We left the church bldg to head home at like 8 pm I think, and there was like 15 inches of snow on the ground!! So we took a little longer to get home because I don't think Chillicothe people have seen or had snow in almost 7 years they told us . . . Definately not me :) We opened the FIRST gifts of Christmas which was some pajamas! Thank you guys for sending them! I love them so much.

Christmas morning! E. Bennett said I could NOT wake him up before 6:30, so I woke myself up instead at 4 am and went and sat on the couch downstairs and then worked out for a little bit, and then we planned for the day. Then I facetimed you guys and it was so fun to open up presents with you all. I love the gifts you all sent! Again thank you so much. We went over to Brother and Sister Wagners house and picked up our dinner and had a nice visit with them and their 2 kids. She is from Peru and so its fun to hear her speak spanish to us! We then went over to the church and had the district come and ate dinner together and then played a few games of basketball, uno, and spikeball. Such a fun time and a great way to spend Christmas! We left at like 9:30 to head home. Overall, great great day.

Saturday was an interesting day! We had 5 lessons though which was great. 3 were over the phone and 2 were in person. It is fun to do the in person ones because Chillicothe is comprised of over 1100 square miles, and we cover ALL OF IT. So whenever we have the miles to do in person, that is what we do. Brother Cain called us Saturday night and said that his test results came back positive, and so he is quarantining for like 7 to 10 days I think. President H told us to stay low for a few days and then if no symptoms come from either of us, then we are good to resume normality. So Saturday I started quarantine #3 which has been great. President told me something that resonated strong, 'Sometimes the Lord's work brings lots of uncomfortable times." Just like Elder Holland says, "Christianity is great, but often not comfortable." Saturday night we had the district devotional over messenger which was a ton of fun!

Sunday we zoomed into Chillicothe Ward sacrament meeting, and did the sacrament itself just the 2 of us. I am so grateful for the chance I have to hold the priesthood to still be able to do what the Lord needs me to do. Being able to do it at home over the course of the last 10 months has taught me so much about the importance of taking the sacrament WEEKLY. Then I zoomed into Knoll Park Ward sacrament meeting and watched cousin Derrick deliver a powerful talk on being grateful and staying and remaining positive. So grateful for your words bud! It is so important to remain happy and cheerful even when the path in front of us is foggy just a little. We went over to Sister McMahans and got food (if you haven't noticed, she feeds us a lot). Then we had a lesson over the phone with Sister Zufelt and then were able to take both a bible and a book of mormon over to her house for her to give to a friend she has been helping lately. We then had the mission devotional that night with the Horgesheimer's kids. They have been in town for the holidays and so it was a ton of fun to hear from them a little. And that concludes the week . . . :)

I wanted to share my testimony this week on something that President told everyone in the district leaders meeting on Wednesday, and how I feel that it applies to us as individuals in this life. He talked about "Positive Leadership" and how we as the ones who have the stewardship and responsibility for others need to be using positive leadership everywhere we go. If we walk around with our heads down, so will they. We have to and we need to, rise up and trust that Heavenly Father does indeed have a plan in place for us to get through each day. 2020 has been a little bit challenging for everyone . . . But I testify not only as a represenative of Jesus Christ, but as a son of a loving Heavenly Father, that we are never alone. And the Lord calls us to lead His work, and as we put forth every effort we can to lead this work, we will experience something so unimaginable, we will want to keep experiencing it. Keep reaching out in love and service to people, because they need it, WE ALL DO.

I have not done a challenge for a while, and so this week I want to challenge everyone to write down what their 2021 goal is going to be for having a fantastic year, and to set goals and plans for how you will reach that goal. :)

Things to look for for this week:

• District leaders and social media specialists meeting in Columbus south zone on Tuesday night
• District Council on Wednesday
• Training visit exchange with Zone leaders on Saturday here in Chillicothe

The weeks just keep getting better and better. Remember to keep a schedule or agenda for how you plan to go about the week. I promise it will bring so much happiness and peace knowing that you know what you will be doing for the week. Things may change as the week goes on, but then at the very least, you have a written rough draft already. 

How is things going though for everyone? It really was so much fun to see everyone on Christmas day! So glad everyone is doing well and staying healthy and happy. :) I hope you guys all know how much I love you and care about you. You are all such amazing examples to me and teach me so much of how to be a stronger and better person each and everyday. Keep up the great work, and know that I am thinking about you guys constantly. :)

I love YOU Forever and Always . . .

Elder Dylan McEwan

Tracking Santa and Zooming Christmas 2020

 

Merry Christmas 2020!

Merrrrryyyyyyyy Christmas!!!!!! The best day of the whole year:) 

I found out yesterday that the ward mission leader, Brother Cain, may have tested positive for COVID earlier this week. We were with him on Saturday and Sunday. So, he told us to cancel all of our in person appointments for the next few days. He will get his test results back on Sunday or Monday I think, maybe sooner. Me and Bennett are both doing good, no symptoms which is a blessing.

It's sad that we can't meet in person now currently for the foreseeable future, especially around Christmas, but I'm so so extremely grateful for the knowledge I have that all will be well. This is all part of His plan for us, I know that now without a doubt. I love this Gospel will all of my heart 💕.

As I've been thinking about everything that has come in 2020, I'm reminded of the night of the Savior's birth. "O holy night, the sky is brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's birth." I know that Jesus Christ was born in the city of Bethlehem, that he was not allowed into the Inn, and knew that He would live a life of trial and hardship. But as I've gone through this year, I realize that the true meaning of Christmas is about where the focus and the purpose of your life is.

Luke 2:7 - This Christmas season, will we make room for the Savior?

My testimony is this: Christ is everything. He is the reason for our joy and our happiness. I didn't always see it as that. I thought temporal things would bring me the most joy, but I can see clearly now that only in and through Jesus Christ can we have eternal joy.

Merry Christmas you guys! I love and miss you all so very much! So excited to call everyone today!

Love,

Elder Dylan

Merry Christmas Week

MERRY CHRISTMAS! :) I can't believe Christmas is in t-minus 4 days! I'm so excited :) What are your guys plans for the christmas eve and day? How was going up to Logan over the weekend, and how did Lola K do? How was Aaron and Julie's? I'm so happy you guys got to all get together! Such a fun time.

My week has been great! Very busy with having 2 training visits back to back and also zone conference, but so much fun. This last week taught me a lot about good time management, and making sure that I had each day planned out to the best of my ability and that I did set goals to accomplish everything that I needed to. I'm so very grateful for the opportunity to have an agenda/planner and to plan out everything that I need to. Definately something that as I look back on life with growing up, I'm grateful I took advantage of having a planner in jr high and high school :). 

Wednesday was the Christmas Zone Conference up in Reynoldsburg, and it was so much fun! It was snowing on the drive up there and so I had a fun time maneuvering thru Ohio traffic trying to get to zone conference. The Zone conference, we had about 8 or 9 speakers including me. We all spoke on one or two characters from the nativity with Christ being born. We also had a couple different missionaries share their musical talents of singing, playing piano, playing the cello, etc. After that part was over, we all filed into the gym where we decorated Gingerbread houses as districts! So fun:). My district decided to do a taco bell gingerbread house because an elder in our district had a taco bell taco from earlier and so we put that on the roof with a Santa and had that be the "sleigh", then we frosted the Taco Bell logo onto the front and then made it look all festive and happy. President and Sister Horgesheimer gave us all grey sweatshirts, candy and chocolate oranges, and a picture of Christ. I RECEIVED YOUR GUYS PACKAGES THAT HAD BEEN SENT TO MISSION OFFICE. I'm so excited to open them up on Friday! We got back to Chillicothe around 6 pm, and called up a lady who we started talking to last Monday and she really wants to meet with us. We taught over the phone about the importance of knowing God is our loving Heavenly Father and why we should always stay close to Him. Joey Pitts messaged me that night and started talking to me, he was having a rough night and so I sent him a few talks and scriptures and it was so fun to talk with him after all these months.

Thursday I got up at 5 and worked out, then got ready and we left for Athens at 7:30. We got there at about 9 and began exchanges with those elders down there. It was a fun day and we found 1 new person for Chillicothe that day. Such a fun time! We got back here to Chillicothe around 9 pm. 

Friday I got up at 5 (I love the mornings) and exercised and then we left for Pickerington/Reynoldsburg at 7:30. We had exchanges with the Zone leaders that day and they were a blast. We made a cool video to put on the zone page and did it after Charlie Brown and him trying to kick a football but Lucie pulling it away, and compared it to Christ being the way and "holding the football still", where Satan tempts us and let's us fall every time. We ate lunch at a super good mexican restaurant, I had some papusas and were so good. Highly recommend.:) Overall it was a fun day! I got to dedicate a sisters apartment in Reynoldsburg, and then I gave Elder Bennett a blessing that night and that was such a great experience for me to be apart of that. We got back to Chillicothe around 9 pm again.

Saturday was a great day! We helped Brother Cain with the cards that we wanted to send out to all the member households in the ward. We put 2 scriptures on the inside with a picture of Christ, and then on Sunday we addressed all of the envelopes to the households and Brother Cain sent them off last night. Super happy to have helped with it and to hopefully be able to receive some good responses from the members wanting to come back to church and to also meet with us. We had our district devotional and the Jackson elders led that. Me and Elder Bennett were also able to drop off a Book of Mormon and picture of Christ to a lady named Jane Moss. She said she was too busy right now to actually meet with us, but said she wanted the picture so that made me happy. Overall very great day! 

Sunday was awesome, because we got to go to Church and that always makes me so happy. Church was great and they did a nice little Christmas program for everyone. Made me think about all of the Christmas programs in Knoll Park and 3rd Ward, and how much fun they are each year to get everyone together and to think about our Savior Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful to be able to serve during this time of year, and I love that we get to think about our Savior Jesus Christ. It has been so much fun to be able to open the 12 days of Christmas presents that you guys sent. We are on day 10 now and I have loved all of the presents, it's been fun to try and guess what they are. Elder Bennett says, "Thank you for including him in part of Christmas". We have also had so much fun doing the nativity pieces to the Barr family. We haven't gotten caught and we have 3 days left so that's been great. We had our mission wide devotional last night and had a family in the Columbus area perform some Christmas songs for everyone. It was so much fun and made everyone so happy to listen to and be a part of. 

By last night (Sunday night), I was tired BUT it was a satisfying tired. The kind of "tired and exhaustion" you get when you try and work super hard and put forth an honest effort each day. It was that kind of tired.😊 I'm so grateful for the power of the atonement in our lives, and that we get to have the strength necessary to help the Lord and our Heavenly Father out with whatever they may need. And, I'm also so grateful for the chance we have to learn, grow, and use our talents and abilities each day. This week taught me and helped me to see a lot about the type of person I want to be. I was reading in Luke 2 about Christ being born, and the wise men following and shepherds following. They came and worshipped Christ. But what it made me think most about is that in order to follow Christ, they had to make the decision first to even go to Him and help bring others along the way. I put that scenario into my life and thought about how I could be bringing people with me as I make my way back to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. So, question for the week for all of us . . . Will we bring others with us on our way to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Super excited for Christmas this week! My last Christmas out here in Ohio, and it feels like I just was experiencing last year's christmas up in Chardon. This time of year is the best and I love that we get to look forward to Christ and spending time with our family and loved ones . . . But not just for these 2 weeks of Holiday season, but all year round continually strengthening our relationships together. 

Things to look for this week:

• Wednesday is District Council down in Jackson, with exchanges with those elders afterwards. 
• Friday (Christmas) the Wagner family is giving us dinner to go, and we will eat it over at the church. I'll plan to call you guys  in the afternoon when we get to the church. And then of course on Friday morning I am going to wake up early to open presents and continue the tradition ;). 

It's crazy that next week is 2021! So excited for what 2021 will bring our way, and as make Christ the center and the focus of our lives, we will have everything we need to. Lastly, my knowledge and belief has been built on that topic a lot recently. Is that as we allow Christ to be the "Master Builder" in our life, and ask Him for help everyday, we will be able to accomplish those things that we need to. I'm so grateful to have the good belief that planning and setting goals is one way we show Heavenly Father what we want to do, and the plans we have show Him we trust Him to help us do it.

I love, miss, and pray for you guys on a daily basis. I'm so forever grateful for your guys love and support of me in my life, and for always being amazing to me and for me. This time of year has made me really think about what matters most . . . "What matters most, is what lasts the longest, and Families are for Eternity" -- President Hinkley. Merry Christmas you guys 💕🎅 Let's make this Christmas our best one yet! 

I love YOU ALL Forever and Always 🎄❄

Elder Dylan McEwan

p.s. we currently have no snow in Chillicothe so this may be my one and only Christmas in my life that I won't have snow Christmas day. But who knows? Maybe a Christmas miracle is coming Christmas day!😉🎄🎅 Do you guys have snow in Salem?

Happy 14th B-M-T Birthday!

Happy Happy 14th BMT birthday today! Wow, it's weird that 14 yrs ago today we were at the hospital and eating chocolate cake and watching the BYU football game, as we waited for the bone marrow to finish going into Parker's pic line. So grateful we are a forever family and that we get to have this special day every year to remember how blessed we are to be together 😊😊🎅.

I love you guys!

Elder Dylan

December 2020 is Full of Memories