Vidalia - Week 12

Dear Family,

 

Thank you so so much for the package!  The vitamins are working great!  Conference was also great! I loved Elder Holland's talk!  He always does a fantastic job and they are all so powerful!  I also really liked Elder Oaks talk in Priesthood session.  All of them were really good.  I got to watch all the sessions at the church.  We actually got one of our investigators to one of the sessions!

I went fishing with Randy at a different pond this time.  I caught 9 bass!  And, Elder Young caught a 7 pound bass!  It was really awesome!  We also found a water moccasin right by the shore, so it added to the action as well!
 

Some of our current investigators are Karen, Timothy, Tavaris, William, Cookie, and Deryl.

 

Elder Harris and I are doing alright.  We got a tornado warning today on our phone, and I thought it was ironic because of the talks in conference.  

Love y’all so much!

Love Elder Hinrichs

                               Randy, Elder Young & 7 lb. Bass, & Elder Harris

                                       A venomous Water Moccasin Snake

                                                          Vidalia Sunrise

                                             The Lord really knows Bridger!

Vidalia - Week 11

Dear Family,

I will be staying in Vidalia for another transfer!!  Elder Young is leaving but he is becoming a Zone leader!  Elder Harris is becoming our new District Leader!  So it will be Elder Harris and I here in Vidalia.  This week I have had a really good week.  We were able to help out the Vallins with a project of theirs.  They were cleaning out their neighbor’s abandoned house and cleaning up the yard.  So we got to rake up pine straw and branches and burn them, which is always fun, and find cool things.  We found an abandoned Harley Davison in their garage!  Brother Vallin said that he was going to fix it up, and it was a pretty nice bike.  At the house we found some fishing poles!  So now I can really fish in the pond out back!

I also get to go bass fishing again today!  And we have quite a few investigators that actually want to get baptized!  I have been working really hard this week!  Also the Vallins are feeding us today as a thanks for helping them out!  And they came to church yesterday!  I can't wait for General Conference because it means so much more to me as a missionary than it ever has before.  I am glad you all got your letters and I am excited to get a package!

Yes, I have learned the importance of staying with your companion and avoiding drunk people. 

I love y'all so much,

Love,

Elder Hinrichs 

Elders & Sisters at the Fun Center

Vidalia - Week 10

Dear Family,

I had a good week this week.  The pollen here has been getting pretty thick.  Everything outside has a sprinkle of yellow dust on it.  So I have finally learned what allergies are like.  But they aren't too bad.  I just sneeze more and my eyes sting.  None of our investigators came to church.  Although the Vallins did come.  They are a younger couple that went less active but now they are coming back, and the husband said he wanted to go out on splits with us on Tuesday and feed us one day this week. So that was pretty exciting.

Fishing was pretty good.  It rained the whole time, but it didn't bother me.  I caught a 4 pound bass, which was pretty good sized.

My tendinitis is doing better, but I am still unable to run.  Love you all!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

Elder Hinrichs & his 4 pound Bass

Vidalia - Week 9

Dear Family,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!  I had a pretty good week this week.  The work is finally starting to pick up! We finally have a couple of investigators to work with and continue to find more.  Hopefully we will have a baptism soon.  And I am going fishing today, and I will remember my camera this time.  The member who is taking us, Randy, is also frying us some Bass, and I am having collard greens and hushpuppies.  So it should be pretty good!

This week none of the less actives showed up at church so that was pretty disappointing.  But we have been working with one family named the Vallins and they invited us over and fed us breakfast this week.  I have high hopes for them.  Also we have been working with another family named the Mixons.  The parents are Grady and Elizabeth Mixon and they are really active in the Church.  Their son and his wife and kids went less active, but we have been trying to get them back. 

In thinking back about our trip to New York, what I remember was the spirit there (the Sacred Grove in Palmyra).  It testified to me that what we are learning is true, and that the sacred event of Joseph Smith happened there.  I knew that we weren't in the exact spot that he was in, but I knew that it happened.  An absolute peace came over me while we prayed on the bench in the forest, and the spirit was very strong. 

Love y'all so much!!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

Elder Young, Elder Hinrichs & Elder Harris

 

Spring in Vidalia 

 

Elder Hinrichs & Bro. James Gibson

 

Elder Hinrichs & Bro. Bradley Young

 

A Vidalia Farm

 

 

Vidalia - Week 8

Dear Family,

Thank you all for the love and support you provide.  It means so much to me.  Fishing last week was fantastic.  I caught one Large Mouth Bass and hooked two others.  It is a very different kind of fishing that requires some advanced fishing.  Good thing I am an expert fisherman.  I hooked the most fish out of everyone, and I had a blast doing it. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures.  Although right before we left the pond that we were fishing in, it started raining sheets of water and I got pretty soaked.  So it was probably a good thing that I forgot my camera.  

Last week I was able to bless a very sweet older lady in our ward that had come down with the flu.  It was amazing to see how the next day when we called her, she was doing a lot better.  Also I was able to bless our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Guaysha.  He had allergies that were acting up and he was worried that he might not be able to work because of them.  Now he is completely healthy and doing great. 

This Sunday I was actually able to experience and see the results from hard work.  We had 14 less active members and an investigator come to sacrament meeting!  It was has been one of the biggest turn outs that the ward has seen in a long time.  It was amazing to see them all and how happy they were to be back in church. 

Here is a picture of Elder Sannar on the left, Me, and Elder Badger on the right.  They are the other Elders in our area.

So I had a pretty good week. I love y'all so much!!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

Elder Sannar, Elder Hinrichs & Elder Badger

Vidalia - Week 7

Dear Family,

I am doing well this week. I was able to go on an exchange with our zone leaders this week and go to Hinesville.  It is a mostly a military post.  It was quite interesting and I learned a lot!  I have also been able to help a member build a house which has been fun.  Also, a member has invited us to go fishing today!!  He lives on a big pond and right now it is bass spawning season so I am pretty excited.  Our companionship is working out great, because now we can have two elders working while another one goes with a member.  I have been able to exercise my priesthood authority multiple times this week and it has been great to see that marvelous work. We do have one new investigator named Tavaris who has committed to be baptized and has been reading the Book of Mormon, so that was pretty exciting.  My tendinitis is pretty much healed in my right ankle... But now it has moved to my left ankle.  That is great to hear that you are taking such great care of the Elders up there!  I love you all so much I will have more pictures next week!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

 

 

Vidalia - Week 6

Dear Family,

I had a good week this week.  Elder Harris, Elder Young, and I are getting along great!   We even found a couple new investigators!  There are two new elders in our area, Elder Badger and Elder Sannar.  They transferred from another area in Georgia. Elder Badger is from Wyoming and Elder Sannar is from North Carolina, but is a visa waiter and is going to Brazil.  They both are living by the church in an apartment that we set up.  We actually gave them most the furniture because we had a lot of extra that was given to us by members.  Our new companion, Elder Harris, has been serving in Georgia now for about 7 months.  

I already had the opportunity to speak in our ward.  I spoke on the second Sunday from when I entered the field.  My ankle is doing better but it still isn't fully healed. Also, I bought a fishing pole and fishing items at Walmart. It was fantastic to finally be able to fish again!  It was really great because I actually caught a Bluegill in our backyard pond with the Power Bait you sent me! And I was really wanting pliers for fishing, so it worked out fantastic! Thank you all so much! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

Elder Hinrichs & Elder Harris

Scripture Study & Fishing!

 

Elder Hinrichs catching a Bluegill

Vidalia - Week 5

Dear Family,

We had transfers this week and I will be staying in Vidalia with Elder Young, and we added another missionary in our companionship named Elder Harris. Also, there are two more Elders that moved into our area so now we have five missionaries here which should increase the work, and hopefully get some great results. Elder Harris is from West Valley, Utah and he is a great missionary. So the Lord is hastening the work!

Last P-Day I went fishing in our pond in the backyard. When we were cleaning out the garage and found a fishing pole. I used a Germ-X bottle as a bubble, a paper clip as a hook, and chicken as bait. I got a lot of nibbles, but I couldn't catch anything. None the less it was great to go fishing.

My P-Days are wake up, work out, get ready, eat breakfast, and study until lunch. Then e-mail, get groceries, wash the car, clean the apartment, do laundry, write letters, and make dinner.

We usually start tracting at 12:00 p.m. and come in at 8:00 p.m., but recently we have been getting a couple of appointments. We select our area and schedules every Friday during weekly planning, and adjust them during the week as needed. We try to alternate door approaches as promptings or situations develop. There are a couple of converts, but I haven't heard their baptismal stories yet. My tendonitis isn't too bad, I just get pain after a little bit of walking and it is uncomfortable, but nothing I can't handle. I am doing alright and the weather is good. I love you all and hope you are all doing good.

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

Elder Hinrichs Neighborhood

 

Vidalia - Week 4

Dear Family,

I had a good week this week. A ton of hard work and no takers, but a good week none the less. I did buy my bike this week, it is a hybrid bike (meaning a mix between a road and mountain bike), and I got all the proper safety gear. We have dinner appointments set up with our Ward Mission Leader every Sunday and lunch with a family named the Tippets on Sundays. Sometime we will get some other ward members who will sign up for a week day. The next transfer is next week, and I find out this Saturday on what happens to me. My companion exchange went great! Statesboro is a college town and is kind of busy, but it's alright.

 I have done a lot of walking and biking in this past week. Unfortunately I have developed tendinitis is my right ankle from over use. Luckily there is a nurse practitioner in our ward who is the Elders Quorum President named Brother Young, and he gave me some instructions and stretches on how to fix it. The way I look at it is if I am working hard enough to bring myself to injury, then I don't think I can work much harder. I hope you all are doing well!

 Love,

 Elder Hinrichs  

Vidalia - Week 3

Dear Family,

I am doing alright but this week has been a tough week. We lost all contact with our investigator that was supposed to baptized. One of our families we were teaching dropped us, and told us not to come back. And we have no real investigators to work with right now. I have been doing lots and lots of tracting but that wasn't too successful. So we have been visiting less active members to try to get them back, but most of them have their reasons on why they left. We have been invited over for dinner or lunch at least twice a week until the end of transfers. The weather has been alright and my coat has come in handy. I will be doing a companion exchange on Tuesday with the Statesburough Elders after our District Meeting. I will be staying in Statesburough with Elder Shiers and Elder Young will be staying here in Vidalia with Elder Poti. I should also be buying my bike on Tuesday.  I love you all very much!

Love,

Elder Hinrichs

There are catfish in my backyard pond!