June 15, 2015 Week 101

1 more to go!

This is a weird feeling, it hasn't hit yet but I know it is going to. 

I will miss the mission a lot. I have learned a ton out here.

This week was great! 

Paris, Maysa, and Aliah are getting baptized this week! (Matt and Amanda Webster's daughters)

Avery is getting baptized tomorrow (his baptism had to get delayed because of an ear infection)!! 

The Hoffmans are driving up to the city today and we are going to go play disc golf with them!

It was pretty sweet Oklahoma got a shout out this past week from the Mormon channel!! it is "called after the storm".  

What makes it even cooler is I know the family that was featured in it.  

The family lives in the assistant's area and on exchanges I have been able to go to their home 2 times. 

One time we gave her a blessing.  That lady is probably one of the nicest ladies I have met on the mission.  

Both times that I have gone over there she always asked how she could help.  She would make sure that our food supply was always up. WATCH IT!https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/after-the-storm

The Oldenburg family is awesome. Sister Oldenburg is going through a divorce right now and has 2 kids Macey and Jacob. 

They are 11 and 10 years old.  They are amazing. We have been teaching them for awhile. 

Well they are at the point where they are ready to be baptized! The only problem is that their dad is anti-mormom. 

So this past week we went over to their home and shared the Mormon message dare to stand alone by President Monson.

https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages-for-youth/dare-to-stand-alone-5

After we asked "what do you need to stand for?" The first thing that they said was, "Being Mormon!!"

We then talked about how they will have to get permission from their dad to get baptized and we handed them the baptismal parental permission sheet.  You could see how right away there faces dimmed.  They knew that their father had no desire for them to be baptized and probably wouldn't allow it. Then Macey said "all we need is faith" and right after she said that you could see that they had no fear in asking their dad for permission.  It was amazing to see how pure their faith was.  

We are going to see them on wendsday so we will see how it went.  

It was cool to see a 10 year old  "doubt [her] doubts before [she] doubted [her] faith"

WELL I WILL SEE YALL SOON!

ELDER FINLINSON

June 8, 2015 Week 100

Wow!

It has been crazy. I don't even know what to write about first! 

First congratulations Bethany and Chase for the new member of the family.  

(Franklin Wilde Roberts, Born June 4, 2015, 7lbs 11oz  -- born the day before Ethan's birthday!)

I found out in a really weird way.  I got a call from the Webster's saying that they had an announcement to give me... I thought it was just going to be for my birthday but it ended up being for something a lot more important. 

They called and said that I was an uncle.  It took a while to register but it finally did. 

I don't think I will fully comprehend it until I get home.  

But on the note of the Websters.  The girls went to girls camp this past week and had a blast... just as usual there were tears and fights but in the end it ended up great.  The girls bore their testimonies at the end and in it said that they wanted to be members!!! 

They will be baptized on June 20th by brother Webster! 

It is amazing how everything is falling into place with them they are definitely prepared and the Lord has great things in place for them. 

They also bought Frank a toy-- I guess he will get it in a couple of weeks. ha they are amazing!

Another cool thing is going to happen this week.  The Hoffmans (convert family in Purcell) are finally all going to be baptized this week.  Avery the 15 year old, the last of the 5, is going to be baptized this week.

I am sad to leave this wonderful place but nothing could make me happier than to see these 2 families fully commit to follow Christ. 

They are both ready now to prepare to go to the temple and be together forever.  This is what the gospel of jesus Christ is all about.  

I know there are people further down the line that will need my help to make this possible in their lives.  This is true for each of us. 

It really comes down to if we really do love our Savior and what He has done for us.

That is an amazing story* with the 2400 dollars I can faintly remember that at the time.

I would not want that money go anywhere else than the missionary fund, especially to E. 

It will change his life while it changes others. 

I just watched the funeral services for Elder Perry. I think we underestimate the sacrifice of our leaders. I know I have. President gave some awesome insight on this (focused to mission leadership, but it is the same)

"I wonder if we are sometimes too prideful to learn from each other. I occasionally hear statements such as, "I don't like leaders," or I know as much as they do." To me, these statements seem to be prideful and retard growth. We can all learn from each other. Leaders did not volunteer. They have been called. We can all learn from each other and have a responsibility to support each other. Life is much more enjoyable when we compliment each other rather than criticize one another."--pres. Walkenhorst

In our church everyone is called. Called to the nursery, zone leader, trainer, elder quorum president, camp director or the president of the church. We all share one thing in common, we have been called of God to be there. No other church has this. In other churches they are either hired or volunteered. So lets truly and fully love God by sustaining those He calls.

Love you and thanks for the great birthday!

ELDER FINLINSON

To answer your question about my bike--I am going to leave my bike here for a future missionary who can't afford a bike. #supportthereplacements

*abbreviated version of the story of the $2,400 - Yesterday as we made the last payment to Ethan's mission fund, the ward clerk brought to Doug's attention a huge excess in the account. He thought Doug had just paid a whole bunch upfront.  Doug let him know we had been paying by the month, they researched the account and discovered in July 2013 a $2,400 donation was made to Ethan's account we never knew was there.  Doug had no idea who had made the donation, he then came to me in asked me if I knew the person.  I recognized his name and remembered how Ethan met this man for just a few minutes at my Mom and Dad's home a few weeks before he left on his mission.  The man told me he felt impressed he needed to donate to Ethan's fund and asked me to send the name of our ward and bishop.  I honored his request and inspiration but it puzzled me a bit because I knew there were missionaries in much greater need.  Yesterday we were shocked to discover how much had been donated.  The clerk apologized that we never knew about the excess until yesterday but we feel assured The Spirit Knew all along where those sacred funds were most needed.  We feel humbled by the donor's obedience to the impressions of The Spirit. For him it may have been a simple act of obedience but what immeasurable blessings obedience brings! It reminds me of 3 Nephi 13:3, But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth..., and also the principle and pattern in Alma 37:6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.  Thanks to all of you for your love and support of our Elder Fin and all the missionaries!

June 1, 2015 Week 99

"I go home this month."...

Well the month has finally come I had a crazy moment this morning. I can now say that I go home this month. I now have a countdown in my face every time I look at a calendar. ehhhh o well

Midwest city is amazing.  The other missionaries that we share the ward with had a baptism this past week. This ward is growing so much either throug--rescues or baptisms--they cause real growth. Members are talking about it quite a bit. I believe that splitting the ward is in the new future!

We had a great lesson with the Webster's this week.  We watched the restoration with them and their girls who haven't been baptized yet. It was awesome!  We asked the girls if they had anything against being baptized and they said no.... this is a really big change and it kinda caught Matt and Amanda off guard! Their hearts really have changed a lot over the past few days and strengthened my testimony in the power of parents. During the lesson Matt and Amanda said something that kinda struck me,  they said, "We wonder when this 'high' is going to wear off,  we just feel happy and so good." We were then able to talk to them about how that 'high' is the gift  of the holy ghost and that it shouldn't ever wear off.  but it did make me think of Alma 5:26 

"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of 

redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"

This is exactly what Matt and Amanda are feeling and it should be something that we are feeling too. 

So, Why don't we have those feelings? 

When should we have those feelings? 

How do we have that 'change of heart'? 

The answer is quite simple apply the doctrine of Christ. 

increase your faith in Jesus Christ--repent--partake of the sacrament-- 

and you are then blessed with the Holy Ghost. 

I have recently made some goals on how I can better apply this process every day.  

One thing that I have noticed is that my application of faith and application of repentance are not equal and they should be. 

So I will repent for not doing that;)

here are your answers (Asked Elder Finlinson the following questions...)

As you are nearing the end of your mission what comes to your mind as to why you were called specifically to the OK City Mission?--

1). no distraction of the mountains

2). the people here are the best 

Can you even imagine what these last two years would have been like had you not decided to serve a mission?

1).nightmare

How have you seen this faith in finding principle play out on your mission? 

1). It is the first principle that is talked about in PMG in chapter 9. you will not be successful if you put any principle before it ex--teach when you find , find when you teach, talk with everyone, go about doing good, importance of families. It is the root of finding. 

What are you going to miss most about being your mission?

1). OKIES

2). The name tag

3). crazy weather

What are you not going to miss?

1). flatlands

2). bible bashes

3). being around someone 24/7 - the ability to be alone

4). missionary drama (in companionships, with members/ investigators)

5). Christian rock

6). backing--(I think this means the rule of a missionary standing behind car directing when backing out a car)

7). being forced to eat food

8). not enough time to exercise

What do you hope for the mission as you leave?

1). For each missionary to follow the spirit and change through the Doctrine of Christ and help others to do the same. aka missionary Purpose

Love y'all

ELDER FINLINSON

May 27, 2015 Week 98

Wow what a great week!  

Matt and Amanda got baptized!  It was so great to see them make that commitment with their Heavenly Father.  

Elder Hoffman baptized Amanda and I baptized Matt! 

It was a ton of fun. Matt made a pretty big spash! 

It was cool though. The baptism about got canceled, there was a tornado that was scheduled to hit MWC right when the baptism was supposed to happen--satan.  Bishop said that the decision to cancel it was up to Matt and Amanda.  We called them up and said that they had faith that they'd be fine! Bishop welcomed them to the ward and gave an awesome thought... he said that initially he was preety mad when he heard that the weather was going to be bad for the baptism, he asked himself why can't it just be a nice sunny day?  Then he thought about the primary song, "I like to look for rainbows..."... I want my like to be as clean as earth right after rain..." He then made an awesome comparison to the earth getting cleansed and then the Webster's getting cleansed and how he was grateful that it rained on their baptism!

But that's not all for the Webster's. This past sunday during priesthood we asked if anyone would be able to go with us to an appointment Wed night.  Well after an awkward 20 seconds of silence Matt said he could go!!! and not just that, he is bringing Amanda with him!! THEY ARE SOOO SOLID.  

Also their girls are going to girls camp next week so we'll have the font ready for them when they get back!  MWC is doing great right now.

Sorry if these next few emails get bad... I will tell you all about my weeks when I get home! I only have 4 more pdays the rest of my life! 

I love you all and am looking forward to see y'all soon!

ELDER FINLINSON

thanks for the protein-- its pretty intense (sent Ethan some protein powder)

  

  

 

Sister Hoffman (Ethan's companion's mom),  Amanda and Matt Webster, Elizabeth Finlinson 

  

Matt and Amanda Webster at Payson Temple Open House

Elder Fin May 17, 2015 Week 97

Wow we had a pretty crazy week this week! 

That is sooo cool that it all worked out with the Webster's... they are set to be baptized this Saturday.  

We are excited to see how their trip went. Thanks for doing that for them I know that they enjoyed it!

(The Webster's stayed in our home last week while on their honeymoon, Ethan's compainion's Mom-Sister Rachel Hoffman and I went with The Websters to the Pason Temple Open House, and spent a day with them on Temple Square -Bethany joined us on Temple Square-she took photos of The Websters and it was there that they decided they wanted to return a year after their baptism and be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.  We had a great time being with them and hearing their gratitude for The Elders and their love for Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, The Holy Spirit, and their discovery of the power of praying aloud and their desire to make covenants.)  

Well The final transfer has started! I am very excited for it.  Elder Barrett and my boy Elder Taggart are in the zone! 

The work is progressing very good here in Midwest City! 

The Family home evenings continue on and we are now at 15 families that have committed. It has been a pretty average week though.  

We did have to go to our shelter on Saturday but no tornados dropped near us... 

The storms are kinda getting annoying.  I can see how the okies get cocky about not getting hit by a tornado...

It is pretty annoying when the storm hits at 9 o clock so we have to go to our shelter and pretty much just chill there and watch the news.  

The tornado chasers are crazy! not just because they chase 300 mile hour wind but they make little storms seem a lot bigger than what they really are.

We had an awesome lesson with a part member family this week.  They have an 11 year old daughter who has been investigating for awhile. 

Well we taught her the plan of salvation but to spice it up we did it with chalk... it was soo cool!

One thing I ran across in my studies recently

 “People are not better off when they are given maximum personal freedom to do what they want. They’re better off when they are enshrouded in commitments that transcend personal choice—commitments to family, God, craft and country.”(New York Times columnist David Brooks , quoted by ELDER PERRY) 

I am going to strive this week to have a 'transcending' experience ever day. Or merely an experience every day that allows me to desire and be better. 

It seems like this mostly comes for us missionaries when we have conferences but really if we can apply this everyday we'll be a lot happier--

because we'll be able to apply the doctrine of Christ more fully. 

So all in all I am going to identify the commitments from the spirit that are given in the scriptures.

Love ya

ELDER FINLINSON

May 10, 2015 Week 96‏

Hola yall it was great to hear from all of you yesterday! (YES! we talked on the phone because Elder Finlinson figured he would see us soon enough so he didn't set up a skype call...)

This week was solid I already talked to you about most of it. 

But the coolest is for sure that Matt and Amanda got married and are going on their honey moon to none other than SALT LAKE CITY!! 

ha I am excited to see and hear how it goes! (They may be staying with us and we plan to visit a few sights together)

They are some of my favorite people that I have meet on my mission. They are then getting baptized this Saturday!

Elder Finlinson shared the following during the phone call and I asked hime to write it out in his letter, he did!

Phase 1= Missionaries do all of the work (≠ PMG)

Phase 2= Members help missionaries with the work (either way)

Phase 3= Missionaries help the members with the work (= PMG)

This is the model that we are trying to follow here in MWC and really the whole mission. 

We have broken up our area and identified each ward member household and have placed them in the phase that we feel they are at. 

Some are phase 1 and I feel it is mostly the fault of the missionaries and the lack of care of helping the members.  

Really there are phase 1,2 and 3 companionships of missionaries.  

As we have been applying this in the area we have honestly tasted what missionary work is supposed to be like. IT IS SO EASY! 

Its just that it isn't easy in the beginning but in the long run it changes everything. 

But something that would help the missionaries out is to ask yourself if you are a-

PHASE 1 MEMBER (Do you let missionaries do all the work?)

PHASE 2 MEMBER(You occasionally have them over for dinner, go out teaching with them)

PHASE 3 MEMBER (You understand the way of missionary work (aka PMG) you are proactive, you understand that it is your role to find people to teach(LA/nonmember), you desire the growth of the church)

AGE RANGE TO PARTICIPATE-- 0 years - eternity 

LOCATION TO PARTICIPATE-- ANYWHERE

You are at one of these phases whether you like it our not. Decide what one you want to be, its the first step! 

I can promise that being a phase 3 member is where you want to be. There and only there you will find the true spirit of missionary work.

PHASE 3 INDIVIDUALS<PHASE 3 FAMILIES<PHASE 3 WARD  

City of Enoch pt. 2

LOVE YALL

ELDER FINLINSON

May 5, 2015 Week 95‏

Cinco de Mayo!

What a week!

The reason I am emailing today is because we had a mission tour yesterday.  

Elder Corbridge came to our mission.  It was awesome! 

He also came to reorganize our stake presidency here in the OKC south.  

I actually got to know him pretty well the past weekend. 

He lives really close to us, his children went to Brighton and Albion! 

He is famous to missionaries for his 4th missionary talk.

 https://docs.google.com/a/csddocs.org/file/d/0B-RFrnIsrlQYdElsQ0ZHN2hzREE/preview

Elder corbridge really focused on the Atonement of jesus Christ.

He rebuked us for not talking about it as much... if you go through Preach My Gospel you will see it in every lesson!

So that was awesome.

We have had some crazy experiences this week.  

I think the biggest one was that we went to lifechurch.tv this week with some investigators.....

OHHHH MY GOODNESS OUR CHURCH IS SOOO TRUE 

haha.... lets just say the last time I was in an environment like life church was at the Aussie Floyd concert! 

haha It was perfect though because we went on 'baptism Sunday'! 

So they had this big swimming pool blown up in the middle of their church which is really a big warehouse set up like a concert...it was chaos! 

The pastor, his wife and his daughters were all performing the baptisms I will give you the processes of what I could infer on baptism.

WHY?

1.  To feel good

2.  An optional way to show the public your decision to 'follow Christ'

HOW?--a nice 10 step process

1. bring your swim gear (or short shorts for the girls)

2. and a smile

3. find someone to baptize you (it doesn't have to be the pastor...or his wife...or their kids...heck just find someone to dunk you (if you do enough ab ripper you can baptize yourself))

4. enter the water (usually dancing to the beat of some dubstep)

5. get a pre-baptism pump up from the pastor

6. you are then baptized on the count of three (no words are spoken)

7. enjoy the cheer of the crowd!!!!

8. SAVED (really you were saved the week before when you raised your hand and the pastor forgave you...so...huh)

9. enjoy the holy ghost (somehow)

10. ready to return to your Heavenly Father

I have never witnessed anything so hollow. The Great Apostasy really did happen.... I really am grateful for the experience that I had to go to lifechurch.tv this past week. It helped me increase the faith that I have with my Savior and His atoning sacrifice for us. I now have a greater desire to go and help all of those that are trying to apply the Sacrifice of Christ in their lives and just don't know any better. 

I LOVE OKIES haha they are the best people on this planet. And hey if you receive a witness that Life Church is true...STICK to IT! 

That would be the easiest way to become like our Father in Heaven! 

I would just challenge you to read the Bible!

HELP SOMEONE THIS WEEK THAT HAS FALLEN INTO APOSTASY WITHIN THE CHURH OF JESUS CHRIST or OUT OF IT so they can feel the true power or Christ's Atonement!

Oh yeah the investigators that took us to lifechurch.tv are getting married this week then the next week are getting baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...

Love y'all

ELDER FINLINSON