Leaving the Mission and a Baptism

Hey Y'all

Unfortunately this will be the last weekly email that you get from me.  My full time service to the Lord is coming to a close but my member missionary work is about to begin!

We had a solid week.  Lots of crazy adventures.  Friday we got a member to take our investigator down to Destin so he could have his interview.  He passed and so did other other candidate.  Saturday was the day.....craziest baptism ever!  So we had three people being baptized.  Two of ours and one of the sisters.  So it is getting close to 10 and neither of our people have showed up.  So I take a member and we go try to pick one of the guys up cause he doesn't have a car.  On our way out the other one shows up!  So we got one there.  Bro Ficklin and I go to get Miguel.  In the meantime they start the baptism and the person who is supposed to be baptizing Kristy, our baptism, ran to the school to get a picture done before the baptism.  Right up the street.  No problem.  Bro Ficklin and I get to Miguel's and he doesn't' answer his door.  So we go back all dejected....get there and they are in the middle of the baptism talk.  I get a text from bro ficklin 5 or so minutes later asking if we want to give miguel one more try.  So he and I head out for one last attempt.  We go and he no answer again....so sad.  Get back and find out they did the baptisms and were closing up when we got there. On top of that the guy that was supposed to baptize Kristy was 30 seconds late and so they had Elder Millard baptize her cause they didn't know when he would be back.....so sad....  So I think I can say that I may be one of the only missionaries ever to miss their own investigator's baptism....awkward....hahaha she was super cool about everything.  So yeah that was my crazy story for the week.  Met up with Miguel later and got him squared away for this Saturday.  He has just been having a rough time while working the night shift at walmart.  

Well I guess this is the end.   Thank you for all of the love, support, and prayers.  I am truly grateful to have been in the full time service of our Lord for two years and look forward to using my knowledge and skills that I have gained to help grow the Kingdom of God in Utah.

Some of the greatest things I will miss about being a missionary is the people here in Florida of course.  Father Henderson will forever have a place in my heart.  The people that I have had the privilege of baptizing and working with has been incredible.  Even more so when I can see it change their lives and see them turn to use that change to change others in their lives.  The spirit that I have felt will be something to always remember.  Thank you again for all of the support.  See you soon!

Also for those of you who want to keep in contact.

ryanfunk5@gmail.com

1986 North 500 East

North Logan, UT 84341

Heroes Among Us

Hey Y'all,

It's the final countdown!  I am coming to the close of my time here in the FTM and the Lord's service so you only got one more email coming after this.  Ye have been warned.

This week was a good working week.  We got to spend a lot of time finding including 4 hours in the pouring rain....wonderful experiences right? ;)  it was good don't worry.  Yeah that was pretty much the extent of our week.  hahaha Saturday we did go see an investigator who was "buzzed" to begin the lesson and then kept bringing out the beers.  We originally did family history with him and were going to transition him to the gospel but he just got more and more drunk and just started asking us about the church.  He is catholic.  We were talking about the priesthood how it was restored.  He proceeded to tell us that he knows the catholics don't have the priesthood cause "they jacked up that crap."  Hahahaha oh it was so funny.  The sad part is he was too drunk to make the connection we were teaching him so we are going to meet with him this week when he is sober.  He and his friend (both military men) did refer to us as hero's cause we go face our "opponent" from 5 feet away.  Going up to doors not knowing what's on the other side.  It was cool to hear that coming from a military man.  Super humbled to know what some people think of us and yet we are just doing the Lord's work the best we can. 

Sunday the ward have me give a farewell talk.  Cool experience but super sad at the same time.  I think they are trying to make me trunky. hahaha.  Then during the YSA group Harry (our recent convert) got to give his first talk!  He did a great job even having been up for the last 40 hours cause  of work.  What a stud!  Anyways that's all for now.  I'll be back next week!

Cops Bringing in Good Memories

Sup y'all!

Short on time so I will be brief.  Lots of finding time this week.  Got the cops called on us.  Story time!  We went to see a less active and he was doing some yard work for his neighbor and told us to follow him and talk.  So we go into their backyard and a neighbor calls the cops on us.  Five cop cars pull up and they see us and just say hi and turn around and leave.  hahahaha.  Earlier that morning we had a government investigator come to our house asking questions about our neighbor.  Weird. 

Kristy is doing great!  She has a baptismal date on the sixth of August and her mother is finally on board with her being baptized!  Super spiritual lesson with them Thursdaynight.  Saturday had interviews with President Smith.  Good guy.  Spiritual giant.  I like him.

Sunday was incredible!  We went to the YSA group in Niceville and I turn around to see a member from the Bonifay ward walk in!  Andrew Finch!  It was so awesome to see him again.  When I first met him he was inactive and then he started coming every week.  It was great to see him and how his life has improved so much.  The gratitude he showed me for "resurrecting" him was amazing.  Truly made me recognize the blessings and importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Don't let it go. 

Here are some pictures from our week.

-- 

Elder Funk

Remember who you are and what HE stands for!

A little friend I found right before putting on my shoe....

​The DropALoad Inn.  hahahaha oh the stuff you find while tracting.

​my companion....it says it all....

Recent Convert to Missionary!

Hey y'all!

It's super weird to hear of everyone getting home cause it means I am down to the tail end of it all.  However there is still work to be done and miracles to be wrought.  

​Tuesday we had a zone training meeting​ and had some great discussions.  Then I went over to Destin for the day.  Great place.  Found a mexican store and got some very nice coke's.  ;)  Wednesday we went to see a less active member and he decided he wanted to help fix my flat bike tire so he took us to Walmart.....freaking 45 minutes later.....we got out of there and were able to do some more family history with Harry. 

Thursday we got our investigator into his new apartment!  He is so relieved to be out of his mother-in-law's house.  It was great to see him so happy and cheerful.  That night I got to go out with Harry and teach a couple of people.  He is such a stud.  He was whipping out scriptures from the Book of 

Mormon to investigators and less active members already.  Now he is preparing to serve a mission next year! 

Friday we did a lot of service....leaves and raking for days......then had to bike about 7 miles to get to dinner....we worked out a lot that day hahaha

Saturday was just full of meeting with people and their crazy situations.  It makes me so grateful to have the gospel in my life and keeps me want to keep living it.   Sunday we had a great Niceville ward and then in the YSA group we were passing the sacrament and we ran out of water cause there was so many people there!  It was incredible!  So nice to see the group growing so much so quickly!  In the end though I love Jesus and life is great even when it doesn't appear great.  Have a great week!

Also shout out to Dusty (convert from Tallahassee) who is leaving on his mission wendesday to go to Pocatello,  Idaho spanish speaking!

Baptist Pastor to Mormon Priest

Crazy week here in the FTM

Taught a lot of lessons and had a lot of success.  

I guess the main thing we did besides teaching was a ton of service.  Friday we spent a good chunk of the day helping one of our investigators move out of their trailer into a new apartment.  Super glad they moved cause that trailer was so disgusting.

Saturday we were able to have Harry Mitchell get baptized!  So awesome and Sunday he got confirmed and became a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood!  He has been changed from a Baptist pastor to a Mormon priest!  He also got his younger brother, who is a pastor for the baptist church where he was before, to start teaching from the book of mormon.  That church is now a nondenominational church hahaha.  The younger brother preached a whole sermon last week just from the Book of Mormon.   We are getting churches converted over here!

So here is a little more on Saturday.  After the baptism I looked at my bike and found I had a flat tire so we had to walk from the church home.  Along the way we got stopped by the investigator that we helped move out the other day so we went over and helped them move things into their new apartment.  Then another one of our investigators asked us while we were moving the first people in to come and help him move out.  So right after moving in we turned around and helped him move out.  He now lives in his car by our apartment complex until Thursday when he can move into a new apartment.  Interesting situation but we are trying to help him just as Christ would and it has turned into a wonderful experience for Elder Millard and myself.

Just want to leave you with a wonderful thought.  Friday and Saturday we had dinner with different members and both fed us Brinner!  Completely different brinners too.  hahahaha Best dinner appointments ever!

​There are two types of people who work at the family history class.   Those who help people do it and those who are taking selfies about it.  I, I took the path less traveled and it made little difference in the end.  But now we have documentation of it.​

Harry's baptism​. The one on the end is Dan.

President and Sister Smith (Round 2)

Hey Ya'll!

Pretty solid week this week.  Had a lot of great moments though!  I hit a few special moments.  Tuesday I went to Destin to go on a tradeoff with Elder Tate.  He is the bomb!  Love that guy.  We had a great tradeoff and were able to get a lot of work done down in his area despite getting lost a couple of times.  (not my fault)

Wednesday night we had a disagreement with a member over our car exchanges with the sisters.  The member has had a really  rough week and just errupted on Elder Millard.  Really unfortunate.  All over walking a block at night.  I understand her concern but I don't think she understands that we do that all of the time in much worse places than between our apartment and the Sister's apartment.  Hopefully we can help her be comforted with the information that our Mission President has given us that we are fine to walk at night.....nothing worse than going to your brand new mission president and having to ask a super stupid question because you told a member you would....oh well.  I'm over it.  

Friday we got to meet President and Sister Smith (II).  They are an awesome couple and just want to see everything go well.  Very relaxed couple.  I love it!  I got to bear my testimony at zone conference....it's weird how real it is getting that I am going home soon....well fairly soon...I still have plenty of time and work to do.  Anyway we had Thomas Kibler take us to Waffle House before Zone conference and then Chick-fil-a so Elder Larsen (guy I came out with) and  I could talk for a bit.  Thomas is such a stud!

Saturday was awesome!  The sister's had 3 baptisms in the morning and then our investigator got married that evening!  Awesome day!  So spiritual!  Sunday we had a great day as well.  I got the blessing of confirming the Sister's investigators into the Church.  Such an incredible spirit was there.  It was super cool to be able to do three confirmations right in a row.  I felt they were semi-repetitive and then I had several people, including a member of the Stake Presidency, tell me how impressed they were with the blessings.  I truly was able to see that the blessings were not from me but from the Lord and even though I hadn't asked God if the blessings were repetitive he calmed my mind and brought peace to my heart.  What a wonderful God we have!  Have a great week everyone!

Stuck in a Rut

Hey everyone

Glad to be here to write this week.  Many challenges were placed before us this week.  I shall describe a few.  Wednesday we had the car for the second half of the day (because of transfers that the sisters had to go to) so we got the car and went out tracting in Valparaiso.  We saw on the GPS what looked like a good neighborhood.....turns out it was a cemetary.....so we turned around and were heading out and saw a dirt road.  Millard said go for it and then changed his mind when I actually went for it.  Turns out that that was government property and it was a sand trap.  We got stuck....After a police officer came and we spent half an hour trying to dig out we called a member and he came and pulled us out....Went strait to a lesson with the two girls that were supposed to get baptized on Saturday and the mom went off on us about how they were not ready.  Everything that we had to do for them to be prepared for baptism was done and they were ready but you can't go against the parents will.....worst part is the mother is a member and the great grandmother they are living with is an active member and both were opposed.  Super frustrating.

Thursday we had an investigator make on of our priests super uncomfortable so we got frosties after.  Finally, yesterday we had a member take us, an investigator, and a less active member to stake conference.  During the trip up there the member is freaking giving our investigator anti material!  What the freak!  SHUT UP!  So that sucked and then couldn't hear stake conference at all so it didn't even feel worth it. Did get to see one of my former companions though so that was really nice.  Elder Ellsworth.  He is a stud.

Despite all of the setbacks we were able to have some success.  Found a guy using family history and it was a super awesome experience.  He had been trying to do his family history for years but couldn't afford ancestry.  LOL we are free.  Then the adult session of stake conference Saturday night was great!  So spiritual!  but yeah that's what I got for ya'll this week.  Have a great one.

-- 

Elder Funk

Remember who you are and what HE stands for!

​My last planner with Elder Richardson and I!  LOL

​Elder Millard and Bro. Mayew with our car.....apparently Corolla's don't take well to the beach....who knew?​

Elder Ellsworth and I​