Photo Update

Things for Elder Moore are going great! He loves being on a mission and serving the Lord. His emails are short and sweet, but he is now a facebook missionary. Every day Elder Moore posts uplifting messages and we love seeing his posts! Here is an update on Elder Moore through photos he has taken! Enjoy!

Goodbye Mayfield, Hello Blackman

Blackman, Tennessee:

“I have been made a district leader and am excited about it! I am in Blackman Tennessee, it is just about 30 minutes outside of Nashville.  Pretty crazy how close it is, I am so used to being so far away!  It is a pretty nice area, and definitely a city area!  There isn't much of a country to Blackman area haha.  It is more on the wealthy side, but not super duper wealthy.  The ward is pretty big.  It has probably about 100 or so fully active people.  There are a ton of young families here.  It is pretty crazy, I really like it though.  I think I will enjoy time here.  Our dinner calender is filled up pretty much everyday.  If somebody cancels dinner or doesn't sign up, we call the Adair family and they feed us on those nights.  They ask us often if we have dinner or if dinner has cancelled and what not.  Pretty awesome!  There are some really awesome families here though. My companion is Elder Harris, he is from Murray Utah.  He is good.  I think we'll get along just fine.  He does enjoy sports, which is always a plus.  It should be a good transfer though.  The district is, well big.  There are 4 sets of Sister missionaries, us and the Zone Leaders in our district.  Pretty crazy!  It is a big district, full of Sister missionaries.” 

“Blackman is great though and we have been focusing on working with the Ward Mission Leader in fulfilling the wards goals and so been focusing on the Less-Active people.  I have been meeting lots of good people, both members and non members.  I really enjoy it and have been having a good time.”

“And there sure are a lot of Sister missionaries!  In our district there are 8 Sister missionaries!  That alone is a big district, and then for Elders it is just us and the Zone Leaders.  But two of the Sister companionships will be turning into tripanionships.  So we are gonna have 10 sisters, and 14 total people in our district!  That is so crazy how huge it is!  It should be fun though.”

Food:

“The squirrel was good for what it is.  It wouldn't be my preference of meat, but for it being squirrel, it was actually decent.  I'll be sending home a picture of the squirrel and dumpling stew that we had.  It was crazy though!  I can finally say that I ate squirrel haha!”

Zone Conference:

“When you follow a GPS in the South you get an off roading experience!  The worst part about it is that it got our car all dirty and at Zone Conferences they do car checks and they're supposed to be clean.”

General Conference:

“There were some incredible teachings, and some very bold statements.  I always love how the Apostles never shy away from being bold, but so loving.  I am amazed always at the teaching, I just wish I could remember all the awesome quotes and each individual talk.  I surely am excited about getting the opportunity when they come out in the Ensign to be able to study them more in depth.  Some people surely are crazy though.  The teachings about how the church is always the same and will always be was pretty awesome.  I really thought it was awesome how several of them said that man can change laws and make immoral acts legal but they will never be allowed in God's kingdom.  Can I get an amen?!  But in all reality, the teachings were so amazing.  I am also excited to be able to study out my notes I took.”

Service:

“We also helped somebody move.  It was us and Brother Shields and the couple that we were moving.  And it was just a little townhouse, but they only had a Tacoma.  So we loaded it all up, trying to fit it all in one trip of course.  Well we played a nice game of tetris and filled it up as much as well possibly could.  Well there was a mattress on the right side of the truck standing up.  We are in Brother Shield's car following the Tacoma.  As we are driving the mattress is moving and what not.  Well, it folds over and half of it is now leaning outside of the truck.  Well we are just wondering how much longer it'll be before the mattress falls out when suddenly it nails a mail box!  We bust up laughing and are all amazed when suddenly it nails a second mail box.  It hit the second one hard enough to knock the mattress out and it was just sitting on the corner of the yard.  Luckily it didn't break the mail box or anything and it was an easy fix!  It was pretty funny though, I won't lie.”

Training and Facebook Missionary:

“I had received a call from President Andersen and was told I was training and that was all that he had said.  So we had to wait for the rest of the night to hear the final details.  Those final details revealed that I would in fact be staying in Blackman and that Elder Harris was leaving to Crossville.  I thought that was funny, he is gonna have to say hi to a lot of people for me over there!  But I am pretty excited to get the opportunity to train.  I think that it could be a lot of fun. So I have also become a Facebook missionary.  I will start online proselyting now, that'll definitely be interesting!  It is so crazy how the online efforts are going.  It is pretty awesome.”

“Training has been good.  Pretty stressful, I won't lie.  It is more difficult than I would have thought.  But it seems to be going good, I guess the only thing I can really do is be obedient and then rely on miracles from the Lord!  He promises to make me equal in all that I do and I have really been trying to rely on that promise.  My greenie is Elder Wilkinson.  He is from Seattle, WA.  He is a good missionary.  I just hope that I can be a good trainer to him.”

“Being a Facebook missionary is definitely interesting.  We basically do the same thing but online.  Share posts and updates that will spiritually uplift people, contact and talk to people that we are teaching, or less active people, or members.”

“Being a Facebook missionary is pretty cool though. I am very glad to hear that yall enjoy my posts.  I try to make them good and I sure hope that other people enjoy them as well!  It can be a pretty powerful thing.  It sure is neat getting to share the gospel online.  My companion is not yet a FB missionary as one ya can't be one until after the first 12 weeks, so when training is done.  But everything here and afar is going good with the teaching.  We have been working mostly with Less Active people in this area as well.  The Ward Mission Plan is to work with those who are not coming and we try to do our best to help with the WMP.  But the training as well is going good.  We seem to be doing good work.  He definitely is a good missionary, still has a lot to learn.  But he is probably with the wrong missionary to learn all of it as I still have oh so much to learn as well.  I think it is neat how we can always learn something new from all of our companions, even when they are brand new they still have something to teach their companions.” 

Weather:

“We had Tornado Warnings yesterday, but nothing happened.  The weather is starting to get cold.  It isn't terrible though.  TN gets some Tornadoes, but not too many.  They get a lot of warnings though.”

Testimony:

“It so awesome when people truly accept the gospel and let the pure love of Christ take over.  That is always something amazing.  The Gospel can always have a powerful effect upon people.  Just like Brad Wilcox states in the speech "His Grace is Sufficient" that isn't about being saved by grace, but being changed by grace.  And that is a very powerful thing when we truly allow gospel to firmly plant into our hearts and change us for the better.  That is something I have always enjoyed, is studying about the character of Christ and how his love on us can influence our lives.  I sure do love it!  Speaking of the character of Christ, Elder Bednar gave a bomb talk about that!”

“This last Friday I had the opportunity to be able to give two baptismal interviews, those are always so legit!  I really do enjoy them a lot.  Getting the opportunity to talk and discuss with soon to be new members is so much fun.  And getting the opportunity to hear their humble testimonies is a huge faith builder.  This work is a good work and I am ever so grateful for it!  It is always neat getting the opportunity to be here serving the Lord.”

As always, Elder Moore would love to hear from you! Send him a letter to:

Elder Frank Cody Moore

Tennessee Nashville Mission

105 Westpark Dr Ste 190

Brentwood, TN 37027

Mayfield, Kentucky

Elder Moore has been serving in Mayfield, Kentucky for most of his mission. He has been serving there since April and he loves it there!

The Work:

"We have been teaching a lady who said that she would become a member of the Church if she knew the Book of Mormon was true.  It was a pretty cool experience though!  We were teaching Friday and we planned to read 2 Nephi 2 and go over a little bit of the Plan of Salvation with her.  When we first started Elder Day started with the question How do you expect and answer from the Holy Ghost to come?  And after he asked the question the Spirit took over right away and we got into a discussion about how the Holy Ghost works and how answers come.  We also talked about how God works by small and simple means and that learning come line upon line.  It was definitely an amazing experience and I am pretty positive we helped her realize that she can't try to learn every tidbit within the Book of Mormon right away but that it'll come little by little.  It was pretty awesome."

"We mostly knock on doors here in Mayfield.  A whole lot of tracting!  We don't even work with an entire stake.  We just cover a single ward, well here in Mayfield it is a branch.  Usually the Zones are the area of a Stake and each individual area is usually a ward/branch.  Sometimes there are two sets or more in a single area, like here we have a Spanish speaking and English speaking.  Our teaching goes well."

"We have also been trying to focus our efforts on the less active people.  That can be tough sometimes though.  Some people just don't understand.  Really makes me want to make sure that I never go less active because from what I have seen once you get out and comfortable it sure is difficult to get back into the swing of things!"

Weather:

"It has been pretty hot as well, and it has rained.  There was one day it down poured like crazy!  We were in the car and had just left our apartment after lunch and we were driving on the main road, as we were driving we see this wall and it kinda looked like a wall of fog.  As we get closer we sit it is a wall of rain!  It was crazy how much there was, ya could barely even see!  It was so crazy how much rain there was!"

"Pretty crazy how hot it has been back there, sure glad I am missing, but then again it can't be any worse than here.  Humidity is so annoying!"

Service:

"Every Thursday we go to a Food Pantry were they hand out bags of food to people who need it and we help there.  We fill the bags and put them into peoples cars.  I really love doing it!  And the people who are the main people there really appreciate our help so I am glad that we are very able to help out a lot."

"This week I also dumped chicks.  Lots of them!  We helped our Branch President with his job, well kind of.  We actually slow him down a little bit, but it is such an great experience I am glad that he gives us a chance to do it!  It was such a blast I really enjoy it. The chicks we dumped just get dumped into a barn and it isn't a conveyor belt, it is just a platform kind of thing that they slide down.  They raise the chicks, which they mature in about 6 weeks and send them out to factories like Tyson and others so that they can make their meats."

Temple Trip:

"We had the opportunity to go to the Temple.  It was so awesome. The Temple really is a beautiful place though!  It is so small, it is like a little pocket edition of Temples.  The crazy thing is that it is right next to a Stake Center and the Stake Center is probably bigger than the Temple!  But it is so beautiful. I dearly love the Temple.  I definitely enjoyed my Temple trip.  While in the Temple I was prompted to study the Atonement.  So while I was there I read in Luke about the suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Then I have been continuing the study of the Atonement the past couple days and will continue to study it in the days to come.  I have been reading in Preach My Gospel and True to the Faith and been looking up the scriptures.  I plan to study some talks by past apostles and prophets and reading about the Atonement in Jesus the Christ and in anything else that I can find.  It really is an incredible event.  Everything about it amazes me, it surely is a powerful thing.  All things within the gospel are made possible by it.  It amazes me how much love the Savior and Heavenly Father had for us to allow for such a thing as this to happen.  And I am dearly grateful, I am so excited to be able to study more and get more into.  It'll be a really, and has been, a great experience!"

Food:

For you all that know Cody well, you know how picky he is! He has tried so much new food and some crazy stuff that we are dying that he has eaten!

"Oh and by the way for dinner last Saturday I ate leugua de vaca.  Now since y’all don't understand Spanish I guess I'll have to translate.  That translates into Cow Tongue.  Yes y’all read it correctly, cow tongue!  Pretty crazy huh.  Thankfully I didn't know what it was while eating.  Then after dinner she showed all of us a picture on her phone and it was her holding up a cow tongue over the stove.  It wasn't terrible for what it was.  But if I had a choice I probably wouldn't eat it again."  

"I also made my first attempt at cooking eggs yesterday.  I am not sick so I must have cooked them good enough! haha!"

"Just thought I liked to tell ya that we get to eat Squirrel this next Tuesday!  I am pretty excited, I not gonna lie.  Hopefully it is good, but I'll do it just to say that I did it!"

As always, Elder Moore would love to hear from you! Send him a letter to:

Elder Frank Cody Moore

Tennessee Nashville Mission

105 Westpark Dr Ste 190

Brentwood, TN 37027