Tifton!!!

'What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)?'
-Ben Lee

I was just commenting on a missionary friend's blog who served in the same town I did.

TIFTON...

When I was sent there I remember the hazy drive to that city, as the Waycross fire raged only 50 miles or so away. Brother Harvey Cooker drove me down and he was telling me the craziest story about how the sisters in Tifton (one in particular, Leslie, mmhmmm) got a huge kick out of corn bread in you milk and the comment he said to describe how great it was. Something like... "So good it'll make you slap your granny." I was excited to get there. My mood changed when I got there. I was glad to be serving with my little "whitie" friend from the MTC, but it was a rough transition for me from my last town to this new one where we had some AMAZING sister missionaries in the ward and I felt like us Elders had to really work for the respect of the members. (I was humbled several times at how the members loved us too and it was all in my head). We worked and it seemed like we tracted what the Good Lord knows as a large deal of the town. We managed to teach some real great people who were more into asking questions, except one family...

The Downs family. I remember that after that amazing first lesson we just "knew" we found our success to help the ward see how hard working we elders really were. The Lord humbled me when after the second lesson the wife banished (I just love that word) us from the house as she didn't agree with the Plan of Salvation. (How could you not love it???) I felt tired and worthless to a degree, that maybe in some way we failed. But I didn't.

I spent a total of what I call now some of the best 6 months of my mission there in Tifton. We did work with two great families who I know will come around one day, Downs and Vasquez, it just wasn't their time.

As a missionary we are stressed that we are here to teach people and help them enter the great waters of baptism. i struggled greatly with that as I only managed to see with my own two eyes two people get baptized. One of which is struggling with church now :-( But I realized even more this last weekend as I read great news from Tifton that I was a great help in the newly Tifton, Georgia Stake!!!!!!!!!!! In a sort of a way I helped get it there, even if it was helping the sisters teach people they couldn't or referring the sister to people that we couldn't teach. I loved my mission and there isn't a day where I don't miss it.

*Side note: I don't mope around that i am not there anymore, like some RM's do.

"Elder Gawdun you need to LOVE Tifton for me." I will never forget that simple request from Melissa Nickle. Thanks SOOOO MUCH.

And to all my Tifton friends, congrats on the new stake! Next is the Ty Ty, Georgia Temple!!! I'm already planning my next trip out there and plan on staying more than 3 days! (My mother also says 'hey' to all the Tifton-ites)



'A Diamond and a Tether'
-Death Cab For Cutie


-Gawdun