E-mail July 1, 2019 from Springfield, MO

Wow, these past two weeks have been insane.

Last week we were able to go to Crosslines for a bit, then we had transfer calls. Elder Plummer got called out to the West Plains area, and I get to stay here in cozy Hillcrest Ward. My time here in training with Elder Plummer has been awesome! I've learned so much about the mission and about how to best help people I meet.

The few days before transfers were long, mainly because there was a lot of packing that had to be done and rearranging the apartment. Then on Thursday we had transfers! I got Elder Woodwoth.  He's been out here for 9 months and he is super cool. We have been able to do a lot of service and he has loved it.

Today we had a stake activity, and were able to go to Bass Pro Shop, and do a scavenger hunt. I was on a team with Elder Christenson and Elder Hirtle.  It was the funniest thing ever!

These are some pictures from this last week, the first one is of me and Elder Plummer and the other elders that do service with us. Then the rest are from service, and from the scavenger hunt today.

Note from mom (Jen):

This week we got to meet a family from the ward Luke is serving in, the Hillcrest Ward in Springfield, MO.  The Jones family is in Utah for EFY and vacation and met up with us for breakfast!  We loved meeting them and hearing and sharing stories about Elder Cloward!

E-mail June 17, 2019 from Springfield, MO

Wow, these past two weeks have been awesome and crazy. We had Zone Conference last week, and it was super long. Then we switched the car over to the other area so we've been on bikes for a little bit. This past week has been awesome. I was able to go on exchanges with the Elders down in the YSA branch, and we got to talk to people on the MSU (Missouri State University) campus. It was such a fun experience talking to collage kids. I also ran into a preacher while tracting with a YSA elder. Usually preachers aren't too happy to see us, but this guy knew who we were and knew what we did and was very appreciative of what we do.

Then yesterday I we had the traveling elders come to our area, we split up and I was with Elder Cepeda, he is such an awesome missionary. We were able to visit some less actives, and we shared an awesome video with them. It was the "What would you do if you knew you had one day to live" video. I encourage everyone to watch it and think about it. We're only given so much time here on Earth, and we have no idea when our time to go is. So really take some time to think about how you're living your life. If we're doing what we should be, then we don't have to worry about when our last day is. Spend time with your loved ones, families are essential for our happiness.

E-mail June 3, 2019 from Springfield, MO

Wow this week was awesome! And it was awesome for three main reasons:

1- it went by super fast
2- we finally get to ride bikes and look like actual missionaries!
3- serving the Lord is just the best thing ever

Well, this week started amazingly with some good ol' service at Crosslines. I don't know if I already told y'all what Crosslines is. Crosslines is a big food pantry type thing that's run by the big Christian churches in Springfield, and we get to go every week to work in the warehouse.

I love Crosslines. I always feel super satisfied after we're finished. It's a good way to start off the week!

Then Wednesday we had our district council, and it was pretty great! We have one brand new missionary in our district, so now I'm not the baby.

On Thursday we were able to go walk dogs for service. I love dogs, for those of you who don't know. But as you all know, sometimes they don't like me back.
Which brings us to Friday. We were able to go back and do service for the lady with the blood thirsty dog. And as soon as I saw the dog, I walked up to it and showed him the wound. I think he felt pretty bad about it and we were able to make up so were chill now.

On Saturday we were on bikes all day and we were able to go visit a few referrals. One family we visited, had only been in America for a few years. They are originally from South Africa and English is not their main language, but we are still able to teach them alright. They are super exited about the Book of Mormon and said they are going to come to church!

The gospel is true. One thing I've learned out here is that, God does prepare people. He does have a purpose for each and everyone of His children. So if any of you are considering a mission, just go for it. Live your life in a way that allows the spirit to dwell in your heart.

 I've got one picture for this week, and it's me and the dog that loved me to much.

E-mail May 27, 2019 from Springfield, MO

This weeks email will probably be a little shorter because not a lot happened.

This week was transfer week, with means we have to say goodbye to the awesome elders that are moving on. For me, that was saying goodbye to Elder Bateman.  He's been such a great friend since I've been out here, I'll definitely miss him.

Also, fun story of the week. We were doing service for a lady who had her house hit by a tornado; she had us move bins and anything salvageable.

This lady had a super cool dog, and some idiot missionary (me) accidentally let the dog out of the garage. We weren't to worried about it because the dog stayed on the property. So we finish our work and right before we head out, the lady asks us if we can help get her dog back inside. So this dog must have been in a mood cuz she did not want to get caught at all. Well, I decided that we'd chased her around long enough. So being the amazingly smart, heroic man that I am, I used my agile-ness and stealth to sneak up behind the dog, and then when I got close enough to the collar, I reached out and grabbed it.

...well, apparently dogs bite when they are startled, so after getting the dog on a leash, I looked down at where the dog had bit me, and there they were, two big ol holes in my arm.

So the moral of the story is, if your gonna sneak up on a dog. Don't.

I sure do love the gospel, and everyday I'm coming to realize the effects of Christ's atonement in my life. I encourage y'all to continue to pray, and invite your friends and family to pray.

I love y'all!

Oh, also during service this week we were able to put eggs into cartons, and we made a tower with all the carton sheets that we used.

Note from mom (Jen): He got his dog bite cleaned and bandaged by a nurse in his ward.  She also put him on an antibiotic.  He's as good new now!

 Elder Bateman

 tower of egg crates

E-mail May 20, 2019 from Springfield, MO

Wow, another week has come and gone. The more I learn about missionary work, the more I love it. I am having the time of my life out here, and I encourage anyone who is thinking about serving a mission to just go for it. My mission has blessed my life in ways that I never thought it would. This week was great for the work! We were able to get one family we are working with on date for baptism, and I couldn't be happier! They have been working towards this for a while and they are just amazing! We were able to start meeting with another family this week who we have been trying to meet with for the past six weeks, and they want to get baptized as well! The work is hastening!

Oh also, this week we visited some less actives, and somehow ended up creating characters for Dungeons and Dragons. Were gonna start visiting them and playing with them in hopes that we can get them to start coming back to church.  They have a non-member who plays with us so hopefully he will become interested in the gospel.

This week I was able to learn about the power of prayer. I was on an exchange in another area, and I got to be with Elder Larson.  We ended up tracting for a few hours and before we started our trek, we said a prayer and asked specifically for people hearts to be opened to us, and holy cow! We talked to so many people and got a ton of new people!

The power of prayer works, never underestimate it.

My challenge to ya'll this week is to try to pray for specific things and see how that goes.

I'll send pictures next week!

E-mail May 13, 2019 FROM Springfield, MO

As far as exiting things that happened this week, it was pretty relaxed. We had an amazing lesson with the Burgiss family this week, we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and they want to get baptized in July! So we're super exited! And we also met some people while tracting and this one guy, Steven, is super interested in our beliefs and wants to read the Book of Mormon so, we'll have to see where it goes. Other then that, this week was very chill. We got to go to a party for the 50th anniversary for the place we do service, and it was pretty cool. I won a bag of tools and got to see Elvis perform. So overall, a sweet party. We also started doing service at the Humane Society, it's super fun cuz we get to walk dogs and hangout with animals, so it's really cool. This weeks email is gonna be kinda short but I sure do love being a missionary. The longer I'm out here the more I love it. I'm learning so much about the gospel and about myself and I wouldn't trade my time out here for anything. I love y'all and wish y'all the very best!