We met with a former investigator this week who has come to church many, many times, but still has a lot of hold ups. He is Catholic, and he was about to be baptized and he talked to his Priest about his choice and his Priest told him that converting would be a mortal sin. So basically he thought that he would go to hell and never be able to be forgiven if he was baptized. SO this man is utterly confused and scared out of his mind. However he has been receiving answers one after the other. He is an old man and has a roommate. He must rent rooms out of his house or something. So they just recently baptized his old roommate who then moved to New Jersey. So he has a new roommate now, a woman. She is probably in her 40’s or 50’s. She was doing some work on her computer and we didn't think she was listening. So we were talking about the spirit and how after you are baptized you get the gift and you can feel that good feeling all the time. She jumped right in and said, "Can you really feel the spirit all the time?" So we started to talk to her and she is interested in learning more! She has been around Mormons all her life but had some weird misunderstandings. She is out of town for the week but wants to meet with us when she gets back! So that turned out to be really good. Plus the members that came with us took us out for ice cream after so we could "evaluate." :) So that was fun. Plus we really did evaluate, but over ice cream! haha.
Also we are borrowing a member’s guitar because Sister A plays and she has been teaching me chords on P-day. So I am slowly learning to play "I Need Thee Every Hour" on the guitar! Fun stuff.
We had a really, really good zone meeting the other day. President Toone went to a seminar with 21 other mission presidents and Elder Bednar spoke to them for four days. So he came back and told us just a small portion of what he was told. We will be trained on the rest of it next transfer. It was really intense and the spirit was so strong the whole time. It really made me think about what I want in my future life and why I'm here now and stuff.
This week we also finally had a lesson with the lady we have tried to catch up with before. So we took a young women with us who is about to turn in her mission papers. We did a super good job of following the spirit to know what she needed to be taught. She doesn't have a belief in God. She isn't sure if he is there or not. So we were able to teach her how God is our Father and we can pray to him. Then we also taught her of the Book of Mormon and how it can help you gain a testimony of Christ, because it is another witness. She was really nice and open to what we had to say. She is really busy though, so that stinks. But she said the prayer at the end and it was really good! We also got her the Book of Mormon on tape because she falls asleep every time she tries to read. So we are really excited for her to read it and gain that testimony! It will be good to start with someone who doesn't really have misconceptions and is genuinely questioning if God is really there. It was really good!
So we also had a lovely experience earlier that day. We went to go visit a less active couple. They are older. So we knocked on the door and this old man answers the door...with no pants on. His shirt was literally just long enough and I was praying he wouldn't move for fear that he would flash us! I was just staring straight into his eyes. He says, "Oh no! Sister Missionaries! And I'm not wearing very long pants! But I am wearing some!" (as he lifts his shirt to show us) Turns out he was wearing a speedo. But my poor eyes! He is an old wrinkly man in a speedo! Not the prettiest sight to see. BUT a good story for future ;)
We also stopped by the old lady we met the other day. MAN can she TALK! She would not stop! She talked tons about her family so we showed her a picture of the temple and I tried to tell her about eternal families and she said, "Well ANYWAY.." and just kept talking. We were there forever and she made us late for all our other appointments because I kept trying to say we had to go and she never responded, she just kept on chattering away! I even tried to get up and she just got up too and showed us a ton of pictures and stuff. Ridiculous. We came to the conclusion that my tone of voice must have been below her hearing range from where I was sitting again. Seriously, every time I talked she just kept talking! She did show us a Bible that is passed own in her family though and it was from 1860's or something like that. It was really cool.
We also asked one of our investigators to be baptized! He said he is pretty sure that is the direction he is headed. He said he doesn't doubt it will happen, but he just doesn't know when. So that is exciting! We had a young woman come with us and she used to be Catholic just like him. She has been baptized for just over a year and she is planning on serving a mission. So we also just got approved that she can come be a little missionary with us for 2 days! She will go home to sleep, but other than that she will do the whole schedule with us. The Bishop thinks she needs to see what a mission really is so we are excited to talk to her about that. Anyway this man also said he feels like has found home and he feels so comfortable around us. He is such a sweet guy. We love him.
Also, here is a cool story to go along with our lesson with this same man. We weren't sure whether to teach the Plan of Salvation, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We decided to go with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have that prepared and if it was supposed to go the other direction, the spirit would tell us. So we got there and he said some things that made me feel we should teach the Plan of Salvation. So I said a little prayer in my head and said, "Heavenly Father, I don't want to go off our planned lesson unless this really is the direction we need to go! Help me know if the Plan of Salvation is correct because I feel it is. So I'm going to reach into my backpack and whichever pamphlet I pull out, we are going to teach." So, I reached into my backpack and what do you know, I pulled out the Plan of Salvation pamphlet! Meanwhile, Sister A was thinking the same thing so when she saw me pull out the pamphlet for it, it confirmed to her that I was also getting that prompting. So we both had answers in different ways. Prayer works and God will help you as long as you are doing your part. So that was awesome.
We have also been teaching Sis. A's friend on skype. So he was having issues and he has a lot of things he has to fix before he can be baptized. He was still skeptical of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and he loves the Bible. So we were talking about the Book of Mormon and we were just going to read with him. Well somehow Sister A mentioned that it talks about "sheep being of a different fold" that Christ would visit. (meaning the people in the America's...aka the Book of Mormon). He perked up so she found the scripture and read it to him. He immediately says, "Ok that's it, you got me. I'm converted. I'm Mormon now." WHAAAAT? We were so shocked. Sis A: "wait, seriously?" Friend: "Ya, seriously.' I nudged Sister A and told her to ask him to be baptized. Sis A: "Well, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" After a few second pause...Friend: "Ya, ya I will." WOO! It was insane! The spirit was definitely strong and he said he just instantly felt happy and peaceful when he said he would be baptized. He said it was something he had never felt before. Man, I can't believe that's all it took. He told us we should have started with that info right off the bat and he would have converted right away. He is so funny though because he now calls himself Mormon and he thought he was going to get baptized the next day. However, he does have a LOT to work on. But he called his missionaries while we were still on skype and told them he wanted to be baptized. So that was awesome! Amazing things happen using this technology! :)
We also did another service project this week. It was long and hot. It was a huge ward activity and there were three eagle scout projects going on all at the Veterans Oasis Park. The one Sis. A and I helped on was spreading huge piles of mulch around all the cactus and plants to help keep weeds from growing and to help keep the plants cooler. Let me tell you, I will never, ever complain about hoeing beets again. It was stinkin HOT. Like 98-100 degrees at 8 in the morning! We worked from 8 to noon. STINKING HOT! But it was really good and we had a little breakfast in the middle with muffins and fruit and such so that was fun.
We also taught another man this week. We taught him the Restoration. He had done his own research this week about the church and basically knew more history about it than an actual member does. So he is kinda Muslim but also has a few different beliefs from that as well. So he believes in a Savior but that Christ was only a prophet on the Earth. So we taught him more about that and he said the prayer at the end and it was really sincere and fervent. He has a 7 month old baby and he wants the best for his family. So I think he will figure things out! He is super nice and way smart. He came to church this week again too so we are excited about that. Seriously, the only way to do missionary work is through members! So that is a huge focus for us right now. Helping the members know how they can find and invite people for us to teach.
We also stopped by the old lady we met the other day. MAN can she TALK! She would not stop! She talked tons about her family so we showed her a picture of the temple and I tried to tell her about eternal families and she said, "Well ANYWAY.." and just kept talking. We were there forever and she made us late for all our other appointments because I kept trying to say we had to go and she never responded, she just kept on chattering away! I even tried to get up and she just got up too and showed us a ton of pictures and stuff. Ridiculous. We came to the conclusion that my tone of voice must have been below her hearing range from where I was sitting again. Seriously, every time I talked she just kept talking! She did show us a Bible that is passed own in her family though and it was from 1860's or something like that. It was really cool.
We also asked one of our investigators to be baptized! He said he is pretty sure that is the direction he is headed. He said he doesn't doubt it will happen, but he just doesn't know when. So that is exciting! We had a young woman come with us and she used to be Catholic just like him. She has been baptized for just over a year and she is planning on serving a mission. So we also just got approved that she can come be a little missionary with us for 2 days! She will go home to sleep, but other than that she will do the whole schedule with us. The Bishop thinks she needs to see what a mission really is so we are excited to talk to her about that. Anyway this man also said he feels like has found home and he feels so comfortable around us. He is such a sweet guy. We love him.
Also, here is a cool story to go along with our lesson with this same man. We weren't sure whether to teach the Plan of Salvation, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We decided to go with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have that prepared and if it was supposed to go the other direction, the spirit would tell us. So we got there and he said some things that made me feel we should teach the Plan of Salvation. So I said a little prayer in my head and said, "Heavenly Father, I don't want to go off our planned lesson unless this really is the direction we need to go! Help me know if the Plan of Salvation is correct because I feel it is. So I'm going to reach into my backpack and whichever pamphlet I pull out, we are going to teach." So, I reached into my backpack and what do you know, I pulled out the Plan of Salvation pamphlet! Meanwhile, Sister A was thinking the same thing so when she saw me pull out the pamphlet for it, it confirmed to her that I was also getting that prompting. So we both had answers in different ways. Prayer works and God will help you as long as you are doing your part. So that was awesome.
We have also been teaching Sis. A's friend on skype. So he was having issues and he has a lot of things he has to fix before he can be baptized. He was still skeptical of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and he loves the Bible. So we were talking about the Book of Mormon and we were just going to read with him. Well somehow Sister A mentioned that it talks about "sheep being of a different fold" that Christ would visit. (meaning the people in the America's...aka the Book of Mormon). He perked up so she found the scripture and read it to him. He immediately says, "Ok that's it, you got me. I'm converted. I'm Mormon now." WHAAAAT? We were so shocked. Sis A: "wait, seriously?" Friend: "Ya, seriously.' I nudged Sister A and told her to ask him to be baptized. Sis A: "Well, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" After a few second pause...Friend: "Ya, ya I will." WOO! It was insane! The spirit was definitely strong and he said he just instantly felt happy and peaceful when he said he would be baptized. He said it was something he had never felt before. Man, I can't believe that's all it took. He told us we should have started with that info right off the bat and he would have converted right away. He is so funny though because he now calls himself Mormon and he thought he was going to get baptized the next day. However, he does have a LOT to work on. But he called his missionaries while we were still on skype and told them he wanted to be baptized. So that was awesome! Amazing things happen using this technology! :)
We also did another service project this week. It was long and hot. It was a huge ward activity and there were three eagle scout projects going on all at the Veterans Oasis Park. The one Sis. A and I helped on was spreading huge piles of mulch around all the cactus and plants to help keep weeds from growing and to help keep the plants cooler. Let me tell you, I will never, ever complain about hoeing beets again. It was stinkin HOT. Like 98-100 degrees at 8 in the morning! We worked from 8 to noon. STINKING HOT! But it was really good and we had a little breakfast in the middle with muffins and fruit and such so that was fun.
We also taught another man this week. We taught him the Restoration. He had done his own research this week about the church and basically knew more history about it than an actual member does. So he is kinda Muslim but also has a few different beliefs from that as well. So he believes in a Savior but that Christ was only a prophet on the Earth. So we taught him more about that and he said the prayer at the end and it was really sincere and fervent. He has a 7 month old baby and he wants the best for his family. So I think he will figure things out! He is super nice and way smart. He came to church this week again too so we are excited about that. Seriously, the only way to do missionary work is through members! So that is a huge focus for us right now. Helping the members know how they can find and invite people for us to teach.
Lastly, we talked to a mom last night. She is struggling to know what to do for her son and is trying to make him not so dependent, which is what we are trying to do too. So we talked to her about the church and she said she just started a study at a different church and wants to finish that, but that she had a Book of Mormon that she would also read. She was really sweet and she said she knew we were there for her and she would text us with questions and she just needed prayers. What a sweet lady who is struggling to know how to raise her troubled son. So I think she will eventually come around as well!
So we had lots of good experiences this week and a whole lot of letting the spirit direct us. It really does too. It is sometimes hard to know if it is the spirit, but I'm getting better on acting on those thoughts which then help me recognize that it really is the spirit. It's like learning a new language, but I think I'm getting here. I love being a missionary and I know this is God's work! It has to be or this would NEVER work. The church is true!
Service Project...mulching the cactus and plants.
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