Baptism back-story and a bunch of other stuff...

Monday, June 25, 2012

 

Another week!  I'm about to give up on trying to understand the way time feels.  This week has been insanely long, and yet I feel like I was just here emailing a few minutes ago. 

 

 

SOOOOO, my previous companion, Elder P, is now in New Zealand!  pretty crazy!  The night he left, President and Sister Weaver took us both out to get a milkshake and talk, it was pretty fun.  That night I got my new companion up here, his name is Elder S, he's one transfer older than me.  He's my third companion this transfer, which is pretty crazy- but its nothing compared to HIS transfer.  I'm his SIXTH companion this transfer alone, and this is his THIRD area this transfer.  He's obedient and hardworking, so we are getting a lot of stuff done which I love, even though our personalities are different. 

 

 

We've been realllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyy busy, but some cool stuff has happened.  I'll try and remember some of it to tell you :)  First of all, I dont remember if I ever really told you about Jenny and Spud and Kimmy?  we've been meeting with them, Jenny's life is so crazy.    This past week though, we finally had the chance to sit down and teach her the first lesson.  It went pretty well, It was my first time teaching with Elder S, but it wasn't too bad.  So afterwards, I'm talking to her kids, Spud and Kimmy, kinda distracting them so that Elder S and Jenny can have a grown up conversation, and for whatever reason, Jenny was then just ready to open up.  She cried for awhile, and S listened to her life.  She was out of town this weekend, but she wants to come next Sunday, and we have plans to show her the church on Tuesday, while Spud rides bikes with the Scouts.  we're way excited!  The thing I just dont know how to communicate to you back home is how much I love her and her little family.  I just can't explain it right, but there is something really really special about being able to share the gospel with someone who needs it so much.  It's pretty darn humbling. 

 

 

Oh, remember when I told you about Desiree's baptism, and that one guy who was gonna interrupt me with that anti-Mormon stuff, but didn't?  I was talking to Bishop, and I heard the rest of the story.  While I was giving the missionary message thing right after the baptism, Bishop says he was trying to talk and stuff, and he kept like jerking his hand and stuff, but he couldn't raise it or move his arms really.  Bishop says it was the first time in his whole life that he has ever seen the spirit physically restrain someone.  Afterwards, Bishop went up to him and said "you didn't ask your questions"  and the guy didn't say anything, and bishop told him (cuz at this point, all the missionaries in our district are in a circle talking and stuff) that if he wanted to, he could go over to us right now still and ask his questions, and he said, "it just doesn't feel right anymore." Pretty cool.  :)

 

 

Oh, we had our bike day, it was pretty fun.  by which I mean, kinda fun, but mainly really really really hard because my bike didnt work.  My companion is like at the top of the hill, I'm like 1/4 of the way up, just chugging along, saying "I think I can, I think I can I think I can..."  You could tell I was struggling, and it was a hot day.  Fortunately, some gentlemen passing by in their cars took it upon themselves to cool me down with their saliva, so that was thoughtful!  And I always thought that people didnt like us :)  

Clearly not so!  I'm pretty sure they're looking out for us.  For example, one guy informed me that Joseph Smith was a liar and a polygamist, so that's good to know!  

 

 

Oh yeah, so we were biking past the church, and we saw like 10 skaters in the church parking lot.  Elder S was like "Elder, they aren't supposed to be there...."  I laughed at him, and biked over to them.  I talked to them about skating for a few minutes, then invited them to come inside and check out the church!  4 of them did, and 2 of them are open to meeting with us again, and learning more.  So that was fun :)

 

 

Well, I'm tired of emailing, even though as usual, I haven't told you 1/10 of 1% of what happens in the week, for which I apologize.  but just so you know, life is good.  sometimes kinda hard, but it's good.  My mission is everything to me, I'm so grateful to be out here.  One thing I thought about a lot on Sunday, was that if I didn't go on a mission, I would never understand exactly what I was missing out on.  There's just no adequate way to tell someone what it's really like, and why it is so important.  But because I'm out here, I do know, and I know I wouldn't trade my opportunity to serve in the WATAC (Washington Tacoma Mission) for 2 years for anything, there is no where I'd rather be, and nothing I could be doing that would be more important.  A returned missionary gave a talk in Sacrament meeting a week or two ago, and was urging all the young men to go on missions as well.  To the young men who were still debating, I thought he put it well.  He said, "don't put a question mark where a prophet of God has put a period."  Amen to that.