Dear Family,
This week was very interesting and exciting!
First off, this past Friday, a missionary went home for medical purposes. So his companion is with Elder Manning and I. We got back to the apartment Friday night around 10:50 so we were running on low fuel for the weekend. It has been very interesting to deal with going back and forth between areas for various reasons, since our areas are at opposite sides of the zone! It has been fun however, since Elder Hart is a cool guy!
We also had a 'fun' experience this past week! So there has been a missionary in the Zone that has had some trouble keeping some of the rules and just having a hard time with certain things. We had some reports from members concerning various activities so Saturday night, after Stake Conference, at 9:35 we had the opportunity to have a chat with him. In my head I was thinking of all of the things that we needed to call him on. (imagine me counting with my fingers) I imagined how we could tell him of the things that we know he is doing and how we would tell him to stop. Mostly I was just angry that he had done some of the things that he did. However, I learned a great lesson that night. Elder Manning pointed out that we wouldn't get anywhere if we just pointed out all of the things that he's done wrong; we would only make an enemy. The first thing that Elder Manning asked him when we arrived and proceeded with our conversation was, 'how do you feel your mission is going so far?' We then proceeded to talk about how he feels about what he has done and how his actions not only effect himself but also everyone around him. As we started to come to the close this particular elder said, 'there was a passage in my patriarchal blessing that talks about my influence on others and how it will spread and affect many. I never knew what that meant until now.'
I am so grateful that one of us, Elder Manning, was willing to follow the spirit that night because I sure wasn't. I just wanted to go in and tell them how I might have perceived him currently and not how he could become.
Our most promising investigator finally got back in town this past week and we were able to teach her! She went to LA for a few weeks and was able to find an agent. She has had a few auditions for modeling and has received a few call backs already. Things seemed to just fall in to place and work out perfectly for her. She said that 'all of the people that I have met there are 'spiritual' and they all say that it was 'me' that got me here but I tell them that it was God.' We explained how hard it will be to be firm in her faith but that God will always be there and members of the church are all over the world to provide strength.
This week we were able to teach Jeff, a man that our elders quorum has found with our survey. He seems promising in that he is willing to pray and read from the Book of Mormon! It is great to slowly get a teaching pool! and we are so grateful for our ward mission leader and Elders quorum for trying to find people! Its funny because they say, 'ya getting the appointments are no big deal but then we get there and they don't keep them, they aren't home, or they are just busy. We need to come up with something for that aspect of the work." haha we laugh because that is every second of our day! Show up to a lesson and they cant meet! but it is great to have people with such high expectations :)
This week was very interesting and exciting!
First off, this past Friday, a missionary went home for medical purposes. So his companion is with Elder Manning and I. We got back to the apartment Friday night around 10:50 so we were running on low fuel for the weekend. It has been very interesting to deal with going back and forth between areas for various reasons, since our areas are at opposite sides of the zone! It has been fun however, since Elder Hart is a cool guy!
We also had a 'fun' experience this past week! So there has been a missionary in the Zone that has had some trouble keeping some of the rules and just having a hard time with certain things. We had some reports from members concerning various activities so Saturday night, after Stake Conference, at 9:35 we had the opportunity to have a chat with him. In my head I was thinking of all of the things that we needed to call him on. (imagine me counting with my fingers) I imagined how we could tell him of the things that we know he is doing and how we would tell him to stop. Mostly I was just angry that he had done some of the things that he did. However, I learned a great lesson that night. Elder Manning pointed out that we wouldn't get anywhere if we just pointed out all of the things that he's done wrong; we would only make an enemy. The first thing that Elder Manning asked him when we arrived and proceeded with our conversation was, 'how do you feel your mission is going so far?' We then proceeded to talk about how he feels about what he has done and how his actions not only effect himself but also everyone around him. As we started to come to the close this particular elder said, 'there was a passage in my patriarchal blessing that talks about my influence on others and how it will spread and affect many. I never knew what that meant until now.'
I am so grateful that one of us, Elder Manning, was willing to follow the spirit that night because I sure wasn't. I just wanted to go in and tell them how I might have perceived him currently and not how he could become.
Our most promising investigator finally got back in town this past week and we were able to teach her! She went to LA for a few weeks and was able to find an agent. She has had a few auditions for modeling and has received a few call backs already. Things seemed to just fall in to place and work out perfectly for her. She said that 'all of the people that I have met there are 'spiritual' and they all say that it was 'me' that got me here but I tell them that it was God.' We explained how hard it will be to be firm in her faith but that God will always be there and members of the church are all over the world to provide strength.
This week we were able to teach Jeff, a man that our elders quorum has found with our survey. He seems promising in that he is willing to pray and read from the Book of Mormon! It is great to slowly get a teaching pool! and we are so grateful for our ward mission leader and Elders quorum for trying to find people! Its funny because they say, 'ya getting the appointments are no big deal but then we get there and they don't keep them, they aren't home, or they are just busy. We need to come up with something for that aspect of the work." haha we laugh because that is every second of our day! Show up to a lesson and they cant meet! but it is great to have people with such high expectations :)
We also had the opportunity to sing Hark all ye Nations and Called
to Serve for Stake Conference. It was pretty fun and we got to sit on
the stand the whole time!
Love you all!
Love,
Elder John
"Patience is, therefore, clearly not fatalistic, shoulder shrugging resignation. It is the acceptance of a divine rhythm to life. It is obedience prolonged. Patience stoutly resists pulling up the daisies to see how the roots are doing." -Neal A. Maxwell
Love,
Elder John
"Patience is, therefore, clearly not fatalistic, shoulder shrugging resignation. It is the acceptance of a divine rhythm to life. It is obedience prolonged. Patience stoutly resists pulling up the daisies to see how the roots are doing." -Neal A. Maxwell
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