Hello everybody,
Another week full of ups and downs, but the ups are definately worth it. There's almost a pattern now where we'll have a day with little investigators accepting committments, few lessons and unsuccessful contacting, then the next day will be the exact opposite. With more time here I'm picking up on a lot more patterns, even the types of people there are that we teach. Maybe another week I'll go over my 5 types of people that won't progress, but there's not enough time this week.
Before coming to the door to one lesson we had with Raymond, we saw him tapping away ashes from his cigarette in a beer can. Not the best way to start the lesson because it really does numb you to spiritual impressions, but we went on anyways. He really needs to find his answer and he hasn't started reading the Book of Mormon yet. After talking for about 40 minutes about the Restoration and how everything we're telling him is true, I offered a couple of chapters that I was thinking about, Alma 18-19 about the conversion of King Lamoni. He said he would read them and we left. Elder Vélez later told me that in all of the Book of Mormon, that was the part that he needed the most. Spiritual triumph!
A little note on an epiphone I had about being like a child or however the scripture goes. There will always be difficulties in our lives, we knew that in the pre-existence. How can we enjoy anything if we always have something that can bring us down? How does a child act when something bad happens? Sure, he/she will cry and be really bummed, but rarely will they carry it for long. They get lost in the fascination of simple things. If a friend is mean to them at school then they get to sit in the front seat of the car, for example, they're going to focus more that they get to sit in the front seat than the other. It's a lot easier to be happy if we can focus on simple great things, which are many if we just try to recognize them. Stay happy, end of note.
Sundays are kind of like a test or analysis when we can find out how our investigators are doing, if they are progressing and how we can teach them the following week. Again, we had 0 investigators and none of our less-active members come. I am starting to understand the frustration that a lot of other missionaries have felt of committments falling through, especially church attendance. It's such a simple and easy way to feel everything out. This week I want to invite you to help your missionaries out by inviting a friend to church. Something I realized again this week during a contact is that the church really is amazing. Thinking of what the missionaries can do for them, what difference in my life the gospel has been helped me be more enthusiastic than any other contact. It may have also helped that we were next to a busy street and I had to talk louder, but that's an additive. One thing I learned from Elder Frank is that the church/gospel is like a party. If you have the same enthusiasm when inviting your friends to church as a party at your house, they're going to want to come. Think about it, how would you invite your friend to a party, for example to watch a BYU football game (or if you really good friends, to watch the UEFA finals). You would do it very excitedly. There is so much that the church can do for people and they are going to want to come even more if you convey that with your invitation.
Lastly, shout out to all the seniors who are graduating in the next few weeks. Congratulations! You have earned yourselves a very short break. Then you get to go to college or work, whatever, just make sure you get yourselves on a mission! Congratulations to all of the graduates! Welcome to the real world!
No pictures this week.
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