January 9, 2012

Top of the Temple......Moroni speaking

 

OH MAN I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! This week was our best yet. Not number-wise, but spirit filled and purpose driven! We found some very solid people this week that recognized the power of this gospel. I love finding people that you can tell are prepared. We set two in the same day on the first lesson, and I am so excited about them!

Mon, Preparation day. two appointments canceled, got some letters written, played some basketball, (made like 3 layups, good average)

Tuesday- E-mailed, Had 3 appointments drop and nobody answered the door that day. No referrals to see, NOTHIN. Killer. We did get a call for an un-expected dinner appointment and we had the best southern bbq sandwhiches on planet earth. Did you know in the south they put coleslaw ON sandwhiches? Maybe I just missed that fact I don't know. We shot straight zero's this day and that is hard on Elder Richardson. He still feels like we aren't being successful because no-one chooses to listen. on this day we felt much like Nacho Libre "it SUCKS to be me right now!!!"

Wednesday-more failed appointments, until 4 or so we taught Elizabeth and helped her start the Book Of Mormon. She loved 1Nephi 1 and hopefully will read some more! She doesn't have a phone so daily contact is hard. This night we talked to some youth and I cooked pancakes for them, SCARY I KNOW! haha

 

I don't have time to do all week sorry, I'm just gonna get to the good part! Saturday was a better day. We were able to contact some referrals and set up lessons with members for them. Met a lady who used to be an addict and has changed her life around. She loved Ether 12:27 and said she already felt the truthfulness of it. We have her tonight. :) We passed buy this big guy with a gold grill and just kinda said hi but really didn't say much. On the way back, the same thing. Said Hi, but for some reason didn't say much. Then we got to our door (this was right by our appartment) and I told Elder Richardson he needed some finding practice so we needed to go back and talk to him. Elder Richardson made first contact, this guy was huge and scary at first and he was like "why do ya'all keep walking by and not talking to me? Don't you like black people?" Elder Richardson just goes "Look at me......" He said "I see you...." After the sagebrush rolled by in between them and I heard a whistle in the wind, I asked him if he had a stereo in his car and got him talking about his sub in the back and told him how I used to be a gangster and now I'm a missionary, you know, the regular. Haha he really opened up and we told him a bit about what we do, he said "Come back tomorrow, I like you guys"

Sunday- Yesterday- What a good day. Church was awesome and We taught two lessons. Bobby (gangsta grizzills) was home and appreciated the fact that we brought an even bigger and equally black member of our church named Brother Day. Has hands like bear paws. Anyway, the spirit was there. He told us that the spirit was there. We taught about faith, repentence, baptism, then the spirit tought through us the first vision, restoration of priesthood, and why priesthood is important. I say that because there was a point in the lesson when we weren't teaching anymore. He was just teaching himself throught the spirit. Not to mention his friend that was there also loved it. At one point in the lesson, after talking about the priesthood, he said these sweet and all-telling words "I was baptised once, but I didn't feel any different. I didn't feel the spirit of God like I do right now. Maybe that's because it wasn't by the priesthood" YESSS!!!!!! YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was music to our ears. We asked him if he would like to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptised by the proper authority. We showed him how our priesthood traces back to Jesus Christ himself and he was sold. The most amazing thing though, was this. I saw Enos in this man. Not one second ofter he told us he wanted to repent of his sins and be baptised he started naming off friends and family that he wanted us to go see. What a fountain of righteousness.

The spirit changes people. It changes 19 year old young men into true desciples of Jesus Christ. It changes a potential investigator into the honest diligent seeker of truth. It can change the world, and it will.

My study this week has been centered on Jesus Christ. I've taken the challenge of our Branch President to read the New Testament and I am loving it. My favorite part so far is the parable. I've learned a lot about who I need to be now and in the future through the parables tought by Jesus.

 

 "Parables:The parable conveys to the hearer religious truth exactly in proportion to his faith and intelligence; to the dull and uninspired it is a mere story, "seeing they see not," while to the instructed and spiritual it receals the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Thus it is that the parable exhibits the condition of all true knowledge. Only he who seeks finds." I love this insight because when I am spiritually in tune and well rested, my studies truly do open up the windows of heaven for inspired revelation, while if I'm just reading the lines, it's a mere story or less. If you truly seek to know the mysteries of god, you just have to look hard enough. They are all there!
I choose Christ,
Elder Skyler Andreasen