February 22, 2016

Hi all!

So it was an AMAZING week! We have been putting in hard work these past weeks but worked our tails off this week and the results and blessings have come. As missionaries we really shouldn't focus on numbers as the indication of our success, but our numbers were crazy good this week! First off we had 5 investigators at Sacrament meeting (first time w/ an investigator at church here in Laurel for me!), they were some members of the Jamaican family! I'll talk more about them later on.. Plus we taught 7 investigator lessons this week which is awesome! 

Monday after we got snowed in with some freezing rain the guys had to sleep over again until they could leave Tuesday morning. So we had a mega bed of 3 mattresses on the floor. After they left, Schank and I got to work! And I pushed us to work hard! We taught a lesson to a man named Archibald who is from Liberia. He is a super humble man and when we explained the restoration he loved it. He's been a life long member of Methodist church but said he's felt something was missing. And as soon as we explain the Book of Mormon he felt like he had found it. He then said he wants us to teach his wife also and overall was just an awesome lesson! He wasn't able to make it to church yesterday but we are going to meet with him on Tuesday this upcoming week! 

 

Then here is our miracle for the week. Really it hit me so hard with this experience how the Lord is putting me in the exact right spot and the right time to do his work when he needs it done. After our lesson with Archibald we went to check on some potential investigators (people missionaries have talked to but haven't taught a lesson to yet). So we knock on this door and a kid says one sec let me get my brother. So we stand there forever waiting then talk to the kid and get a time to come back. And now here's the miracle, as we are walking down the stairs in the apartment complex this lady stops me, points at my tag, and says "mormonos! Missinarios!!" And I'm like ahh crap all I have Spanish wise is a decent door approach, where I can explain who we are and get their phone number to have the Spanish missionaries go by. So I try to talk to the lady and it's just going nowhere. She's blabbing at me and I have no clue what's going on. So I struggle through saying one sec I'm going to call missionaries who speak better Spanish than me. So I call the Spanish Sisters and they were on shift at the visitors center so no answer. So I call up one of the traveling assistants, Elder Patchett and have him talk to her! Hahah team work!!! And I talked to to the Spanish sisters a few days later and they are now teaching this lady! Honestly if we had been 1 min later or faster we would not have ran into this lady. It truly was the Lord putting us in the right place to talk to her.. Well to be able to call other missionaries for her that is haha 

Later on Tuesday we were tracting and I knocked this door and and a guy answers the door and after I say we are missionaries he stops me and says "Hey man me and God aren't straight right now so I don't wanna hear it" and I don't know if I was feeling bold or this was the spirit throwing words out, but I look at this guy and say, "really man? Why do you say that?" And I was like what!? Did I just say that to this huge dude!! And he then looks at me and says "I just lost my Mother and Uncle to murder last week" So then without a second hesitation again me or the spirt, just goes into Plan of Salvation. And he cut me off and said he just really wasn't ready to talk and wanted to try to be nice, but he took a BOM and our number. So who knows, another moment where the Lord needed this man to be comforted in his time of need. Too bad he didn't let us talk to him then, but I hope he will actually open up the BOM and find comfort and call us. 

I've already written tons about this week so I'll tell you about one more awesome thing this week. So we finally met with this referral named Susan! It has been so many dropped appointments she should have gotten dropped. But I could never do it. I just felt like we had to keep trying. So we met with her Friday night and basically the story is her sister is a member and she told her that if she wanted to find a new church and have her questions get answered to talk to the missionaries. So we met with her and taught her the Restoration and she loved it! She kept saying it made so much sense and she couldn't wait to pray to know its true. Then said she wants us to teach her sons (8 and 6) and also her mom. Then I asked if she has any questions and said asked what we believe about the life after death. And we said we would teach about that next time but yes we will live! Then she opened up and said she had twins both who passed away right after birth back in December, and I was almost in tears. As we read Moroni 8 with her and gave her a short answer about how she would see them again the spirt was so strong. I am glad we have the knowledge we will be with the ones we love after this life. I know it's true. 

The week was topped off with Saturday night getting a call from Mercedes (Jamaican family) asking if they could still get a ride to church.. What!? We had tried for 2 weeks to get in contact with nothing! So they ended up coming, all 5 of them! It was great except it was Ward Conference so I had to explain lots of stuff like why everyone was raising their hands so much (during the sustainings) hahah. And then on top of that it was Why I Believe last night!! And to top that even more I slept over at Coombs apartment last night. So I'm with the Rockville ZLs, APs, and then we brought McDonald with us too.

It's was an amazing week this week! There are times when it gets hard and you ask why you are even out here doing it, but then their are weeks like this that remind you that like in the mission call letter says, never such happiness awaits you then when you are in the service of the Lord. There are rough times, amazing times and the in between. And I'm so glad I get to top the week off with hanging out with tons of my great mission friends. Especially since Coombs and all those guys leave this summer!

Love you all, miss you tons!!

Love,

Austin 

We were walking through an apartment complex and found this spray painted on the wall