Hello one and all!!!!! I love you!
We had a pretty fun Halloween. We had to be in by 6 (and for good reason too- there were a lot of scantily clad girls coming out already...) so we watched the Journey of Faith documentary as a Zone... Other than that it was a normal holiday in the field- almost non existent haha. Oh and it was weird to have it be 74ish all day on Halloween...
THE AREA
The work is going well. We are still struggling to turn some of our contacts (technically new investigators- by the accepting a return appointment definition- but I would call them potential investigators) into solid, progressing investigators with baptismal dates (per this weeks mission goal). We have a couple of people with that potential but they are very hard to contact. Oscar (age 16) is one of them, we have only talked to him 3 times and taught him once on his doorstep (because of time constraints...) but he read 3 chapters of Ether as a commitment and seemed to have really liked it. We are still working with Manuel and his family. His dad kept his commitment to read and pray about a chapter of the Book of Mormon but still hasn't been to church. He needs a pretty strong spiritual witness/testimony/conversion of the Book of Mormon in order to convert from the church he is currently very active in.
The other people we work with Sergio (RC)- although he told us he "had to drink" because it was Halloween- he said at least he told us!, Cesar (LA) have shown some (small) improvement at being self reliant and calling their own rides etc... Our relationship with Sergio's mom is only worsening because Sergio went to a Youth Standards night but didn't want to come home at 8 when his mom said to be home. Long story short it got blamed on us and she thinks we are not responsible and wont talk to us... We are going to bake brownies and apologize. We both know that we need her support in order for Sergio to stay active.
We went LA/visiting teaching list contacting with a very missionary excited member and so we are all excited to be working with the members more to help on the LA front so our efforts can be mainly concentrated on strengthening/handing off our RC to the ward and of course finding and teaching investigators. As always I am coming to realize that a lot of missionary work is successfully juggling a lot of different people with a lot of different needs that can all be met by applying the gospel individually to their lives. I think that a lot of my worry comes from feeling like it is hard to keep my head above the water with the amount of people to work with. I know that the secret is hard work and handing it over to the Lord. I feel like I have been trying to do too much on my own...
The other people we work with Sergio (RC)- although he told us he "had to drink" because it was Halloween- he said at least he told us!, Cesar (LA) have shown some (small) improvement at being self reliant and calling their own rides etc... Our relationship with Sergio's mom is only worsening because Sergio went to a Youth Standards night but didn't want to come home at 8 when his mom said to be home. Long story short it got blamed on us and she thinks we are not responsible and wont talk to us... We are going to bake brownies and apologize. We both know that we need her support in order for Sergio to stay active.
We went LA/visiting teaching list contacting with a very missionary excited member and so we are all excited to be working with the members more to help on the LA front so our efforts can be mainly concentrated on strengthening/handing off our RC to the ward and of course finding and teaching investigators. As always I am coming to realize that a lot of missionary work is successfully juggling a lot of different people with a lot of different needs that can all be met by applying the gospel individually to their lives. I think that a lot of my worry comes from feeling like it is hard to keep my head above the water with the amount of people to work with. I know that the secret is hard work and handing it over to the Lord. I feel like I have been trying to do too much on my own...
We also had a baptism!!!! haha it was a freebie though. The bishop told us at the missionary/ward correlation meeting on Thursday that there was someone in our area that was an active member of 10ish years that had been baptised (well we take her word for it) in Mexico but they couldn't find the records. After them talking with the Stake and SLC for two months prior and us with President Baker- she was baptized the next day on Friday. It was so short and simple. I really felt the spirit- even though she wasn't really our investigator. I think it was because we didn't have to stress and run around to make it all happen. As we were confirming her (which they usually do the next Sunday...) I thought man I wish I could have that reassurance that comes with being baptized again as an adult of being clean and forgiven for all my past sins. Then I had a duh moment! I can, by taking the sacrament each week. So that was a neat random testimony builder!
MY THOUGHTS
Overall I am happy and healthy! (although I am not my skinny self I once was... the scale says 145 but I think it is a ghetto missionary scale haha)
Overall I am happy and healthy! (although I am not my skinny self I once was... the scale says 145 but I think it is a ghetto missionary scale haha)
Right now my biggest goal is to submit myself to the Lord more. I am working on really working hard but still having fun too. I love the mission and I am learning and growing a ton, especially my testimony but I feel like it is a little more difficult to just relax and have fun. I know that I will regret not working my hardest, worrying (especially about me- how I can improve as a person etc...) too much and not just enjoying life/laughing/having fun. I know that worrying wont do any good but applying that is harder said than done I think. I am def getting better at being more diligent- in having effective studies and all that. I know I can do better but at the same time I know I am worrying too much and being to hard on myself.
We got to see a setting apart/ordination to High Priest of the new bishopric. Kind of neat! I don't know how that will work out with Sergio talking with the Bishop as part of his repentance process- which he hasn't been too diligent at.
Also Elder Franson and I have been talking a lot about faith vs. perfect knowledge and how that relates to a testimony- especially with receiving answers from God ie if the BoM is true or not. How can we still have faith and KNOW something is true- here on this earth before we go before God at the judgment bar. I know I am being wayyyy too analytical when I say something like maybe its like gravity- we know something makes my pen drop to the ground but there has to be more-some eternal absolute truths, non relative and earthly truths (ie people used to know that the world was flat until that was changed haha...) that we cant know until we die. Yeah I cant really accurately depict my thoughts on that... Point being I know that we need to ALWAYS be working on our testimony- I used to think of it that I would have to at all after my mission, but that is how people go Less Active...
Love!
Elder Myers
