Week
5 8/31/15 - 9/6/15
Monday
Pday!
We actually got $$$ today! So no more creative top ramen meals. We bought some
food to put in our empty cupboards, that's a good thing! Yesterday we were
starving, so we borrowed from milk from the other missionaries so we could make
up the last of our pancake mix. They came over and we were going to have
pancakes for lunch. My companion says that he's going to make them so the other
3 of us just kinda sit back and relax. He yells for us that they're done and
ready to eat. We set the table and sit down to eat. First bite all of us spit
it back out. They weren't that good... He had used salt instead of the sugar. I
don't know how, and he doesn't either, but we screwed up the pancakes from the
last of our pancake mix. So we were extra grateful to have $$$ to buy
food.
We
didn't do much for pday. We went to the church and my comp brought some piano
sheet music so we tried to play it for a few hours. That was really it. Our
ride dropped us off at the church and had to go get their oil changed in their
car. So we basically kept to ourselves the entire day.
We
just had dinner with a really nice couple! He races street bikes and follows
MotoGP even more than we did... Anyway, we got to talking and he took me into
his garage and showed me his brand new KTM RC390. It's a really nice bike! He
has races basically once a month and he showed us some of the GoPro footage
from his last race. Way cool! So dad, I can still stay kinda caught up in
MotoGP, just can't watch the races.
Tuesday
It
rained all day today. Which was kinda a bummer, cause it was bad enough that
biking is really tough in it. So we stayed inside most of the day and called a
bunch of referrals and transferred more records from the paper copies to the
electronic copies. It's was just a bummer day altogether. We did go to
mcdonalds today for lunch with the other elders. The McDonald's down here are
so much nicer than they are in Utah! My gosh, it's crazy. The burgers actually
look kinda sorta like the pictures!
Wednesday
We
were in Zone Conference all day today. It was way good! I was able to learn so
much from everything that was said. President and Sister Drake are amazing! So
cool to be able to see them again. The APs are amazing too! They are such great
missionaries and set a perfect example for us. They truly are wonderful and
dedicated missionaries.
We
had a meeting with R tonight. There are 10 days left till his baptismal
date and he's totally going to get baptized! There is no doubt in my mind or in
his mind or in my comps mind. He's doing everything necessary for baptism and he's
willing to keep all the things that we have committed him to so far. He's
asking questions and the ones he doesn't ask we are still answering. At the end
of each lesson, he's looked at us funny and asked us if we were like reading
his mind or anything. Throughout the lesson, at random times he'd look at us
and ask us how we knew that he'd been thinking about this certain topic or that
we'd just answered and expounded upon a question he had during the previous
day... The Spirit does talk to man. Revelation does happen, even today! It's
amazing and it's something I've experienced before, but not really. If that
makes sense. I truly love helping people. I love bringing them to the
Atonement. I love them. I love the doctrine we are teaching. I love keeping the
commitments that we are inviting them to keep. I love my Savior. I .love
proclaiming His gospel and o know that through Him and His Atonement, anything
and everything is possible. I'm so blessed to be out serving my Lord. I'm still
trying to wrap my head around the fact that He chose me for such an important
responsibility, but He did, knowing full well that I am completely inadequate
of such an important task.
Thursday
Well
we made pancakes this morning. Or I made pancakes this morning. I wouldn't let
him come close to them cause ya know, salt and everything. I have a completely
newfound love for pancakes. I love them. They are amazing. I liked them before
I came out, but now I love them a lot. Pancakes really are one of Gods greatest
creations and I've decided that there had better be pancakes in Heaven or it
won't be Heaven. That might be a tad blasphemous but it's true.
We
have a meeting with the Ward Mission leader today. His name is Brother H and
he's awesome! He coached high school football for 35 years or so. Everybody
just calls him coach. And he's crazy good at Simon says. We played with us 4
missionaries in our correlation meeting a few weeks back. I got out in 10
seconds. And I wasn't even the first one out. We all were out by about 30 seconds.
He picks on individuals. And he's crazy good.
It's
raining again. We are waiting for it to calm down a little bit so that we can
do what we are supposed to be doing... Just finished weekly planning and it's
been raining for a few hours. But it's getting progressively lighter, so I
think that means that we are good! See yall later!
We
had dinner with a nice lady and then spent a few hours knocking doors. We met
some really nice people, but nothing solid. I can't help but think about how
many people pass by salvation each day. They reject happiness. Who does that?!
Who, in their right mind, would reject peace and happiness and the gift of the
Holy Ghost? They just don't know what the Lord has to offer them. I haven't met
anyone down here yet who has a Mormon friend who doesn't think that friend is
the happiest and kindest person on the planet. That they have something in
their lives that brings that happiness. If we, as members, truly understood
that importance of the Gospel and the Atonement, we would share it with as many
people as we could find, without hesitation. If we understood the enabling
power of the Atonement, we wouldn't fear anything or anyone. Why would anyone
not want to forgiven and remissed of all their sins? This life is to know joy!
So partake of it. Don't get so caught up in the sorrow. There is always
something to be happy about. Always. Don't wallow in self pity. Find someway to
use your situation to help others. And if you can't find someway to help on
your own, ask your Father in Heaven. Or just ask Him first, might save
time...;)
Friday
Well
we had district meeting this morning and it was all about planning! All the
Sisters are really good at it and the Elders aren't, go figure. So the Hermanas
taught it and all the Elders are sitting there looking at each other like yep,
we should actually do that. And that. And that. And that'd be good to do too.
We should probably incorporate that into our planning. Somehow. Yep...
That's
how district meeting went...;) it was great! But we actually learned so much
and it was amazing!
Got
home from district meeting and I had a package!!! The first snail mail I've
gotten since I've been in Texas! Thanks Mom!! I love you! It honestly made my
day:)
Anyway,
after that we decided to redo weekly planning and actually try to plan
stuff...;) yall know how I am. I don't plan. Anyway, we actually sat down and
started to plan. And we planned and planned and then decided to go talk to
people, cause that's what we're somewhat good at and biking actually feels like
missionary work. Go figure. So we spent the rest of the day riding around
Beaumont talking to people and teaching them about the Restored Gospel and how
it can bless them and their families on an individual basis. We have found that
people are more receptive to hearing a message about family than about hearing
a message about how our Church is true. But if you can start with the family
and eventually work your way towards how the Gospel blesses families and how
our church is centered around families and show them The Family: A Proclamation
to the World that was put out by a modern day Prophet of the Lord, they are a
lot more receptive to a message about the restored Gospel. Make sense? That's
what we've learned in the last week or so.
Saturday
So
today I'm supposed to be on exchanges with the ZL, but that didn't happen last
night. We got a phone call saying they weren't going to exchange with us... Go
figure. Elders. Sheesh;) but that's ok! Cause now my comp and I get to teach
Robert, who is totally getting baptized! W had an awesome lesson with him and
the Spirit was so strong!
Something
that's hit me hard this week is just how much the Spirit is in our lives. If a
thought comes and it prompts you to do good, then it is the Holy Ghost
prompting you to do something. Nothing that prompts you to do bad or have bad
thoughts or actions will ever come from God. I'd invite all yall to watch the
Mormon message titled Patterns of Light. It's a 3 part video but it's super
good cause it's done by Elder Bednar.
Just
finished biking through yet another rainstorm. The weather here is almost worse
than Utah, one second it's raining and the next it's super sunny, then it's
raining again. There's just no difference or sudden drop in temperature. I think
we are actually supposed to be getting some tropical storms or hurricanes or
something in the next month. Could be fun! Lots of service opportunities and
it'd be cool to just be in one. But, our apt is the bottom one, which means
it'll flood a lot faster than the ones upstairs. And there are no hills or
mountains to run too. But Beaumont is kinda sorta inland, so there might not be
so much flooding as there is destruction. Or we will all evacuate. The big
announcement at zone conference was that we all need to stock up on water and
don't drive with less than a half tank of gas. So yep! I'll keep you posted on
that sort of thing! Apparently we are in El Niño this year. But I have yet to
see what a little boy has to do with the weather...
Everybody
is so nice! Sure we get the odd one or two that come to the door and politely
tell us to go away, but everybody else is so happy! They know exactly who we
are and what we are doing and they keep telling us that everybody needs to hear
about Jesus and that there are so many people who don't have Jesus in their
lives. We have yet to find the ones that don't. Everybody has some form of Him
in their lives.
We
just met an 89 year old man who has pet geese. He was sitting in his yard with
a bunch of geese around him. We stopped and talked to him and he's way cool! We
started to go over to shake his hand and these geese started hissing at us...
Attack geese. I'm 95% sure. So we talked to him for a while (without shaking
his hand) across his yard, cause ya know, geese and such. It was difficult
cause the geese were honking and his guy is basically deaf and he was sitting
about 25 feet away. Anyway he's telling us that he's been on national
television a few times with his geese and that these geese follow him around everywhere.
He told us a story about when his geese basically attacked this dog cause this
dog started walking behind them on the road. He was out walking his geese... No
leashes though. But this dog ended up running away with its tail between its
legs. I've decided that I'm gonna get me some geese when I get older and
retire. But this guy visits the hospital 4-5 times a week, just to say hi and
talk to patients he's never seen before. But he leaves his geese at home when
he goes to the hospital. Super Christian. Has a very strong belief in Christ,
but not interested in our message. Too bad too. He says that his geese are
going to outlive him cause they live for quite a few years.
Sunday
Church
here is so different. Testimony meeting was a little bit strange. We had a
member that stood up and started just straight up preaching to us... He started
praising the Lord and it was just weird... I think he is a new member that just
converted from some Pentecostal church. But it was just like something I
imagined seeing at some Pentecostal church... So offense intended.
-Elder Allen
