Wow, I'm glad to hear everything's going pretty well back there. :) This week went alright, we had a lot of appointments fall through, but people were letting us schedule a lot of appointments! That's an improvement from last week, and we have some really cool people lined up for this week, so I'm feeling confident we're going to be able to teach at least one or two of them. I still haven't gotten whatever you sent for my birthday, but I'm sure it'll show up eventually. ;) The pathway program sounds like a great idea, we had dinner with a senior couple of missionaries who are working in the pathway program and they were telling us all about it. It's honestly pretty neat, you can do a lot more with it than I thought you could.
Tuesday was an exciting day. We had a lunch scheduled with a less active member who works at a super nice restaurant called the Cedar Creek Inn. It was at the top of a big hill, so by the time we rode our bikes up there we were kind of exhausted. Then we went in and found out that the restaurant was too booked that day and she hadn't been able to fit us in, but she didn't have our phone number so she texted another member of the ward and told him to tell us and the message never made it through. So we turned around and started our ride back down the hill. As we started I decided it would be a good idea to go as long as I could without hitting the brakes, and it was super fun for quite a while. Then I came to one bend in the sidewalk and I realized I was going too fast to make the turn so I hit the back brake and skidded around the corner. I corrected it really well and was feeling proud of myself for handling it so well when my bike hit a bump in the side walk and I ran into a bush. I was able to stay on my bike and made it out unscathed aside from a bruise below my knee, but it was a nice friendly reminder to be a little bit smarter in the future. 😉 The other exciting thing that happened that day was a service thing we did at the house of a member from another ward. She had a dog that was the biggest spaz you've met in your entire life and it slobbered on everything. It was kinda gross, but she was super thankful for the help, so it's all good.
Wednesday we did a service thing at a place called Stop Hunger Now. We put soy and rice into these little packages and sealed them and boxed them up. It was kind of monotonous, but the people we were doing it with were a lot of fun, so it was pretty enjoyable anyway. :)
Thursday we had district meeting and helped a woman with a lot of cats put up her Christmas tree. After we were done she thanked us and she turned to Elder Wasden and gave him a hug. He didn't have any time to do anything about it so he just stood there super awkwardly with a terrified look on his face, it was hilarious.
Friday night we had a really cool experience, we were almost done for the night and Elder Wasden felt like we should stop by a potential investigator we'd been trying to find but could never catch him home. When we stopped by he was there and he was really happy to see us. We talked to him for a little while and found out he had actually been baptized in Hawaii and was already a member, but he hadn't come since he moved to California because he didn't know where the church was or what time they meet. We shared a message about Light the World and he said he had been praying before we got there for a way that he could make a difference in the world, and he said he felt like we were the answer to that prayer. It was so cool, he's a young single adult, so we gave him the address and the times for the YSA ward and he said he definitely wanted to go. If we follow the promptings of the spirit we can be the answer to other people's prayers. :)
Saturday morning the Bishop was making breakfast for everyone in the ward, so we went over there. Elder Wasden apparently gave him the heads up that it was my birthday, because they sang happy birthday to me and made me a Mickey Mouse pancake. So basically my birthday was the best, you can't beat a Mickey Mouse pancake. 😉 Later in the day we met a really cool woman who actually had most of the lessons before and almost got baptized when she was 12 or 13, but her parents didn't want her to join the church then. She said she's 31 and moved out now though, so she wants to start listening to the lessons again! We also taught our first lesson to an investigator since I've come to the area. He's someone who the missionaries taught before, but lost contact with over the last three months or so. It was a really great lesson where we talked about his concerns and testified about the Book of Mormon, and he's going to start reading it again. It was a really good day. 😊
Sunday we went to church which was super good. There was a really neat Christmas musical number and the speakers did fantastic. Then we had a lesson on agency which turned into a really good discussion about trials and how they strengthen us. I'm so thankful that we're able to make our own decisions and I'm thankful that our Heavenly Father loves us enough to allow us to have challenges that help us to learn and to grow. :) After church there was a Stake Christmas concert where we were able to hear four or five choirs and one bell choir perform. They all sounded phenomenal, and we met some really cool people before and after. :)
Other than that, the next time you hear from me will be over Skype on Christmas! I think I'm going to be doing it at a member's house in the morning, but I'm not completely sure. I'll let you know once I know for sure when we're doing it. Have a great week!
Love, Elder Clark
No comments:
Post a Comment