Last P-day I cooked up a BBQ burger and learned a little Russian from Elder Fewel. It was pretty cool!
So there were many many members that came with us this week! It was great! They're really starting to catch the whole hastening spirit! The branch president's wife came out with us a few times. She was more set on getting into houses than we were - mostly because she didn't really pay attention to the whole "there has to be an adult male" rule, but even so, it was amazing! She even stopped a few friends in the street with something like this - "George! I haven´t seen you since elementary school! Where do you live now? Let me present my friends! Elders, what day are we going to be close so we can go visit my friend?" Member missionarywork just rocks! We also had a younger 19-year-old that came out with us when all our plans fell through. We jokingly asked her where to go and she said, "Let´s go visit my aunt!" We're ALWAYS trying to visit her aunt, but her aunt is never home. So we went and, lo and behold, her aunt was home! Members can receive revelation, and it's so very wonderful! Another story! The seminary teacher saw that one of our investigators was seminary age, so she asked us when she could come with us. We set the appointment and she came and gave her seminary recruiting bit. I've never seen the investigator so excited before! It was just cool! As a missionary, you're always dealing with different schedules and worrying about if people will be there, if they'll have read, if you'll be able to get into the house, etc. The fact that the members are setting times with US instead of us setting times with THEM, and providing their own backup plans instead of getting all sad when the appointments fall through is just amazing me. Truly, the Lord is hastening his work.
Okay, one more cool member story! Nico - the branch president's son - came to our district meeting. It was kinda unexpected, but really cool. Great mission prep for him, and great member perspective for us. It was cool to work with him to see how we could use members more effectively as we teach people and commit them to live the commandments. It's like what the prophets are saying - when members and missionaries work together, they´ll see their own personal miracles.
Even so, there are some major perks to being a full time missionary instead of a member missionary. Tuesday we had to go to the church for an activity. On the way, a less active gave us a free tortilla and a taxi driver gave us a free ride. Having people you know and who recognize you as a servant of Jesus Christ is just fun. Clearly, the recognition isn't the important part, but it's still fun!
Okay, another member story. This week was just full of them. We went to visit a less active. We asked who else could join us in the lesson. He said no one was home. He had left the door open. Just in that moment, a friend of his walked past and said hi. The member immediately, without our asking, went to shake his hand and almost dragged him into the house - "Here's my missionary friends! Take a seat, they're going to teach us about Christ!" It made me very happy!
A less active this week asked us to go give a blessing to a friend in the branch. We let him know that the branch president already went. He doesn't exactly get along with the branch president, so asked us to go because we were "more pure." That was a great opportunity to testify of the power of the priesthood. Really, it doesn't matter who we are or where we're from; if we worthily hold the priesthood of God, he will respect that power, from newly ordained Elder to Apostle or Prophet, the power of God doesn't change, and so long as the conduit is clean, by their faith they will be healed. It was kinda a moment to realize just how amazing the power of the priesthood is, and what it is exactly that God has trusted us to hold.
We helped make bollos! It´s like... a big circle of bread. There was a big machine that looked like two big rolling pins. You had to crank them to take the air out of the dough. My comp and I got there just in time to help out! Service is always fun!
We talked to a less active this week that always drives me nuts. First she said she couldn't go to church because she had to take care of her dogs. This time, she told us that she'd never be able to go to the temple, because she couldn't stop the tradition of drinking a little alcohol on Christmas or a little coffee when it gets cold. It was an oportunity to be able to testify of the atonement of Jesus Christ. It's exactly for those reasons that he died for us. None of us are perfect, and sometimes the problems are just small ones, but if we really believe in Christ and what he did, we can be made whole and receive his divine grace. I really felt like I was fulfilling my missionary calling when I was able to testify of that to her.
They changed all the scripture masteries on me. If you have the time, it's interesting to see what's the same and what they decided to change.
To finish it off, I know that reading scriptures daily helps us. It's something that so many people don't understand! It's always, "No, I didn't have time - I was super busy with this and that and another thing." It really doesn't matter what else we have to do. Even if it's just a little scripture to apply it to your life, it's worth it.
Anyway, I love you all and hope that you all have a wonderful Pî Day! Keep praying for daily missionary opportunities!
Landon
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