Week 24

This was a really good week, but a lot of it is kind of blurred together. There's a day where I'm thinking that we talked to a certain person just yesterday, but it was really three days ago. At least that means the days are going quickly.

MONDAY was a fun and sad day. At zone p-day, we had a lot of fun playing basketball, board games, and just hanging out, but we also said goodbye to a sister who was going home early. It's sad to see missionaries go home early in every case, but I know that the Lord has a plan for each and every one of us. At dinner that night, we got to hold some snakes that this member family had. It was pretty cool to be able to hold them and feel them, but Elder Stanger was not as excited as I was. For the last bit of the day, we were able to have a lesson with the bishop of one of our wards and a less active family that we had been meeting with, and you could just feel the bishop's love for them. It's always amazing just how much the gospel unites people of all different backgrounds.

TUESDAY was a fast day, but we were able to get a lot done. After weekly planning, we headed out to our lessons for the day, which all went really well, with one of the people we were teaching saying that they would pray to see if the Book of Mormon was true. After all that, we headed back to the apartment to clean up for inspections. Thankfully, we were able to get everything cleaned up and ready for the senior missionaries by the time they got here and were able to pass inspections.

WEDNESDAY was slower compared to some of the other days but was still pretty great. We were able to take some time and have a lesson with some returning members and just try to help them regain their testimonies. Other than that, it was a pretty normal day of tracting.

THURSDAY was a lot of walking from place to place. The reason we just kept swapping where we were was that we just kept getting no answers at the doors we knocked. The walking wouldn't have been that bad if it hadn't been for the snow and wind. This weather is really making me miss the summer when I first came into the mission.

FRIDAY we had our second to last District council of the transfer, and it was a really good one. We talked a lot about using the new preach my gospel book and about how it is set up in a way that helps us fulfill each part of our missionary purpose.

SATURDAY something I thought was pretty funny happened while we were visiting with an older couple in the ward. The husband had been talking about how he can't get new shoes until he gets rid of some old ones because he has too many when he asked Elder Stanger what size shoe he wears. He then brought Elder Stanger to a little closet and gave him 3 pairs of very nice shoes, including the ones off of his feet. That's charity if I've ever seen it. And my high point of this week was something very special. Our zone leaders were having a baptism in their area, which would be breaking a 3-year-long period of time that there had been no baptisms there. Being able to see a baptism as a missionary for the first time was so cool and really just reaffirmed my testimony of the work we are doing.

SUNDAY was probably the busiest day that we had this week. The whole day, we were heading from lesson to lesson, to the point we didn't have time for dinner. I really like days like that just because it feels like I'm doing something great.

My spiritual thought for the week is from this week's come follow me guide on 1 Nephi 8. Verses 19, 20, and 30 say, "19 And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river and led to the tree by which I stood. 20 And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood, and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world.30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward, and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron, and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree." That rod of iron is meant to symbolize the word of God or his commandments. As we go through life, we face a lot of things that will cause us to question our values and what we truly care about. But as we follow God's commandments, we are able to find our way through all the trials we face and feel God's love for us.

1+2-walking through the snow

3-cool car a guy showed us

4+5-snakes