Beasting It!

July 22, 2013

So this week was amazing to say the least. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to tract at all for the last 4 weeks straight, but we've picked up 7 new investigators anyway in that time, and 3 of them were just this last week.

One of them is a former investigator that has been coming to church with his member wife and kids. He struggles with the word of wisdom. He loves his wine. The elders a year ago apparently never answered any of his questions to his satisfaction. On Sunday we just went over with his home teachers and we asked him if he'd like to continue with the lessons. He responded "What would we do different?" I blanked, but my companion jumped right in and said sometimes we just need to hear the gospel from a different perspective before it makes sense to us. Different missionaries, different flavors of perspective." We set up a lesson after that. we could tell he wasn't totally enthused but he still had some interest. We went over and started answering questions a few days later. His wife had kept a email list of all of his questions over the years and gave them to us after our first visit and having answered three of his big questions right then and there. That perked his interest in having us over again, because he was finally getting the answers that he was looking for.  After our second lesson and being able to show him in the bible about everything he was hesitant about he was visibly changed. He's taking the invitation to pray to know and be baptized much more seriously now. It was amazing to see his countenance change over the course of the week. I felt truly endowed with power. It was the coolest thing to not be able to ask anyone but myself and my companion what we could possibly pull from the scriptures to show as an evidence. I can feel my knowledge of the scriptures starting to explode because everybody we teach keeps asking fantastic questions. The great thing is being able to have the faith that I can find the answers even though I may not have them right here and now. Every time I am validated in what I've been teaching. Every time I find the scriptural doctrine behind what we do. It's not just something that Joseph Smith made up. It's God's truth.

In another instance we were able to continue to teach A. (the part time minister) the plan on salvation. It was crazy. She'd keep throwing out our scriptural references as void or not concrete because her NIV (simplified bible translation) bible says something different and then we'd share another couple of scriptures that she couldn't refute and she was astonished. There were a couple of references that we used that it backed up our point more in her bible than in ours. I was so happy about that. It's cool to see the wall of resistance in her heart being slowly torn down brick by brick. She doesn't think that we're Christian still. I don't know how. She still thinks that we differ from Christianity. Not sure how. I love to see her gears turning. I also love knowing that I will never be lost in a lesson with her.

D. is an ANIMAL. Just so you know. At 6'7" he towers over you physically, but his conversion is even bigger. I dare say that he has a stronger testimony than 80% of the missionaries in my mission (yes still in the Oregon Portland Mission, same mission pres and everything, nothing has changed for me other than now we can listen to EFY music. Maybe if you could load some of that on the USB as well when you send it back, that'd be awesome!) There is a reason why D. has seen visions as a part of his conversion. In every way D. is the perfect leader. I have done nothing in his conversion other than be there to teach doctrine, he did all the actual work by himself. He would make a fantastic stake president someday, if not something more.

In our lessons he teaches us just as much as we teach him. He is like Travis, just more athletic, as was evident in our chopping wood two days ago. We thought it'd be a fun idea to invite him along to serve a few members. Little did we know that we brought the energizer bunny in lumberjack form. He chopped EVERY LAST LOG/STUMP there was. Even the wood that they were going to save for a few weeks later to dry out cut cleaved into pieces. I thought he would need a chain saw in many cases, but he just used a splitting maul for even the thickest portions of stumps. Sometimes a stump was so big that we would take 5 or 6 swings in less than 10 seconds and the stump would then be in 7 or 8 wood stove sized pieces. He's amazing, and he really made a good impression on the family that we served. Apparently we did too. I guess this family has asked missionaries to come serve with them in the past and the missionaries just wouldn't show up. I was baffled. I find that more than rude, but a critical failure. You don't just do that. When you say you're going to do something, then you show up and do it until the job is done. Which is what D. did with us.

I've loved being here. I hope I get to stay. Transfers are coming up this weekend and I've been here for 6 months already. We'll see what happens. I love you guys, and I know this work is true. I would dare even say that the truest form of conversion is how much the people around you learn from you when you are not speaking. love you gtg!

I rubbed the bottle and Jeanne came out... and then proceeded to be baptized

Ok, not gonna lie, each week I sit down and I'm having a harder and harder time actually remembering what happened this last week. I swear I'm losing my long term memory on some things.

To answer your question mommy, I study as much as I can. I read through it as part of personal study and also when I study at lunch and also after we finish daily planning at the end of the day. There's not enough time to get everything in so I have to take it where I can get it. That talk was given to us in hard copy form at a dinner with a member who works in the temple. He thought we could benefit from reading it. I dug into it as much as I can. It gave me a lot of good scriptures to use for teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think I'm going to ask him for another talk when I see him next. We also have an hour each week to use church websites to further our teaching skills. I spend a lot of time on Mormon.org and also Speeches.BYU.edu It's good stuff!

Before I go into what happened this last week, I forgot to tell you, two saturdays ago I cut the Bishop's sons hair. This is the 3rd time I've cut hair on my mission and it actually looks pretty good. He wanted it short enough that he could just wake up and go in the morning so it was pretty easy, but I still tapered it in the back. It's just like sculpting, except with hair instead of clay. Don't ask me to thin a girl's hair though, I still have no idea why anyone would A) want that and B) how thinning actually makes sense to the cutter. I guess I just haven't watched anyone do it before though, so I don't know how to do it... yet.

So we had 3 new investigators this last week. We had 2 people from the area book from years and years ago that were still in the potentials section finally make time for us to come over and start teaching them. It's a son, Z., and his mom, Di. Z.'s been going to a Christian High school for the last 3 years and found a relationship with Heavenly Father there. He's looking to move at the end of the summer to North Dakota to play football as a wide receiver. He's really toned. He also plays baseball and a bunch of other sports, but we'll see if we ever get to play with him. Hopefully we can get him and Du. together for basketball. Di. has had the missionary lessons when she was his age in college, and she really respects the missionaries, but it's hard to schedule lessons with them because she's a flight attendant and is constantly out of town. The first lesson went great. We had a member family at the lesson who they've known from years past from Z. playing against their kids in football. It was kind of a stretch of a connection, but it worked for the lesson! Di. doesn't want to be baptized, and Z. said he couldn't see getting baptized right now, but if he finds out it's true maybe after he moves to college. We'll work on them. They say that they just really want a good understanding of what we believe. I can work with that. They were both able to identify the spirit very well that night, so I have high hopes for Z.

The other new investigator is a former investigator. We were able to give him a blessing with a member there. This will be the 3rd or 4th time for V. having the missionaries teach him. hopefully we can answer some questions that he's always had in the past. He even came to church, which according to the teaching record, he's been pretty bad at, so that was awesome. He wants to take us out for as many pday activities as he can while we're here. He's a big believer in seizing the day and taking opportunities that are out of the norm. I love V., he's a hoot!

Other than that, the baptism with J. went super well. Not a flaw in the program. We had a bunch of investigators and less actives from both wards come to the baptism. It was good! We taught the first lesson while J. was getting dressed. It was good because J.'s son and granddaughters were there to support her. We'll see if we can get some of them on board here in a while. I got to confirm J. the next day in church. It was a rather simple blessing, but as we sat back in the pews I'm pretty sure I saw J. wipe a few tears away as we sang the sacrament hymn. I'm stoked to see what the Lord has in store for J.. And to imagine that we never would have found her if Elder Udy hadn't actually told me about her. She was nowhere in the records and Elder Udy didn't even mention her until we were together for about 2 months. crazy!

So we've officially started up a dual ward Saturday morning sports activity for the whole family! It went awesome last saturday. We had a potential investigator there and a less active as well as two full teams for volley ball. It was awesome! next week we'll be playing kickball and hopefully even more people come. We've designed this activity for three purposes. 1)for the investigators and less actives to develop relationships with the people in the wards 2)so that people can invite their non member friends and hopefully develop referrals from it. 3) so that the West Linn and Willamette wards can actually meet each other and develop friendships that might help them come closer together as a city rather than just individual wards. Both Bishops thinks it a fantastic idea.

Been learning a lot about myself. Heavenly Father has brought to the forefront of my mind some of my weaknesses. The specific one that I'm working on right now is trust. I know that in my past a lot of the problems in my life comes as a result of not trusting people. I've felt for some years now that people always had a second motive for talking to me. I've felt like a lot of people didn't trust me and/or they were trying to manipulate me into doing what they wanted me to do. It's hard to do when you've been backstabbed so many times, but that's not the point. Trusting is a part of Charity. When you truly love the people around you with a Christ like love and actively choose to trust them without hesitation life becomes so much better. I've felt a lot of spiritual healing from getting on my knees and asking for the strength to trust. IT feels better than being in the temple at times. I can start seeing everyone around me in a new light when I try and choose to trust. It also eliminates fear, stress, and worry. It also motivates you to cut out harshness and all things unkind. It's a beautiful thing. Try this out for yourself. I promise the same blessings.

 

I got to have dinner with J. and W. Friess last night! J.'s brother is in the stake presidency here and they were having a big shin dig. It was a lot of fun to see them again (mostly W. because Canyon kept J. busy pretty much the entire time). I found a few of W.'s concerns about the gospel and showed her some scriptures in the bible about the Book of Mormon and a few other things. I'm going to stay in contact via snail mail with them. I love them so much. It was also cool to meet the whole family and formally meet B. Friess who taught a couple of my ballroom classes my first year at BYU. As soon as I came over he said "You look familiar!" It was funny. Yeah Melissa, that's the guy who you catered his wedding. I love the whole Friess clan. I feel a really strong connection to them. I can't wait to see what happens in their lives.

Other than that we've received a few referrals from the members. One kid actually came up to us during church and told us about three of his friends that he wanted us to go see! I think we may be earning some member trust. I can tell, not just because of that but because our dinner calendar is absolutely full until halfway into august. It's crazy, but I'm glad, because we can't do this work without them. By the way, when you guys (and I include those of you in Utah in this statement) WHEN you have the missionaries over next 1) make sure there's a non member or less active there and 2) give the missionaries the left overs of the meal. Everyone seems to think missionaries want the desserts more than the food. It's the opposite. Leftovers for lunch the next day are the BEST! But seriously, I would challenge you all to take to heart the teachings of "The Work of Salvation" broadcast and website and find someone in this next month that you can invite over for dinner with the missionaries. I promise you that if you do the Spirit will flood into your souls and fill your mouth with the right words to say at the right time. You will also see the Spirit touch the relationships between the family. I promise it. I take Alma 17 to be a promise:
9 And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the  traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.
10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.
11 And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.
12 And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God.

If you obey the commandments with faith and pray for the spirit to be with you, He will comfort you and give you courage to do what needs to be done so that your friends can share in the great blessing of true joy that this gospel brings. I can promise you that you can do this! I have found that on my mission, it's not because I knew more about the gospel, or how I taught it that converted the people.

When I spoke the Spirit did the converting. It was the Spirit that had to the hard part. I merely opened my mouth and sometimes I found my mouth testifying of truths I didn't realize that I had such a strong testimony of. Remember, "when two or three are gathered in my name, as touching one thing, there I am in the midst of them." That a promise from our Savior.


Love you guys!

Your Elder Lloyd