Finally
this week things started turning around! We found 5 new investigators and had 9
investigators in the church on Sunday! After 5 five weeks of not having an
investigator come to church it was a very rewarding Sunday! It's a lot
easier to have energy each day when you can actually see the fruits of you
labors.
This week just all in all was better, it was a lot easier for me to focus on being positive. And when I'm positive I make more good memories. I'll probably be able to tell what kind of week I had in the mission when I read my journal depending on what kind of memories I have in there. One day when we were teaching one of our new investigators they had a parrot outside their door and the whole lessons it was talking. Well.. more like yelling than talking. It had the kid yelling "papa, papa, papaaaaaa" down! The one that nearly got me laughing while we were teaching was when it screamed "Perro! AHHHHH!" It was a very entertaining lesson.
One day when we went to eat at a members house, we were sitting on the couch waiting and their dog ran up and jump onto the couch next to me with a mouse in it's mouth. But this was just any mouse, I had never seen a mouse like it, it must be a new breed or something because this thing was paper thin! I grabbed the dog and it dropped the mouse, my companion grabbed the mouse by the tail and threw it out the door.
On Tuesday we had a sneak attack rainstorm that got us soaked, as we were running down the street to our next appointment I couldn't help but feel like I was in a temple run game (for you adults that don't know what that is, just ask any kid that has ever used a smart phone.) We ran next to the houses that have little ledges that come out over the doors, we would sprint from one door to the next dodging the little waterfalls coming off the houses. I really wish that my camera was waterproof, because that was a very entertaining moment.
This week we haven't had gas because we keep missing the guy that comes walking down the street screaming "GAAAASS"... He passes by so fast and we never can seem to catch him before he's gone around the corner. But this means that we have been bathing from a bucket all week again. I'll admit that the one thing I'm probably going to appreciate most when I get back is having a nice bathroom again. That doesn't run out of hot water.
The mission really is a boot camp for ones faith. Every day it must be exercised in order to really have the success and strength. Serving a full two year mission would be impossible if one tried doing it without faith, because this work requires miracles. Miracles come from God and we must exercise faith in him in order to see those miracles. As it says in Ether 12:12 "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith." Often we pray and ask for a miracle or for simple blessings with the expectation that we'll receive it just because we asked. But if we do not do our part to work with what the Lord has already provided us, how can we expect him to bless us. We must be like the men in Matthew 25 who received talents and doubled what they had received through working and received the blessings of the Lord as it says in verse 21 "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." If we are like that of the man who received one talent and did nothing to improve on that, we will be left without the blessings of the Lord. We must ACT in faith, for faith without works is dead, not taking for granted the things the Lord has given us. After we have worked and improved upon our talents from the Lord, the Lord can then give us the blessings. For "he showed not himself until after their faith."
This week just all in all was better, it was a lot easier for me to focus on being positive. And when I'm positive I make more good memories. I'll probably be able to tell what kind of week I had in the mission when I read my journal depending on what kind of memories I have in there. One day when we were teaching one of our new investigators they had a parrot outside their door and the whole lessons it was talking. Well.. more like yelling than talking. It had the kid yelling "papa, papa, papaaaaaa" down! The one that nearly got me laughing while we were teaching was when it screamed "Perro! AHHHHH!" It was a very entertaining lesson.
One day when we went to eat at a members house, we were sitting on the couch waiting and their dog ran up and jump onto the couch next to me with a mouse in it's mouth. But this was just any mouse, I had never seen a mouse like it, it must be a new breed or something because this thing was paper thin! I grabbed the dog and it dropped the mouse, my companion grabbed the mouse by the tail and threw it out the door.
On Tuesday we had a sneak attack rainstorm that got us soaked, as we were running down the street to our next appointment I couldn't help but feel like I was in a temple run game (for you adults that don't know what that is, just ask any kid that has ever used a smart phone.) We ran next to the houses that have little ledges that come out over the doors, we would sprint from one door to the next dodging the little waterfalls coming off the houses. I really wish that my camera was waterproof, because that was a very entertaining moment.
This week we haven't had gas because we keep missing the guy that comes walking down the street screaming "GAAAASS"... He passes by so fast and we never can seem to catch him before he's gone around the corner. But this means that we have been bathing from a bucket all week again. I'll admit that the one thing I'm probably going to appreciate most when I get back is having a nice bathroom again. That doesn't run out of hot water.
The mission really is a boot camp for ones faith. Every day it must be exercised in order to really have the success and strength. Serving a full two year mission would be impossible if one tried doing it without faith, because this work requires miracles. Miracles come from God and we must exercise faith in him in order to see those miracles. As it says in Ether 12:12 "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith." Often we pray and ask for a miracle or for simple blessings with the expectation that we'll receive it just because we asked. But if we do not do our part to work with what the Lord has already provided us, how can we expect him to bless us. We must be like the men in Matthew 25 who received talents and doubled what they had received through working and received the blessings of the Lord as it says in verse 21 "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." If we are like that of the man who received one talent and did nothing to improve on that, we will be left without the blessings of the Lord. We must ACT in faith, for faith without works is dead, not taking for granted the things the Lord has given us. After we have worked and improved upon our talents from the Lord, the Lord can then give us the blessings. For "he showed not himself until after their faith."
I love this work and
am learning so much every day! I can't believe that I have already been on my
mission for 6 months! I have so much more to do and learn before it all just
flies by! I can really understand now why people that serve missions talk about
for the rest of their lives, it really is a chance of a lifetime.
I love you all!
Love Elder Twede
After running through the rain. You can't really tell.. but I was soaked
I know that I looked really weird in this picture... but hey... I was pretty excited to get a valentine of Mexican Candy ;)
Marco Polo! He's an awesome member, he's 20 and has been a member for about 3 years and plans on serving a mission.
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