Well I left off last week talking a bit about a Jew we found named Aldrei. We kept visiting him and trying to help him, but he has some kind of personal problem. We tried digging a little bit to try and find out what his deal is, but was tight "like unto a dish". We read a few scriptures with him, and basically left him with our phone number and an invite to go to church. He doesn't want to progress in the Gospel right now, and he won't tell us know why. Talk about about patience! The important thing is that he had the chance to go to church and to feel the spirit. Now he knows where to search when he's ready.
We have been teaching like crazy lately. I'm realizing how precious every minute is in the mission field. There are people "dwindling in unbelief" in every corner (especially here...there's an enormous abundance of people.....everywhere you look!) We find and talk with about 30 people per day. Not all off them are receptive or want to listen, but at least we give the opportunity to these people. I'm seeing better and better with each passing month how I need to find prepared people NOW. I just can't afford to let time pass by without harvesting the souls that are being prepared today. Elder Celestino and I are kicking it into gear here. We are going to try a few things to be a bit more humble and "faith-full" or "full of faith". The Lord is organizing everything in the right way. We'd be rise to get on his same frequency.
We did a companionship exchange with Elder Goes and Elder Schmutz (Elder Schmutz is from Elder Johansen's MTC group....small world huh? Shout out to Elder Nate J!) Elder Goes has been a little bit tired and down lately. They haven't been having much success where they are. One of my favorite things as a missionary is the opportunity to split with other Elders. It's like a 24hr "turbo time". Elder Goes and I went crazy in our area. We had a lot of success, and taught a lot of special people. We were both a lot more excited to work at the end of the companion exchange. Our zone has 8 areas. It can be a handful to take care of at times. Some of the missionaries are a little bit more troublesome. We do our best to keep everyone "in line and on time". It ain't easy. It's probably one of my biggest challenges, but I'm learning tons from it. It was great to have helped pump up an area with these two good Elders. I wish all missionaries were like them!
We taught a lady who tried to attack the church's stance on food storage. I thought to myself "of all of the things you could criticize about the church, you're going to choose food storage??" People are strange sometimes. She wanted a biblical reference to why we emphasize food storage. I dropped Joseph of Egypt on her and closed the case.
We had a zone conference this week. President Lanius was on fire. He talked a lot about the simple basics of missionary work. He said a few things that I really liked and wrote down:
"Obedience guarantees happiness and a circle of comfort"
"Always be yourself, but never be the same"
I liked both of these. They address simple truths. The second one resonated with me. A day without a change for the better is a day wasted. I'm gaining a stronger and stronger testimony of the sacredness of my mission president's calling. I can really see that he is an inspired man of God. He has to fight to recieve guidance from the Spirit, but I can see how it is made manifest in his work. I'm learning so much at this time in my mission. With only 6 months left, I'm crazy to learn, grow, work, and BAPTIZE! That's what been constantly on my mind. I want these last 6 months to be better than the first 18 combined! With faith and work, I don't doubt that it is possible!
Until next time,
-Elder McKinley
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