Dang.
I think I say this every week, but it feels like I JUST EMAILED. Just when I think that life couldn't move any faster, I now have less than six months on my mission.
Well, it hasn't been as crazy as a week. But, it still hasn't been terribly great for proselyting. We tried though, and we have set some goals and made some plans on how we can make these last two weeks of the transfer as effective as ever.
Well, Monday night, a member got us a gift card for dinner, so we had dinner at some BBQ place. And then Logan rescheduled our lesson for the following night, and then we exchanged with the Spanish Elders! I was with Elder Portillo again.
Tuesday was decent as well. Elder Portillo hurt his ankle last Friday, so we didn't do much that day. In the morning, we had an appointment for their car to be getting fixed, and when we got to the dealership, it turns out that they didn't set an appointment. Made a few calls, and we got our car into some other place and it was done by the end of the day. So that was fun. That night we went in to teach Logan about the Restoration, but somehow we got onto the topic of the Word of Wisdom. He had some concerns about it, and we were able to boldly testify of the blessings of living the Word of Wisdom. Elder Portillo, being a convert, bore a powerful testimony about it as well. It has been really neat to see Logan change. In that lesson, he told us that he received a spiritual witness about the Book of Mormon and about Joseph Smith! And in his closing prayer, he prayed and thanked Heavenly Father for us being able to help him progress more than any other missionaries. It was powerful, and we have invited him and his family over to our Bishop's tonight for a FHE! Should be great.
Wednesday was going to be a great day. Honestly, we weren't the most diligent in the morning. We could have been a lot more peppy and willing to work. But, we paid the price when we tried to do a U-Turn and mis-judged where the curb was. We ended up scraping, and so I went to reverse and it pulled the bumper guard off. No huge deal, but we had to file an incident report and figure out how to get it fixed. Then, all of our appointments cancelled or fell through. So, we decided to go and see some Less-Actives! We had no luck with the first one, and so we decided to knock on the doors around the house. Not interested, Lutheran Pastor's wife, and then the third house was a success! We talked with this lady named Sirkku. She is from Finland, and she had never really heard about the Book of Mormon before. So, we explained what it was all about, and we explained about how it can strengthen our faith in Christ and we also bore our testimony about prophets and how the true Church of Jesus Christ is one the earth today. She felt the Spirit hardcore. Before she closed the door, she told us that she was going to read the Book of Mormon, and have her 21 year-old son read it too. Oh, and she started proclaiming to us about how much she felt the Spirit. "LOOK AT THIS! I have goosebumps! AH! I cannot talk anymore. Happy New Year!" It was awesome. Definitely a tender mercy of the Lord.
Thursday we did our weekly planning session, which was awesome. But, during studies that morning we got like a bazillion texts from the Assistants. One of them was saying that President Felix has called a MLC to happen on Tuesday (tomorrow) so that will be interesting! We ended up going on a mini exchange with the Spanish Elders again, because of Elder Portillo's ankle, and I stayed with Elder Portillo. So, nothing huge happened with me that day. But, the other Elders had an amazing lesson with a LA in the Spanish Unit.
Friday's District Meeting went well. We went to the other District in our Zone, and the Assistants ended up going to the other meeting. We learned about patience, contacting on the street, and about how to use the Book of Mormon to respond to objections. Spirit-filled meeting, and I learned a lot from it. Then, we had lunch with the Assistants. It was awesome! I love those Elders. They are so much fun, and we were able to talk about how our Zone is doing. Oh, then I got approval to look into applying to school........GAH. Weird. So I did that. And our lesson with Kathleen fell through too.
Saturday we went tracting in the morning, and everyone was pretty much not interested. One person said that they wanted us to come back though! Our appointment with Kathleen also fell through that day, and so we started on our Zone Evaluations, and had dinner with the YSA Elders. Then it was New Years Eve! So, naturally, we went to bed around 10. Celebrated the evening with a nice early sleep.
Our meeting time changed to 11am, so we had meetings at 9:30. Church was everything I needed to hear and more. I have been really pondering about desires and goals lately, and how I can enhance my desires more and more and truly desire the salvation of souls, and that's all sacrament meeting was about! It was fantastic! We had dinner with the Snow's again, and it was Sister Snow's Birthday, so that was fun. That family is one of my favorites. We then had a message with them where we invited them to share their favorite scriptures with us, and then committed them to sharing those with a friend!
And yeah, that's about it. Want a suggestion for a New Year's Goal? Well, you know what my suggestion will be! You need a missionary minded goal. A great goal is to invite at least one person a month to hear the gospel message as presented by your full-time missionaries. It isn't terrible hard, and it doesn't have to be one of your close friends or anything! Share the gospel, step out of your comfort zone, meet new people and INVITE INVITE INVITE. Missionary work is the best way to not only increase the testimony and happiness of others, but also of yourself!
Like I said before, I have been thinking a lot about desire and diligence. And I came across this one scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 123:12-17
13 Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—
14 These should then be attended to with great earnestness.
15 Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things.
16 You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.
17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
Verse 14 is a personal favorite. And 16. Be earnest. Waste and wear out your life in the service of God. When it comes down to it, NOTHING else matters. Not our jobs, not our favorite TV show, not our bank accounts, and not our sports teams. Only God is what will truly matter after this life, and so why not wear out our lives for Him who has truly given us life? Why not attend to these matters with great earnestness? And how shall we do this? Well, "a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm." It's no extravagant new doctrine, it's nothing earth-shattering at all. It's those little things we need to do. Study, Pray, Invite, Act, Ponder... When the storm comes and the wind and the waves hit, will the Jaguars help me with what I am going through? Will Flashpoint really make a huge difference in my life? NO. Because no matter what, God comes first. So, I have re-pledged my commitment to Him. I have given Him the only thing that I really can give, and that is my agency. I am His tool, I am His disciple. I am His.
And why do I do this? Well, it's because I ADORE HIM.
Sure do love all of you, and I hope you all have an amazing week!
Quick question for ya Mom. My shoes broke again, and I think there is a place where I can get them repaired. Can I go do that?
Have an amazing week!
Love,
Elder Harvey
Oh, btw, it's like poured rain like 8/14 days. it's been crazy.
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| Dude, be nice..and raindrops in California! |
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| Elders Harvey, Horman, Powell & Hunter |
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