Companion- Elder Center
Letter #82
Oogandit?
Hey there! I hope you have a super time at Big Bear! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! tomorrow. I can't believe you've still not taken me snowboarding... :P Ha. It's fine, when I get back I'll just go without ya! jk, I won't go without ya cause that would be boring.
The stake challenge sounds really cool! I'll try to do it as well. I can't start over reading the BOM though. I only have 4 books left! In our stake we are doing the 40 day fast idea that you told me about. Just before I got here the ward mission leader suggested it so Elder Center and I and the Bishop had planned to start it June 30th and have a fireside to kick it off June 23rd. Then the ward mission leader got called as the stake mission rep and he told the idea to the Stake Pres and he wanted to take it over and do it for the entire stake! It's pretty exciting and I hope we have as much success as you did! The stake mission leader is a guy from Louisiana that is here in a contract to build a power-plant. He's here with his whole family, wife and 2 kids, and they are a huge blessing to this ward and stake! There are some other American families in the ward but they don't come to church and I haven't even met them yet. It's sad to hear that. We are still having a hard time finding more people to teach but we have upped our lesson total of 3 my first week to 7 this week!
We went to a fair to help a member setup their daughters booth my first Friday here and we met a cool family. This guy walked up to us and said "Hello Elders! How are you?" Obviously we were surprised and we talked to him for a bit and found out that his parents had joined the church when he was young and he went to church up until he was like 16 i think and then he stopped. He told us that he would love for us to come visit him one day when we are in the area just to get a cool drink or a bite to eat but not to teach ha. So on Saturday we went to his place and he was there and we got to have a cool drink and talk to him for a bit and get to know him and his wife. They are a really nice family. He says that when he saw us it brought back memories of when the Elders used to come to his house and all the good times that they had and so he wanted us to come and hopes that his kids could also have some of the same memories. We enjoyed the visit a lot but there was only one problem. He said towards the end after he invited us to dinner the next week that we can come and visit all we want but he doesn't want to hear the gospel. That he has been there and heard it and he knows all about it. he says we can answer his kids questions and all that but we cannot start discussions of the gospel. :( Then his wife said something like Well i would love to debate with you and talk about your views. He told us that she debated with his parents when they go visit him. We were super bummed when they said these things cause they are a family that would love the gospel if they were willing to accept it. They have 3 beautiful children, a wonderful place to live in and are so kind to the missionaries. Just not the gospel. We will continue to visit them and see what we can do but it's more of a situation where they need a good friend in the church who is always there and eventually they start to ask their questions and see the truth of the message we share years later.
We are teaching another guy, Lesego, who is 20 years old. He lives with his parents who are both members and his mother is a fairly recent convert. the only reason he was not baptized is cause he was away at boarding school when she received the gospel. He loves to learn from us and asks tons of questions. We can really tell that he has a sincere desire to learn the restored gospel. The only problem is that I hope he will be able to dedicate himself to reading the BOM as much as he has dedicated himself to gaming!
It's weird to be in this area still. We had more dinner/lunch appointments than we had lessons ha. I still have to get used to being around so many white people.
The future looks fantastic though! We are slowly building the area back up!
Have super week!
I love you!
-Elder Dirkmaat :D
We went to a fair to help a member setup their daughters booth my first Friday here and we met a cool family. This guy walked up to us and said "Hello Elders! How are you?" Obviously we were surprised and we talked to him for a bit and found out that his parents had joined the church when he was young and he went to church up until he was like 16 i think and then he stopped. He told us that he would love for us to come visit him one day when we are in the area just to get a cool drink or a bite to eat but not to teach ha. So on Saturday we went to his place and he was there and we got to have a cool drink and talk to him for a bit and get to know him and his wife. They are a really nice family. He says that when he saw us it brought back memories of when the Elders used to come to his house and all the good times that they had and so he wanted us to come and hopes that his kids could also have some of the same memories. We enjoyed the visit a lot but there was only one problem. He said towards the end after he invited us to dinner the next week that we can come and visit all we want but he doesn't want to hear the gospel. That he has been there and heard it and he knows all about it. he says we can answer his kids questions and all that but we cannot start discussions of the gospel. :( Then his wife said something like Well i would love to debate with you and talk about your views. He told us that she debated with his parents when they go visit him. We were super bummed when they said these things cause they are a family that would love the gospel if they were willing to accept it. They have 3 beautiful children, a wonderful place to live in and are so kind to the missionaries. Just not the gospel. We will continue to visit them and see what we can do but it's more of a situation where they need a good friend in the church who is always there and eventually they start to ask their questions and see the truth of the message we share years later.
We are teaching another guy, Lesego, who is 20 years old. He lives with his parents who are both members and his mother is a fairly recent convert. the only reason he was not baptized is cause he was away at boarding school when she received the gospel. He loves to learn from us and asks tons of questions. We can really tell that he has a sincere desire to learn the restored gospel. The only problem is that I hope he will be able to dedicate himself to reading the BOM as much as he has dedicated himself to gaming!
It's weird to be in this area still. We had more dinner/lunch appointments than we had lessons ha. I still have to get used to being around so many white people.
The future looks fantastic though! We are slowly building the area back up!
Have super week!
I love you!
-Elder Dirkmaat :D
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