Adventures in Antioch: Part 8

First off, I’d like to apologize for the lateness of this email. I am

currently on exchange with Elder Threet and had to take over my area

for the day.  This means I’m currently in charge of Smith Springs B area,

which involves a lot of scheduling and phone calls and more scheduling

and so forth.   Hence the delay in writing.

It has been good to hear from the regulars again this week and some new

ones, too.  Thank you so much for keeping in touch!

So this week was an adventure.

First of all, we did some pretty awesome tracting. We met this guy who

looked like he was about to slam the door in our face. However, after

telling him we were Mormons he was much more relaxed. Turns out

missionaries from other faiths have also been contacting local folks

and the locals get confused.

The guy was super cool though. He’s a Christian rapper and goes by Mr. Cross.

He was really impressed with what we do and gave us T-shirts which say

"radical nation."  They’re pretty sweet.

I also recently discovered that the apartment complex where I lived

as a baby is in my area.   Getting to Massman Manor was a bit of a hike,

but we decided to do some tracting over there. Unfortunately the entire place

was pretty much overrun with non-Christians from foreign lands, and a lot

of other people who weren’t very interested. It was still pretty cool

to check out.

Massman Manor Apartments, where I lived with my parents as a baby.

Tracting at Massman Manor.  My parents used to live on the 3rd floor.

All our investigators are progressing well. It’s pretty awesome to see

them getting closer to baptism. One of our investigators who is

getting baptized next Saturday is super excited to have his older

brother baptize him.

I’ve recently been striving to develop more Christlike attributes. One thing I

carried with me from BYU-Idaho was just caring for the people. So I

made a personal challenge of doing something nice for at least three

people per day--simple things like giving sincere compliments and

assisting with setting things up.

For example, we had a bus driver who was kind of elderly and didn’t

hear very well. He would often miss our stop, or if we pulled the cord a few

blocks early, would just stop there. This didn’t really help us. We

have heard many other passengers complain about him too--even my

companion. One day when we got that driver, I could tell my companion

was dreading having to yell for him to stop at the correct stop. All

of a sudden, a poem President Monson quotes a lot came into my mind:

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind

But I never have yet

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind.

With this prompting, I leaned over and said “Whatever happens, just

get off the bus. Don’t say a thing. Even if he misses our stop by a

long shot or stops too short.” Then I pulled the cord and

approached the driver. “How has your day been?” I said, loud enough so

he could hear. He kind of jerked up in surprise and said something along

the lines of “Pretty good.” I then pointed to the stop ahead saying

“If you could let us off at the stop up there that’d be great.”

“Alrighty then,” he replied. As we got off the bus at the correct stop

I could tell my companion was a little surprised. With a big smile, I

waved to the driver who to my surprise smiled and waved back. Since

that day, that driver has always talked to me and laughed with me. He

has never missed our stop again.

Elder Leavitt was pretty surprised at the turn around. But for me it

almost seems natural. Jesus Christ commanded His apostles to love one

another as He had loved them. Why should we not do the same today?

When someone takes the time to express interest or care for someone

else it shows that Christlike attitude. As Christians, it is our duty

to love and serve others. When we make it a part of our day to listen

and act on promptings to do good we can feel Christ’s love and care.

When you do these things, I challenge you to see how you feel

afterwards. President Monson said “If we truly listen, we may hear

that voice from far away say to us, as it spoke to another, ‘Well

done, thou good and faithful servant.”

I hope all of you are doing well. I don’t get to hear from as many

people as I’d like to, but I can understand busy schedules.

I’ve noticed that my friend, Elder Moffitt, is putting scriptures in his blog

so here are TWO of my favorites:

Alma 37:6-7 and 1^st Corinthians 10:13

Thank you again for all your support and prayers.  We appreciate it.

So long for now,

Elder Peery

More pictures below:

Cell tower with a bunch of crows on it.

Beautiful day in Tennessee -- a local "mega" church in the background.

Elder Leavitt's birthday celebration at the Catherine's.

Even serious missionaries can have fun, silly birthday celebrations!

Happy Birthday, Elder Leavitt!

Elder Leavitt is learning to play guitar!