Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to fast of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Alma 36:24
Hi
everybody!
Okay--So
this week was super stressful. I hit my year mark on Thursday, which has
officially begun the countdown to when I come home less than a year from now.
It has been super crazy but super worth it. Thanks for all the support!
Back-side of my shirt before we burned it.
On Monday
we went to Garden of the Gods with a member from Foxcroft as well as the
Foxcroft elders.
1. Garden of the Gods Wilderness
It had been raining most of the morning so most of the rocks
were very slippery and hard to climb on. However that didn't deter the Foxcroft
elders from having some fun. There is one particular rock formation that has
been nicknamed "The Camel" because of its resemblance. It is a
challenge for tourists to get on top of the camel's head. It is difficult to
attempt the feat when its dry alone, but Elder Smith, one of the Foxcroft
elders, made the attempt by jumping a 6ft to 7ft gap from the back of the camel
to the head. He was able to jump back but nearly fell off what would've been at
least a 50ft-70ft fall. It was fun to watch but I will probably try a safer route
next time we go.
2. Elder Smith's leap
of faith (6ft-7ft gap)
Tuesday
the member from Foxcroft came out with us as sort of a trial mission for
returning to his own mission. He had come home due to a concussion. We decided
to ask a member here to come out with us and so we did a double split. I went
with the Foxcroft member and Elder Steed went with a member from Carrier Mills.
We hit a lot of Harrisburg before meeting up again. The local First Baptist
Church later contacted us asking us for some help so we went over and helped
them with pulling out nails from a destroyed barn. While there, they talked to
us about how the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (Fred
Luter) was coming to speak in Harrisburg that evening. We couldn't pass that
up. We attended the meeting, which was held at the high school's gym. He talked
about John 10 and how there are lost sheep out there who need to find the door,
who is Jesus Christ. He spoke very quickly but very powerfully. My favorite
part was when he started testifying of Jesus Christ and how he included the
fact that Christ resurrected on the third day. To paraphrase what he said,
"We all know that He died for us on the cross, but the story does not end
there! Three days later! Back again from the grave! Bringing victory for every
soul that believes on Him! What does that mean for us? We win! We win!"
And he waved his handkerchief around with a huge smile on his face. It was a
cool meeting for sure.
Wednesday
we had district meeting in Foxcroft area and had a fun time exploring
afterwards. Later on in the day we got to see our investigator with the kid and
she was doing okay. She was feeling sick though but we had a good conversation
with her later on. We went over to the ex member that was returning to church
for dinner which was a blast. She made us some really great omelets.
Thursday
was rough. No one really was home/opened up to us till the evening when we went
on another double split. Elder Steed went and had dinner with some recent
converts and I went with the BML to go have a family home evening with an
elderly member in a nursing home. We went with the BML's foreign exchange
student who was from Norway. I read scriptures from the Book of Mormon in
English and he read the same scriptures in Norwegian. It was a fun moment until
the investigator with the kid called me saying she needed a lift to the
hospital cause she was in so much pain. Loading her and her 2 year old in the
car, we hauled them off to the hospital. An hour or so later we took them back
in a very stressful car ride. But it turned into a miracle cause we found a
less active at the hospital and he'd been looking for us for awhile.
This was my shirt burning.
All elders once they hit their year mark usually burn a shirt
(also happened in the
Saratov Approach movie).
It was great...until it burned a little too
much...
Thursday
was also the day I burned my shirt as missionary tradition states. It was a
great moment for sure and we had a lot of fun. It's weird that the clock is
ticking down now. But it has felt like a year that's for sure.
Here's the fun part
two where everything went interesting.
Friday
was also rough. Nothing happened till the evening when we got to see some less-actives
and had a fun time with them.
Saturday
was fun. The investigator with the kid invited us over and said she had found a
Mormon movie on Netflix. That turned out to be the movie, “Meet the Mormons.”
We decided to watch that, and she really teared up for the last part. She
related to the mom of the missionary. It was a great experience all around.
Sunday we
got a lot of stuff done. Elder Steed gave a talk on tithing as well as taught
Gospel Principles on spiritual gifts. Less than 3 hours later after that class,
one of our investigators had the same question he asked us about spiritual
gifts and we were able to help him. Who was that investigator? Some of you may
remember my "warriors of Christ" guy I found in the McDonald's. Well
he called us on Wednesday and gave us his address. He remembered me and it was
fun getting to talk to him and his grandson. He was a really nice guy for sure
and was happy to see us again. We ended the night by watching Meet the Mormons
for an FHE at the BML's house.
It was a
really rough week all around but we still were able to see a lot of people. I
look forward to one more year of teaching and serving on my mission. It's been great.
Talk to
you later,
Elder Peery
3. Typical days work
(Elder Steed)
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