Hey Mom,
another good week.
jeez, that worries me about michael. do you know if he is planning to stay around until i get back? maybe i can spend some time with him and have a friend and something to do before i go to utah.
for the mishes, i wouldnt worry too much about them. as long as it is made clear that thier job is not to keep sis lovelady company they should be fine. hopefully our ward understands that it is more important to keep the missionaries out and that the ward can watch over the older ladies. of course im sure they wont mind helping out on occasion but they will probably have it made clear that they need privacy to plan study and work 24/7. (there is no such thing as downtime, even on pday really.) im glad that you are having good experiences with your calling and im sure that good things will continue to come.
investigators are good. sis robinson made it out to Church again although they have been too busy to teach until tommorow. some members of the ward have done a great job fellowshipping them and they enjoy coming to Church. we will see them again tommorow.
selena is strong as can be. no issues with her, she enjoys her reading in the Book of Mormon and doing all the right things. she will be a good solid member.
we actually found Ed again. we were able to teach him again and to spend a couple hours yesterday helping him clean up his backyard. turns out that he used to meet sister missionaries in vista and was about to be baptized when his mom found out. Elder Hart and i already actively sought her our for permission to visit Ed so we are good there. he is making good progress now.
howard's have been out of town. actually it was a really slow week. we had lots of miracles in finding. we were supposed to teach the robinson's on thursday and i told myself in the morning, "ill tract all day and the lesson will be the payoff." then at like 4 they cancelled. i was ticked off. we were going to just tract all day and probably not get much accomplished. i started to pray hard that i could change my attitude and learn and understand instead of whine and be angry. i especially wanted to be a good example for Elder Hart who still probably isnt used to tracting all the time. i pretty much had to pray that whole evening but at about 7:30, when we would have had the lesson we met a girl named brianna. she had been meeting with missionaries in another ward and had just moved in a couple days before and was shocked that the missionaries found her so quickly unsummoned. if there is one thing that i see over and over again it is that i need to keep a good attitude when seemingly bad things happen because the Lord sees all things. His plan is higher than ours and He can make a bad day or a bad week or a tough 6 months and turn it into a huge benefit for everyone. i just need to remember when times are tough.
also, in our first attendance in the 4th ward we met a part member family who had been meeting with missionaries in another ward as well and were moving in. funny thing, they thought and were told by 4th ward that they were in thier ward but since we met them we were able to tell them that they will live in 3rd ward (which they obviously do). the husband wants to get baptized by Nov 1st and we told him that we would make it happen.
going to 4th ward was a pain. they tried in ward council to get us to do something that is says blatenly in Preach My Gospel not to do and then tried to make me feel like a bad guy. i wont put up with that especially if im only going to be there for two weeks. i dont know why some wards just dont seem to understand what they are all about. i wish they could see what 3rd ward does. 3rd ward is inspiring to be around the leaders there and i hope to be able to follow thier post mission examples of living. all things are good and Elder Hart and i are looking at lots of success coming up.
Grandpa and Grandma:
glad to hear that you are doing well and that you had a good experience in las vegas. makes me happy to hear that you look out for your friends and do your best to share the gospel. each effort we make to share adds up until people become prepared by God, themselves and thier friends.
Uncle Ryan:
Bro Cook was a good guy. we were running late and my companion was really tired when he picked us up. we hadnt realized what a long walk we had cut out for ourselves, lol. we had never been to that part of our area. it is a small world.
love,
Elder Barron
2 comments:
Hi Elder! I'm so impressed with how you just jump in there and always find the people to teach wherever you are! I love your positive attitude and how you can see your own faults and correct them to the benefit of all. I hope and pray for you that the folks you are working with will feel the spirit and gain a testimony of the gospel--the best gift they will ever get.
We are attending a funeral in the morning for Grandpa's Aunt Letha. I don't know if you remember Uncle Haws Durfey who passed away some time ago, but this is his wife. They have always been a strong and faithful couple in the church. She was a wonderful lady.
Just want you to know that we are proud of you and love you tons.
Grandma Sue
Elder B., like you're Grandmother I'm impressed that you stay in there when things aren't going right and keep praying and working and looking for the Lord to help make things work out. They don't always, at least not when you'd like them to, but in the mission field particularly it seems they often do. It's called "trust." You trust the Lord, you know you're doing the right things and as long as you keep doing the right things then no matter the outcome it's okay because it is the Lord's work---and He is in charge. It will be that way the rest of your life so the lessons you're learning now will apply forever.
I was just looking at my missionary journal to see what I wrote about this time in my mission. I made an entry dated September 25, 1961. I was serving in the Boston area at the time. We had just recently baptised a young adult, as I remember she was around 18 years old, her name was Carol Lee. The 24th had been a Sunday and Carol Lee had been asked to speak at a fireside. Here is what I wrote: "What a beautiful testimony she bore. She told how Satan had really tried to get her down the week before she was baptized, she told of how discouraged she had become after so many things had gone wrong and how the night before she was baptized she rode around in her car until 2:30 in the morning trying to think every thing over and how she asked herself if "this" is really what she wanted. She told how as she asked herself this question a wonderful and warm feeling over came her and her troubles diminished and there became no doubt that this was the thing she wanted." I also added: "It has added greatly to my testimony as it has also added to my gratitude to the Lord for the many blessings He has given to me. I love the Church."
Some things don't change. Satan still works the same way. But the Lord is always there to lift the burdens, disperse the darkness, and fill the soul with joy if we'll only let Him.
Well, keep the faith. Be humble. Press forward. Know you're loved.
Grandpa Ron
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