This week, I got to go on exchanges with a Spanish missionary this week. I definitely had a great time with him, going around and trying to find people to teach. We would just tract until we found someone who knew a Spanish person, then go over to the Spanish persons house. I would just stand and try and look happy while the two people chatted it up. I prayed for the gift of tongues and actually kind of got it. I was able to understand about 80% of the stuff that was said, and after each conversation, I'd tell my companion what I understood. Not bad not bad! So anyways, I wanted to be a lot more helpful. I was told that if they had Christmas lights up still or if there was a broom on the porch, Spanish people most likely lived there. I had a blast scoping out brooms and launching us onto their porches. We finished off the night with a guy from Cuba who couldn't even be understood by the Spanish Elder. Rest in peace, us. Haha.
The sun has just been smiling down on you and me lately, and I can't get enough of it. I feel like I'm more excited for my plant than myself. Actual quote from the week. "I can't wait for the time when it gets warm enough I can let Nemo sit outside all day". So yup, it's been in the 50's this week and it's been amazing. We definitely took the time to whip out the bikes. The ground is wet from all the snow melting, but its not icy. I had a blast bouncing around town and waving to cars and enjoying life. It was just a shame my lil mud flap moved over to the side, so I had small spots of dirty water on the back of my shirt. Oh well. It's currently spinning in the depths of the washer. Definitely worth it.
So I was doing some serious study on the topic of faith this week, and new light has been bestowed upon me regarding faith. I make "Class time with Elder Ruth" videos every now and then, so I will totally delve deeper into this topic. The big deal for me this week on faith is how we grow it and keep it. God can only do things for us if we have faith. Doubt and fear are directly opposed to faith, and so if we display these emotions, our faith diminishes. This is why Jesus said things like, "wherefore didst thou doubt?" Or "fear not man." Upon studying in Mark, a line from Christ echoed through my mind all week. "Be not afraid, only believe." And this was a turning point for me. Instantly, I upgraded my skills. Every single person I spoke to, I said this in my head before reaching. Every door I knocked on, I had the confidence that God was on my side. Ultimately, some people won't accept Christ no matter what, but with this newfound faith I've developed, the work has already flipped dramatically. We found two new people to teach this week which is very good for this particular area. We set many things up which will instantly give us even more people. We helped serve others and we did what we could do be an extension of the arm of Jesus Christ.
With this new faith in mind, I got myself into quite the situation. When I was with Spanish Elder, he had an emergency and we had to quickly bail to a gas station bathroom. I bought a Kitkat so he could use it, and then saw people enter the gas station. I knew that God would want me to talk to them, and doing so would increase my faith. I worked up the courage and started talking to a guy about Christ. He knew who I was and so he started to try and belittle me. It was pretty neat how I was able to use a handful of scriptures to subliminally roast him. This drew the attention of two more people who joined. They began to gang up on me, so I found some common ground and started teaching about the Savior. A fourth person came in and tried to roast, so one of the woman I was teaching told him, "Hey, don't attack him, he is an angel from God." I winked at the man and then let him join in my little sermon on Jesus Christ. Everyone left satisfied as my companion finished his 10 minute bathroom break. Though none of them wanted to have us come to their home to teach, I was glad to see that I could not be confounded, just as promised in the scriptures. We then definitely used the crap out of our hand sanitizer because some of these people had leathery hands which had turned orange from smoking.
So that's all the things I feel like sharing this week! It's going good and Elder Ruth is returning from his winter hibernation to wreak havoc in the name of the Lord. Gird up your loins, boys, we're going on an adventure.
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| "They shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness" |
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| Pray Always! |
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