Happy new years everyone!! 100% of 2019, I will spent as a missionary....weird.
Good week here in my favorite area I've served in my mission so far! The zone here in Cheyenne put together a calender to allow all the areas near downtown to have an assigned day they can to go downtown contacting. We went last Wednesday night and had some fun. We were being "fools for Christ". (Last zone conference the assistants did a training which came from 1 Corinthians 4:10, where it says we are "fools for Christ" and taught a about how we have to open our mouths and be fools and talk to EVERYONE.) So we had some fun following that training while in downtown. One person we walked past and then both felt like "we should've talked to that person".....fools for Christ....we turned around even though we just passed him and had a long conversation. He's a Boston native (I was able to relate to him, while bringing up who I am by telling him how my dad served a mission in Boston). Anyway he has a home here in Cheyenne because of family that lives here and he used to live in Arizona with his kids and his ex wife (again I could relate to him....not about having a kid and an ex wife, but living in Arizona). Anyway it went well and hopefully we can meet him again. Another dude was chilling in his car in a parking lot and we totally walked past, waved, then turned around and knocked on his window. Ended up giving him a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet. Good times.
Thursday we went on exchanges, I was in Buffalo Ridge area with my district leader Elder Bennett. It was a weird day, they had a lot of lessons but a lot of the lessons ended up just being people talked the whole time and no teaching. But it's okay! Fellowshipping is important. But one really cool thing that happened, we ate dinner with an old couple and I totally recognized their name. It is the same name of a man in my ward who is a return missionary and everything but not very active, who has a girlfriend who is not a member. Anyway we are teaching them, and this old couple who somehow ended up being the family feeding us the one day I was in this area was his FATHER. How crazy that it worked out like that. I was able to talk with him about his son and stuff and help me in MY area.
Friday was filled with some good service. Meals on wheels, then someone needed help with a piano. I do not like moving painos....its not good for my body, I woke up sore the next morning. But strength is given to me from the Lord and we moved it with only 3 people. Then later in the night we contacted a lot of people and set a few return appointments.
SATURDAY BAPTISM DAY!! We had a baptism of a 14 year old girl, Kairi, that we have been teaching since I came into this area in August. She has been through a LOT and knew that she needed to be baptized but a few things kept her back. One lesson on the gift of the Holy Ghost and great input from her father (both her parents are members) she finally decided to be baptized. But let me tell you, the adversary did not want her to be baptized. Lots of stuff in between setting her date, and the baptism caused drama and Saturday was CRAZY. I think I claim the title for worst missionary at planning baptisms. Stuff like not getting the font warm enough, two baptisms planned for 2pm at the same building, switching rooms 3 times, once because of the second baptism happening AT THE SAME TIME, the second time because there wasn't enough room, someone running to 5 printers to try to print the programs in color, then coming back to where we started to just print them in black and white, the programs not printing 2 sided, so we just folded them together, someone thinking the baptism was moved to 3 then telling everyone, then having to retell everyone it was back at 2....you don't even understand the stress. BUT everyone worked out perfectly :). Well once the baptism service started, everything was great. Especially the moment Kairi entered the water and came back out, the feeling of the spirit in that room and in my heart was indescribable. After the baptism me and the Buffalo Ridge elders ran to Chick-fil-a and a tender mercy of the Lord. A man saw us in the parking lot and said "Elders! I'll pay for ya!". He ended up being a pretty recent return missionary driving from Illinois to BYU provo, so he probably didn't have that much money to drop on 4 missionaries. But we ended up finding him a place to stay with members instead of having to pay for a hotel. So he saved money spending it on us...pretty cool.
Sunday was a pretty busy day. The last 3 hour block of church, and sacrament meeting was fantastic. Especially with Kairi being confirmed a member of the church and given the gift of the Holy Ghost! Right after church we ran to dinner, then to an appointment, then drove way out into the country where the patriarch of the stake lives. Elder Chinbaatar hadn't received a patriarchal blessing before his mission, so Sunday night he received it and it was the coolest experience if my life. After that we ran to a meeting with our district leader, then we came home with 15 minutes rest of the night to spent on language study :).
Monday was a LAME day. I woke up super early and my insides escaped from my mouth. Then my insides kept trying to escape from my mouth but there was no more insides left. Too sick to really do much, but it was kinda a blessing that I got sick on a day that we have to be inside by 6pm anyway because of new years eve. Also it was FREEZING outside Monday and I didn't spent much time outside so that's good news.
Spiritual thought:
I was thinking of a spiritual thought to share and I ended up thinking about this scripture. Moroni 7:41 "And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise". A while ago in a lesson a dude asked "where do Mormons put their hope, or is their hope all dependent on them", or something along those lines. My mind went to this scripture and it perfectly answered his question, I don't even know why I was there I could've just given him a Book of Mormon and it would answer all his questions haha. Anyway this scripture is fantastic. I am so blessed to have a knowledge of my Savior Jesus Christ. I don't know how I could make it through life without him. Without Him we would stray further and further away from Heavenly Father and with no way of returning. Without Him when loved ones pass, they don't have a way of living again, and I can't be with them again. Without Him I would be hopeless....i wouldn't have someone to turn to in those hard times when nobody else knows how I feel. But Jesus Christ did what he did. He performed His Atonement so there is hope. Because of my faith in Him I can feel peace in knowing all that is wrong is made right through Him. Because of Him there is always, always hope. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know He loves me. I know He loves you. I know there is, and have felt of a special peace and hope that flows into my life because of my knowledge and faith in Him. Because of Him there is always hope, don't let the adversary lie to you and make you feel hopeless.
Fun stuff:
-I was walking through downtown and I found a Taco John's visor on a fire hydrant. I took it and washed it, now it is my favorite hat.
-I was told to go on a "BRAT" diet after I started being able to keep food in my body Monday. Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. Ended up just being an "RAT" diet because I didn't have any bananas
-met this lady who told us a story when she went to a church swimming activity with her friend and people looked at her weird because she had pink hair, tattoos, and piercings. Super lame that should never happen, but I told her I dyed my hair blue and still went to church hahaha kinda softened her heart a little.
-same lady we offered to do a chapel tour with and she was worried it was a trick and we were going to lock the door behind her and make her go to church
-this crazy little girl lost her pants and her mother grabbed her and hid her under a blanket....her mom said "you know it's a good night when you end up with your pants off"
Pictures:
-one morning we woke up and it was super foggy, and when the fog lifted EVERYTHING was white the trees looked so cool
-pictures from zone conference
-Kairi's baptism
-Elder Chinbaatar and me after his patriarchal blessing
-this stop sign had been blown over by the wind and I thought it was hilarious....i did take this picture when I ran to the store to get Gatorade on Monday so maybe I was out of it and it wasn't funny at all.... Windoming "blew" the stop sign that's hilarious hahaha
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