Week 53 - God is Among Us
This week was AMAZING! Elder McFadden is one of the best companions so far, and we’ve worked so hard this week. At the same time, we’ve had SO much fun. We get along so well it’s hilarious. It’s not perfect, as we also get distracted very easily, but it’s been so good. We also had exchanges this week, so I got to spend a day with Elder Mendenhall which was also so so amazing. We had multiple lessons with all of our friends this week. Jason is really struggling with a lot of things, especially financially, but we’re helping him get the support he needs while he also works to grow closer to God.
Solomon’s lesson was so sweet. His baptism is scheduled for September 4th, and we’ve taught just about all the normal missionary lessons. So this lesson was mostly just about the commandments, and how to honor his covenants after baptism. We talked about the 2 great commandments, to love God and love your neighbor as yourself, as well as the 10 commandments. It was a really good lesson, and we did little games and exercises to help make remembering the 10 commandments easier. Afterwards we had ice cream and talked casually about various things like life, stickers, music, and Elder Mendenhall asked Solomon’s mom how she was converted to the church. Her story is super cool, and maybe I’ll share it in a future email, but there was something else she said that impacted me a lot. She testified that the right missionaries are sent to the right people at the right time. That it happened for her, and she’s seen it with Solomon too (Implying that I was the right missionary at the right time for Solomon). Which was SO TENDER, and before we left, Solomon’s dad asked if I could perform Solomon’s confirmation!!! I might have cried a little that night.
We also have a new friend named Kayven, and he’s super awesome too! He’s come to church twice now, he's been reading the Book of Mormon we gave him, and he enjoys having lessons with us! For sure we’ll baptize him next month.
OH, AND ALSO BEST PART OF THE WEEK (not really, Solomon’s lesson was the best part, but this is a close second): we got new stickers!.. Ok we actually got them last week, but I forgot to talk about them. BUT HEAR ME OUT. I’ve been in TLC (Tech Leadership Council) meetings for like 8 months now. There is one sticker design I’ve been trying to convince them to print since my first meeting. I love this sticker, and I wanted to put it on my guitar case with my other stickers SO BADLY. They’ve always said no and given dumb excuses like “President Carr would never approve that sticker.” or “It’s so out of date.” or “It’s so dumb I hate that sticker.” But this time, it finally happened. I convinced them to at least present it to President and Sister Carr and let THEM decide. Did I think they would actually approve it? HECK no. But it was worth a shot. It had to be done. To everyone’s surprise, THEY APPROVED IT. So naturally that was very exciting, and I sent this video to the chat when I received my copy.
That’s all for this week. It’s a great day to be a missionary!
Oh also, my film got developed! Here are my favorites:
-Elder Hays