Wowee Zowee what a week. Ever since we combined areas with Stony Point
Ward we've had more work than you can shake a stick at. And it looks
like we're just going to get more! This week we used our trio of
missionaries to full effect, going on splits almost every night.
That's one luxury to having three missionaries in a companionship, one
goes with a member with all the set appointments, and the other two
find for the rest of the night. It's a beautiful thing.
Speaking of beautiful things, we have had much success with the T
family lately. They are such a crazy family. I can't decide how to
explain the situation without throwing in too much information, so I
must going to throw up everything about them and see if it gets you
sufficiently updated on the situation.
The husband and wife, R and T, have three kids, E, S,
and R. But, they have guardianship over Seven other kids: T,
B, H, J, and D. J and H are unaccountable,
T and B recently were baptized, R was a member already,
T was recently baptized as well. That leaves five others (D,
As, R E, and S) unbaptized. This week though, we've
made amazing progress. Steven, who almost always leaves the room when
we come, joined in on a lesson with us this week and had a lot of
questions about being a missionary. R has openly expressed that he
wants to be baptized and we are trying to set him with a date as soon
as possible. DJ has decided to be baptized by Elder S. That
creates a few problems, however, because Elder S is going home on
the 27th of May. So what are we going to do? Baptize him on the 26th!
It quite honestly is the soonest we could baptize him, so I hope that
it all works out. His intent is real and he is keeping all the
commitments. We need to get past a few concerns and it'll all work
out. A Wants to be baptized, but is afraid to commit to a date.
She has made so much progress with her in the past week, we are amazed
by her faith. We hope that we can commit her tonight. Wish us luck.
R is going through some major health problems and has has a hard
time coming to church these last few weeks. He just had a spinal tap
and liver biopsy, so we'll get to see what is going on. Our prayers go
to him as well as the whole family.
So that's the T's in a nutshell. A very large nutshell. But hey,
it is great. They love missionaries so much. They are such a great
family. Every time we go there it is a spiritual experience.
This Friday I had an excellent Chance to go on exchanges with Elder
C. He is an amazing missionary, filled with the spirit. We
have served around each other for the last seven months, and during
that time he has made s great impression on me. He knows what is right
and he works hard. We had an amazing lesson with one of their most
promising family, the D. I think it's important to note that is
one of the coolest names for a family ever.
I wanted to take a moment to share a thought I've been having
repeatedly. In cross country, my coach would always run us to death
for 60 minutes, give us a drink of water, and have us run for 30 more
minutes. It was, character building, we could say. I remember that at
the end of every practice, he would say, "remember, champions are made
when no one is looking."
I liked that quote back then, but I love that quote now. I don't think
I understood at the time that a champion wasn't the person who got
first place. Champions were the people who conquered themselves, and
because they could conquer themselves they were able to conquer
everyone else.
As a missionary, we have this idea of success. Getting trust with the
Ward members, baptizing and retaining converts, putting in an all in
effort. This is a successful missionary. This is a champion of
spreading the gospel, as it looks on the outside. But how did that
champion come to be?
I like to think that sometimes, not always, but sometimes, the Lord
cares just as much as the progress you made in who you are just as
much as what you are doing. Actually, Preach my Gospel says, "just as
important as what you are doing, is who you are." Who are we when no
one is looking? That is how you can determine whether or not you are a
real champion. A champion is someone who volunteers to put down chairs
after church, even when there are nonmembers there. A champion shakes
at the appearance at sin, but doesn't let sinners shake him. A
champion doesn't get angry, only motivated. Champions don't get
offended, instead they learn. A champion does the dishes for everyone
in the apartment and doesn't say a word, but not because there is a
rule in the missionary handbook. What we do when no one is looking is
still something we do, so it should be just as important as when
everyone is looking.
Elder Richard Hall
Ward we've had more work than you can shake a stick at. And it looks
like we're just going to get more! This week we used our trio of
missionaries to full effect, going on splits almost every night.
That's one luxury to having three missionaries in a companionship, one
goes with a member with all the set appointments, and the other two
find for the rest of the night. It's a beautiful thing.
Speaking of beautiful things, we have had much success with the T
family lately. They are such a crazy family. I can't decide how to
explain the situation without throwing in too much information, so I
must going to throw up everything about them and see if it gets you
sufficiently updated on the situation.
The husband and wife, R and T, have three kids, E, S,
and R. But, they have guardianship over Seven other kids: T,
B, H, J, and D. J and H are unaccountable,
T and B recently were baptized, R was a member already,
T was recently baptized as well. That leaves five others (D,
As, R E, and S) unbaptized. This week though, we've
made amazing progress. Steven, who almost always leaves the room when
we come, joined in on a lesson with us this week and had a lot of
questions about being a missionary. R has openly expressed that he
wants to be baptized and we are trying to set him with a date as soon
as possible. DJ has decided to be baptized by Elder S. That
creates a few problems, however, because Elder S is going home on
the 27th of May. So what are we going to do? Baptize him on the 26th!
It quite honestly is the soonest we could baptize him, so I hope that
it all works out. His intent is real and he is keeping all the
commitments. We need to get past a few concerns and it'll all work
out. A Wants to be baptized, but is afraid to commit to a date.
She has made so much progress with her in the past week, we are amazed
by her faith. We hope that we can commit her tonight. Wish us luck.
R is going through some major health problems and has has a hard
time coming to church these last few weeks. He just had a spinal tap
and liver biopsy, so we'll get to see what is going on. Our prayers go
to him as well as the whole family.
So that's the T's in a nutshell. A very large nutshell. But hey,
it is great. They love missionaries so much. They are such a great
family. Every time we go there it is a spiritual experience.
This Friday I had an excellent Chance to go on exchanges with Elder
C. He is an amazing missionary, filled with the spirit. We
have served around each other for the last seven months, and during
that time he has made s great impression on me. He knows what is right
and he works hard. We had an amazing lesson with one of their most
promising family, the D. I think it's important to note that is
one of the coolest names for a family ever.
I wanted to take a moment to share a thought I've been having
repeatedly. In cross country, my coach would always run us to death
for 60 minutes, give us a drink of water, and have us run for 30 more
minutes. It was, character building, we could say. I remember that at
the end of every practice, he would say, "remember, champions are made
when no one is looking."
I liked that quote back then, but I love that quote now. I don't think
I understood at the time that a champion wasn't the person who got
first place. Champions were the people who conquered themselves, and
because they could conquer themselves they were able to conquer
everyone else.
As a missionary, we have this idea of success. Getting trust with the
Ward members, baptizing and retaining converts, putting in an all in
effort. This is a successful missionary. This is a champion of
spreading the gospel, as it looks on the outside. But how did that
champion come to be?
I like to think that sometimes, not always, but sometimes, the Lord
cares just as much as the progress you made in who you are just as
much as what you are doing. Actually, Preach my Gospel says, "just as
important as what you are doing, is who you are." Who are we when no
one is looking? That is how you can determine whether or not you are a
real champion. A champion is someone who volunteers to put down chairs
after church, even when there are nonmembers there. A champion shakes
at the appearance at sin, but doesn't let sinners shake him. A
champion doesn't get angry, only motivated. Champions don't get
offended, instead they learn. A champion does the dishes for everyone
in the apartment and doesn't say a word, but not because there is a
rule in the missionary handbook. What we do when no one is looking is
still something we do, so it should be just as important as when
everyone is looking.
Elder Richard Hall
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