Originally, I had expected to be transferred out of Poway because I
had more time on the mission, and figured that Elder M. would take
over the area. On the flipside, Elder M. is getting transferred, and
I'm training my new companion. This'll be a big change for the area,
and I'm kinda hoping that I get a native Spanish-speaking companion.
That would help things out a bunch. BUT, if I get a companion that can't
speak very well, I'll help him out the most that I can.
Well.
I'm having a little bit of a hard time remembering what happened last
week because I have a new planner in my pocket, so bear with me as I try
to remember the events of last week.
On
Wednesday, we helped Elder N. and Elder B. out with their
shopping, as they had been in the hospital for all of Monday and Tuesday
because of medical complications. We helped them out for a few hours,
and then went to an appointment with I. We started talking for a bit,
and he started asking us questions about the apostasy mentioned in the
scriptures, the reason for burnt offerings and sacrifices in the gospel,
and several other questions about the Book of Mormon. He apologized to
us for his many questions, and explained that he likes to "study" the
scriptures, not just "read" them, because he said that he'd forget what
he read if all he did was "read". We then went and finished off the
night with some visits with members.
Thursday, we
helped the Twin Peaks elders and their members to set up for the
Trunk-or-Treat on Friday. We ended up doing that for the majority of the
afternoon, as it was a lot of work to get everything set up. The theme
for the activity was "Pirates", so we were hauling all of these
decorations and things over to the Church to get things ready. We had a
big pile of netting, wooden pallets, palm tree stumps, signs, fencing,
bamboo stalks over 18 feet long, 12 foot wooden stakes to hold up slats
and stuff, and a bunch of other things. After that, we went and tried to
visit some potential investigators, and finished off the night with a
visit to some members again.
For Friday, we had
district meeting, and I had the impression to talk about the importance
of the Book of Mormon in the conversion of our investigators, as well as
our members, and that if we were to help our members to more faithfully
read the Book of Mormon, that their testimonies would be strengthened,
and they would have a greater desire to serve selflessly. After that, we
had a district lunch with the Twin Peaks district (minus the zone
leaders because they left), and got started on getting all of the
decorations set up for the Trunk-or-Treat. After getting everything set
up, we went and got ready for the activity. I dressed up as a pirate,
using items found at the 99 cent store just down the road. The whole
costume cost less than $10. Fancy that, eh? I had hoped to get a
picture of the decorations that we'd set up, but alas, I didn't have
time to get it done because I was assigned to help with the games. Oh
well. We had dinner, which was a serve-yourself taco thing, and then we
did the Trunk-or-Treat. After the kids had gone around to all of the
cars, we opened what was called "Pirate's Cove", and the kids came
flooding in. My big beard and the angry eyebrows scared a few of the
younger kids, so I guess I did pretty well with my costume.
Saturday,
we spent a good amount of time trying to contact in the streets, and
find some new investigators. We got a text from the Penasquitos Zone
Leaders that had a number, and they told us to call it. So we called,
and the people on the other end agreed to meet with us that morning.
That's weird, because most of the phone call contacts that happen in the
mission don't go through. So we went and met with J. and B., an
older couple from Mexico. Right off the bat, J. asked us if we
believed in God. "Yes. And we believe in Christ as the Savior of the
world." After that, they were perfectly fine with listening to us. We
talked a bit about the basic beliefs of the Church, and gave them a Book
of Mormon. After explaining that the Book of Mormon supports the Bible
and strengthens our faith in Christ, they snatched it off the table and
started flipping through the pages. I'll admit, I was pretty surprised.
They accepted it so readily. Then they committed to come to Church with
us. Again, I was surprised. We said a prayer, and they thanked us
profoundly for coming. After that, we met with F., and had a
great lesson on the Word of Wisdom. Once we explained the commandment
and the blessing that the Lord gave, he was able and ready to make the
commitment to live it. Later that night, we had a lesson with
another younger couple, G. and E. Their problem was that they
couldn't believe in a modern-day prophet, nor could they believe that
there was anything other than the Bible. They adamantly stated that they
wouldn't change their beliefs, so we took the tactic of saying, "Can we
explain to you why we believe the things we do?", and they then opened
up to us and listened. They didn't want to read the Book of Mormon, but
they accepted a return appointment.
Sunday, we
went to church, and right before Gospel Principles started, J. and
B. walked in. Once again, surprised was I. We took them to the class,
and it was on the law of chastity. F. walked in a bit late, and
sat with a member-friend of his. We talked about the key role that the
family has in the Plan of Salvation, the importance of parents, and so
forth. They both made great comments, and were very engaged in the
lesson. During Priesthood/Relief Society, they once again were making
very good comments about what was being taught, and gave good
insights. For sacrament meeting, Elder M. went and sat with F.
while I sat with J. and B. The talks were based on "How to Gain a
Testimony", and I felt that the meeting was specifically for J. and
B. They sat and listened intently, and when the meeting was done,
B. shook my hand and said that she would love to be baptized into
such a church as ours. For the ump-teenth time, I just about fell over, I
was so surprised. After that, we didn't see anyone the rest of the day,
but we sure were feeling good.
Yesterday, we
helped Elder B. out as Elder N. was at departure activities.
Apparently they were visited by President S., and Elder N. was
told that he would have to go home because of his diabetes, (which was
the reason for them being in the hospital on Monday and Tuesday). So,
Elder B. rolled with us for a little while, and we ended up going
with him to eat dinner with one of their members, and after that, we
visited a member family for him. We then went and picked up Elder N.
from the mission home, and when we got back to the apartment, he got
packing.
This morning, we got up and got ready
early to take Elder N. to the airport. After dropping him off, we
moseyed around for a bit until we got the transfer calls. So Elder B.
is getting transferred, and Elder M. is getting transferred, so
I'll be the only one staying behind. Oh goodie.
OH, and in
answer to one of Dad's questions, I do prefer standard transmission over
automatic. I like having the extra control. And in answer to Melissa's
question, we mostly just update our Mormon.org profiles or browse lds.org
for good talks that we can download and listen to. We don't do much,
but it's a good time to sit and relax for a bit. Odds are I won't have
much time this week to relax because I'll be trying to get things going
with my new companion. And in answer to Mom's question about Halloween,
we have to be inside our apartments at 6:00 pm, and we'll probably get
an assignment to study something or watch something from the District.
The reasoning behind having us in early is to protect us from masked
vigilantes that want to break the law while wearing masks, or to prevent
us from being confused as people dressing up as missionaries...instead
of us being real missionaries. SO, we get to stay in on Friday night.
Not
much else to report! Thanks for the
package, and thank you for your letters. They've brought me a lot of
peace and comfort. And I hope you all have a
happy Halloween!
-Love, Elder Crook
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