Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Companionship of three

No, M. L.'s daughter and her family were members, and she was introduced to us through them. She got baptized, and soon after, went with her family to the temple to do the work for her husband. From there, we waited a year, and I kept writing letters to M. L. and her family. I received a card from them around the time of Valentine's day that said that she would be going through the temple in the first weeks of April, so I quick-like-a-bunny got her number and called her to congratulate her and ask her if she would be willing if I came with. So on the week of the endowment, I got permission from President to go with her and her family. And I am very much ready and willing to go to the Ogden and Brigham City temples. ALSO, the new companion was just Elder N. They took his companion out and moved him to another area, and put Elder N. with Elder V. and me. We've been biking, driving, (because we now have a car as well), and walking because last night Elder V.'s tire exploded. BUT, we'll get to that in a few paragraphs.

Last Wednesday, after transfer meeting, we waited and went to the district/zone leader training meeting because Elder N. is still the district leader, (with just us and the Sisters.) We then went and got our apartment situation resolved and were moved from one apartment to another in the same complex, except the new apartment has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. We moved our beds out into the main room, and put our study desks in one of the bedrooms, with the laundry and dressers in the other bedroom. The whole move from one apartment to the other took pretty much the whole day. I ended up ripping my pants right up the middle seam when I squatted down to pick up our sofa. Yuuuupppp. Either the pants were just done, or I've gained weight. My bet is that the pants were just old, because I really haven't gained weight. Darn.

Thursday, we had our trio weekly planning, and since both Elder N. and Elder V. are from Texas, I had the premonition or apprehension that they would have a bit of a hard time getting along. So, after going through our investigators and stuff, we got to the companionship inventory part of the planning session. I mentioned that I just wanted to have a really relaxed atmosphere and not worry about the little things too much. Thankfully, both Elder V. and N. voiced their agreement and said some things that I feel have set up this transfer really well. We then went out and tried to get a few people contacted, and were able to find a few potential people to teach. We then went to find some referrals, and none were home, so we moseyed on over to dinner. After that, we went to see Hna. C., and asked her if she could fix my pants. She said it would be done lickety split. And so it was.

On Friday, we had breakfast with the R.'s, and they bought us some breakfast and California burritos. We ate, and then we taught Hno. R. about how to perform a priesthood blessing of health and one of comfort/counsel. We showed him how to consecrate oil, and went over the other ordinances as well. We then went to give a blessing to a friend of a member, who has been suffering the side-effects of chemotherapy treatment from years ago. Apparently she's been suffering internal damage for years, and it's been very painful, all because of the chemo treatments. She told us that the cancer has returned, and that the doctors want to put her on the same chemo treatments as before, and that she's afraid of the same damage occurring. We explained the power of the priesthood to her, and told her that what we would say under the influence of the Spirit would be the Lord's will concerning her. We then went and had district meeting, which was a bit awkward since it was just us and the Sisters. We went from there to pick up a bike from the zone leaders so that we could bike in our area. Driving is pointless, since there's never any parking. We then went and tried to contact the referrals again. No luck. We then picked up dinner from a member, and ate at our apartment. We got some flaws fixed up on Elder N.'s bike, and went back out to see some investigators that were in his old area that's been picked up by all three of us. We then tried to see some other potential investigators, but ended up only finding the V.'s at home. We then called it a night.

Saturday rolled up, and we started out by going to see some other people in the new parts of our area. We then visited the F.'s, and for the first time ever, got to sit down and talk to J., the son of Hna. F. We talked to him about all sorts of things, from soccer, to football, to other sports. We shared a message, and asked if we could stop by more often, and he agreed. We then stopped by several people to see them, but they weren't home. We visited Hna. M., who had been sick all week, and we gave her a blessing. After the blessing, we went to the birthday dinner for the C.'s mother-in-law. We had some good birria with some crazy hot salsa made from tiny little ball-shaped chili peppers. MAN WAS IT HOT. We went and talked with Hno. I. after that to see if we would be having coordination, which ended up not happening. We biked around for awhile, and talked with a lot of people, and called it a day.

Sunday, I was asked to give the gospel principles lesson on Priesthood Organization. While Elder N. was in Branch Council, Elder V. and I went to the classroom, and I got the whiteboard set up with a list of priesthood offices and specific stewardships and responsibilities, or keys in the priesthood. We then had sacrament meeting, and we ended up splitting up to sit with several families. The talks were good, and we went to gospel principles. I taught the class the best that I could, and tried to make it as simple and understandable as possible. We then had Elders Quorum, and had a good lesson taught by Hno. L. about how to have the Spirit more strongly in our homes and families. After doing our studies at the apartment, we went to the Mission President's Fireside, where President M. and his wife bore their final testimonies as they will be going to serve as Mission President and wife of the Santiago, Chile East Mission. The meeting was powerful, and President M.'s testimony was filled with the Spirit, and his wife's was amazing. She went right to the point, and didn't beat around the bush about the things that she knew to be true. I saw G., a guy that I visited while I was in Chula Vista, and we freaked out when we saw each other. He said that he proposed to his girlfriend in front of the temple. (Sly dog.) We then went back home.

Yesterday, we had a lot of success in contacting people in the streets. Like A LOT. I was really surprised. Most of the people that I made contact with actually stopped and listened, even if they were rushed or in a hurry. We taught a couple of lessons, biked around a lot, and by the end of the day, we had mostly just had street contacts where we shared the Because He Lives video. We were also able to share it with I., a less active member, and she agreed to share it with her friend down the street. Then, as we were just about to turn back towards home, (mind you we were about a mile and a half from home), we sat still on our bikes and discussed where to go before turning in for the night, when Elder V.'s front tire exploded. Well. There went our plans to see anyone before going home. We walked our bikes all the way home, and there wasn't really anyone on the streets to talk with.

Well, that's just about it! I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing well, and that you're still getting snow? That surprised me. Have a great week!

-Love, Elder Crook

No comments:

Post a Comment