So this week was one for the books! Well, especially this weekend.
Friday
we got snowed in... ok so snowed in here is like 2" of snow. School was
canceled, businesses were shut down, and people ran to the store to buy
eggs, milk, bread, and toilet paper because it is the end of the world!
Haha I laughed so hard when I heard and saw all of this. The problem is
that no one knows how to handle the snow around here. The roads are
super bad and the ice is just everywhere because of the humidity. We sat
in our house and played some games. We tried to go teach but no one
would answer the door. It was absolutely nuts.
We have been teaching this guy for a while now and he had a baptismal
date and everything. We texted him and he didn't respond. We thought
that was very odd so we decided to walk to his house in the frigid cold
to see him. It was like 3 degrees outside and snow on the sides of the
road. We got to his house, knocked, no answer. We saw his car parked in
his drive way so we couldn't figure out why he wasn't answering the
door? Where was he? We decide to give him a call because he might be
sleeping. His mom answers the phone. We got to asking where he might be
and she told us that he is in jail! What jail? We were so confused???
It turns out that he had been on parole for a while and he broke it one
morning. She wouldn't tell us how he broke it or why he was on parole in
the first place but we were super shocked. Most of the time when we
teach people the gospel they change their life for the better. He must
have been reading the BoM but not applying it.
Another crazy thing this weekend was we were able to teach Jerry's
parents! His parents were afraid of us because they have met
missionaries before and they have heard some crazy things. Ok,
missionaries that are reading this, do not be a diver. Divers are those
who dive in the deepest of trenches in the gospel. It's so important to
build on their knowledge and not tell them everything you know about it.
Anyways, we corrected the problem and taught the first lesson. They
loved it! It is so cool teaching a recent converts family!!!
Sunday
was equally weird. Church was normal but after church is when the fun
began. We went and taught these two men who might as well have been
scribes of the Bible. These two guys know the Bible by memory. Ok, maybe
not literally, but they did know it very well. Not only that but they
also know the history of it very well. It is possible to teach directly
out of the Bible but it isn't as clear as the Book of Mormon. One is
willing to read the Book of Mormon and study it while the other wants it
only from the Bible. They want us to show them logically. It is
possible but very hard because most of the Bible's verses on the plan of
salvation are pretty vague. Like take for example the Garden of Eden
and The Fall 2 Nephi 2 and Genisus 3. Together you can learn so much!
But when it is just form the Bible you have to infer stuff. Anyways, my
knowledge of the Bible has increased ten fold since serving here in the
belt. I can now effectively Bible bash but that no ever actually helps.
Just makes me feel good though! ;)
Two more crazy things. Jerry got a visit from a mob. Well not an actual
mob, but if they had pitchforks and fire it would be. His old church
keeps harassing him and saying that he is going to hell because he is
now a Mormon. We are actually getting pretty nervous because if they see
us in the streets in Parsons we are unsure as to what what will happen.
We have to be careful now when going over there. It is just so crazy
how I know now a little bit what it feels like to be prosecuted for your
beliefs. We get told crap like we are Satan worshipers and we are going
to Hell. We even have people who pray with us right there and ask God
to save our souls and to open our eyes to the evil that we preach. Man
it is down right crazy. Some reason though it gets me amped. Like I get
all pumped and even more conviction in the work. I have realized that
the more true something is the more Satan will harden the hearts of men
and fight it.
One last thing, I killed Bambi's girlfriend.... ok, maybe she didn't
die, but got a good beating. We were driving home from Clifton and I saw
this deer out of no where. Everything went in slow motion and I felt
like a line backer trying to tackle. The deer leaped out to cross the
road. I swerved and it barely miss the front right of our car. The deer
snakes into the side of the car and roles off. We got out and examined
the damage. In my mind I was thinking, "Crap there goes my driving
privileges." The damage was actually very minor. Only 4 dents that were
about the size of my knuckle. We went back to see the deer and she was
gone. We survived our first deer attack and maybe the deer did too!
That raps up my crazy weekend. Have a blessed week y'all!
Love, Elder Q
