Light and Love

 

Halloween came and went this year and I hardly even got a sniff of it. Crazy to think that just a year ago I went to work lifeguarding at the YMCA and then went straight to a Halloween party. You will never guess what I decided to go as. I remember thinking that it was my last Halloween as a teenager, and it kind of was. The good news is I only have one more Halloween on my mission. I didn't see one kid in a costume. I did  see an adult in a costume whose dogs started running after me while I was catching a frisbee at a park (not just any frisbee, a discstore.com professional ultimate frisbee owned by Elder Hustead). I must have looked like a deer in headlights because the dogs were coming for my neck but then got distracted and went for the frisbee instead. The poor plastic disc was torn to shreds and we laid it to rest. [F to pay respects]. The funny thing was Elder Fuller had thrown it over the fence and we had to go to this random lady's backyard (also found a geocache there) and did all of that just for us to lose it 5 mins later to some pitbulls. If that was the best story I had this week, oh man, I would be so happy, but it's not. Not even close.

One of our investigators, who has almost been impossible to pin down, really opened up to us this week. We taught her about the restoration of the Gospel and asked her to pray about it. We had planned to help her with her yard the next day. She has been taught by the missionaries for years but has always receded to her pagan ways. She was never fully committed. Why she started to open up to us, I don't know, but it changed my perspective about a lot of things. For one, I used to think ending up in Reno, Nevada was a mistake. Just the general mission presidency trying to find a way to dish me off somewhere so I wouldn't be home, but also not in South America. It was not a mistake, it was "wisdom in God" as it says in Moroni 10:3. Because for some reason, at this exact time and at this exact place, Elder Dalton and I needed to become friends with this lady. And for whatever reason, at this exact time and place, she needed the Gospel. I am forever grateful for the missionaries who could've given up on her but didn't. Anyway, she gained her testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ naturally through prayer and scripture study. Both of which were completely foreign to her. We invited her to pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and her answer came in one of the most powerful and unique ways I have ever seen. She texted us early that morning around 5 am and told us that she had a dream that the next day we had come into her home full of "Light and Love" and helped turn her backyard which was just "barren ground" into a beautiful garden. She said that she really takes dreams to heart and considered that her answer. It was a huge turning point for her, especially considering her past. As Elder Dalton and I discussed this, Alma Chapter 32 came into our minds. The verses 35 and 39 really stuck out to us. 

35 O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?

39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

We invited her to come to Church and this was a HUGE step for her. She had never been to Church...of any kind...in her entire life. It was fast and testimony meeting and I remember fasting for a lot of things but one thing in particular was that the testimonies would be good. I only did this because our Bishop told us a story about how he took an investigator to testimony meeting and one lady got up and talked for 20 mins about how polygamy was coming back (to all of my nonmember friends it's not). I can't even imagine trying to dig myself out of that hole. But we actually texted a lady who has been super helpful to the missionaries in the ward to bear her testimony and almost immediately she responded and said that she had already received a prompting to do so. Our investigator lady on the other hand was nothing short of a nervous wreck. She says she hates crowds, and even though Church was at like half capacity, it was still a lot for her to handle. As we started the meeting, however, her mood began to change and she began to be calmer and more present. She actually introduced herself to some of the members, who were all so happy to meet her. It was an awesome experience!! Especially after having a slower week last week. 

We got rid of all of our apples, but the new thing now is bagels. We somehow managed to get like 5 bags of bagels for helping the relief society president take out some rose bushes and a tree. 

My current living situation is actually pretty interesting. Last week we spent almost a whole day trying to clear out all of the stuff in our old apartment. Our new apartment's lease doesn't open up until Nov 6th so our quad had to split up and go to other elder's apartments. I am currently in a place known as summit ridge, which is super nice but about 20 mins from our area which is a bummer. We have already put a TON of miles on the new car. Anyway the cool thing is I found a winter coat at this apartment that nobody was using and I steefed it for myself. There was a note on it saying "whoever takes this coat must promise to talk to everyone he sees while wearing it." I guess I'll be trying that out this winter. The thing about mission apartments is that you can find pretty much anything you want in them, but almost nothing you need or maybe it's the other way around.