This week was pretty sweet. I don't know how to explain it, but it was just good. There wasn't any more success then normal, in fact, I'd say there was an above average number of doors slammed in face (or from afar? Everyone has fences so it's not actually in our face). But thing's have been going good. I've been learning tons and tons. I've come to a sort of, realization of the religious world. Nobody has any idea in what they believe in, why, how, or any of sort of history in their own beliefs except that they believe it. I say this not to demean anyone or to cut anyones beliefs, but rather, that I'm grateful that we have a reason for believing in what we believe; in short, our testimonies. As far as I know, we're the only church that professes the power of prayer. It's the only way to know the truth. I hear time and time again that the Bible is the only source of truth about God in this world, but rather, as Elder Holland put it, “Scripture itself points . . . away from itself and to the fact that final and true authority belongs to God himself. So the scriptures are not the ultimate source of knowledge for Latter-day Saints. They are manifestations of the ultimate source." I love hearing that talk. It's so incredibly true. I propose this question often in contacts, a challenge really... Is the Bible the source of knowledge about God, or is God the source of knowledge about God?The two are used interexchangably so much as to create a blur of knowledge, divine truths that testify of a Sublime Creator, a Heavenly Father that loves us, at least from what I've seen. But I ramble. Usually after that question comes an invitation to listen to us, read, ponder, then pray. Hurray for revelation.
Well, here's a very awesome experience that happend last night:
So we were doing contacts, yelling at houses and all that, when all of a sudden this young man of about 19 years old comes up to us and introduces himself. He asked us this question, "Is there any way I can serve a mission?" "Of course," we replied. He seemed a little unsure of our response. It was evident that there was something paining him. He told us that he hadn't gone to church in quite some time, and that he had experienced some things that had caused him a bit of embarrasment. I related with him the story of the Prodigal Son, and he seemed to recall the story a little bit. We assured him that God still loved him, and that there was nothing that he could have possibly done that could have caused him to lose that love. He seemed a little more hopeful. We talked about repentance, the atonement, and going back to church. All in all, it was an awesome experience that gave me a small taste of the deep love that a Branch President, Bishop, or Parent must have for those who once were lost, who desired to come back. If I weren't so Macho, I probably would have cried (I kid). We took down his name and his address and we're going to pass it on to the other elders (He lives in a different Sector). Well, there we have it. As for my piece of advice for the week, talk with your nieghbors a little bit about the Gospel. Many people we talk to are, how you say, a little more prepared to listen to us if theyve talked to members before. And the ONLY success we have in the mission is when members get involved in the work.
E' Horspool
Here are the pictures that he has sent so far:
So this is a picture of me, my comp Elder Ipson, and Escarlot on the day of her baptism. She's the little sister of our ward mission leader. Coolest family ever. After her baptism, we had a party to celebrate her 8th birthday.
So I thought Id try out my Paint skills. Whipped this together in about 5 minutes. This was right after the priesthood session of General Conference. Enjoy.
Elder Horspool.
*Si ustedes me piden, Mi frente es mas y mas como Miguel cada día. ¡Que Linda!
This is me, my comp, and Elder Adams
1 comment:
Heather, you did a nice job setting this up for Matt. It's nice to see his pictures and read some of his experiences.
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