FAMILY!!
AHHH!!! I can't believe Mom and Krista were SOO CLOSE to me!!!! That is pure insanity! I love knowing that we were in the same state though, even though we could not be in the same exact place. It's like when I would be at the AMC Movie Theater with friends and you were all at home. Same state...very close...but not quite. Okay, that was a super lame example, but whatever.
ANYWAY! On to my week...
Finally I get to e-mail on a Monday and hopefully get back into the routine swing of things. We last left off on Tuesday, Nov. 8th.
Here is the Weekly Summary:
Tuesday: Well...It was our P Day. That pretty much sums it up. We have been organizing a visits list, so that when we go to do visits to part-member families and unbaptized members we have a method and it is organized by neighborhood.
Wednesday: Zone Meeting. It was good. We talked about the difference between the light of Christ and the Holy Ghost. Elder S went to meet with President Black at the same time we had a lesson scheduled with J. So, he went with our District Leader Elder C to meet with President while I went with Elder W to teach J. We taught J part of Lesson 4 (The Commandments) and taught him about The Law of Chastity and The Word of Wisdom. He is so awesome. That evening we taught a lesson to the H family. We did an in-depth Book of Mormon lesson and read and discussed each paragraph in the Introduction to the Book of Mormon. If you haven't read the introduction lately...READ IT! It is so great.
Thursday: We went on Splits with the Zone Leaders! Elder S went with Elder M to go to his area and I went with Elder B to stay in my area and do J's Baptismal Interview. He did awesome and will be baptized on Friday, November 18th! WOOO!! :) We talked about going to BYU and he really wants to get in. I really hope he does. He was so excited saying, "Then, when you're off your mission we can all hang out on campus together!" But, in 2 years he will be 19, and he also really wants to serve a mission. HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?! That is probably the greatest thing I've ever heard. We spent the rest of the day getting out lists together...There is a lot. Especially when you have to cover two wards. Oh, and we did our Weekly Planning. Busy, busy, busy.
Friday: Most of the day was covered with Leadership Training. It was a great meeting. We learned that Elder and Sister Yamashita came to the States in July 2011 (this year) not knowing ANY English. President Packer gave them a special blessing to help them with learning and look at them! They are incredible! One of the new things they teach missionaries in the MTC is, "Teach People, Not Lessons". President B changed it around a bit and says, "Teach People, Not Lessons...But teach them something!" Hahaha, I love that! We were told to start committing people to something at the doorstep. I tried this out on Saturday and really like what happened. I handed the 20 year old a pass-along card and instead of saying, "There is a website there you can go to if you are interested in learning more", I said, "Will you go on to this website to learn more?" He said, "Yes." Who knows if he actually will...But, I really like the thought of extending a commitment at the doorstep. It was a great day.
Saturday: We taught R about The Church in Former Times. We taught F and D about how to start reading and understanding the Book of Mormon. We went on blitz (technically splits that only last about an hour with the District Leader and his companion).
Sunday: Church yesterday was really great. I love Fast and Testimony Meeting. I felt so prompted to get up and bear my testimony. I bore my testimony on Missionary Work (go figure). I requested help from the members to do missionary work. We need people to teach. We are not allowed to tract in gated communities which makes it especially difficult for the W Ward because there are only 3 small neighborhoods that are not gated. I've tracted them over and over time and time again. We need help. I said that the most common reason for not sharing the gospel with non-members is because we are afraid of being rejected. I told them that is a valid fear, but we will be being an even better friend if we share this message with them because it is the message that gives life and saves souls. I continued to bear testimony and say that if they are rejected, mocked, torn apart, spit upon, then good for them. Good for them for standing up for the same message that our Savior himself stood up for. And if they are rejected, maybe if they are lucky, fortunate, and blessed enough, they will feel the smallest FRACTION of what Jesus Christ felt because it was not easy for him...And it may not be easy for us. I am so passionate about this. After bearing my testimony, Sister W (a mother of teenagers) got up and bore her testimony on missionary work and how great it is. After her, M. E (a teenager) got up and said, "I just want to back up with Elder Edwards said..." and continued to bear her testimony on missionary work. She shared the message with A, and even though she was scared to, she did it. And look what happened there! After her, M. B (a 10 year old primary boy) got up and bore his testimony about missionary work and how great it is. He said that as members, we need to help the missionaries. It was not me who touched the hearts of people yesterday...It was the Spirit. I hope that the words that were said will inspire people to reach out and do missionary work. Yesterday evening we went to newly released Stake President "farewell" thingy. Even though I don't really think he is leaving anywhere. That was fun.
Small World:
1) I am related to my Ward Mission Leader, through Aunt Lesa!! SMALL WORLD!!!!
Investigators Update:
1) J: Going to be baptized this FRIDAY! AHHHHHHH YAYYYYYY!!!!
2) J: The H family are progressing. They are great and I love them. After our lesson on Wednesday, I was prompted to ask them if they would like a Priesthood Blessing. I would imagine it is hard to gain a testimony of the Priesthood if they don't have any experiences with it. It went great. I gave D a blessing and Brother A gave J a blessing.
3) S: We set a date to meet with her on Saturday, and an hour before our appointment with her, she cancelled...Again. I will just have to be patient on this one. I text her things to read from the Book of Mormon, so I hope that is helping.
FOOD REPORT!:
Tuesday: Pizza
Wednesday: Calzones
Thursday: Chicken Pasta
Friday: Ham and Cheese Soup
Saturday: Ham
Sunday: Pork Loin
Spiritual Thought:
I got a really great letter from Grandpa this last week (Grandpa Edwards, of course!). It really helped to encourage and uplift me. I love what it says and it is true for everyone. In it he mentions Elder Maxwell's talk, "Jesus, The Perfect Mentor". He references some things that President Brigham Young said such as, "There are no two faces alike, no two persons tempered alike; ... we are tried with each other, and large drafts are made upon our patience, forbearance, charity, and good will, in short, upon all the higher and Godlike qualities of our nature." Elder Maxwell says, "In the relationships of which I speak - the mentoring, the tutoring, the commending, and occasionally the correcting - every one of us has ample clinical opportunities to develop our capacity to love." I love that. I stand by that. And I testify of it. Our capacity to love will grow if we let it. We need to have an attitude of humility, patience, and selflessness in order to grow. That is the prerequisite.
Well...I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! Thank you for everything. Thank you for your love and support always. Tell everyone in the ward, all friends, all family that I said, "HI!" And that I love them. Thank you for the letters and the packages.
LOVE YOU!!!
Love,
Elder Sean Edwards
