Well this week didn't go as planned. D. cancelled her appointment with us on Monday night. She also canceled her baptism. She said she wasn't ready to get baptized. We went by on Tuesday and it was a different meeting with her. She opened the door and we started talking to her but she kept hinting that she was in a bad mood and that she was not really welcome to company but she let us in and we were talking to her and she pretty much vented to us about how hard life was. I felt really bad for her. The road to baptism is hard for an investigator. Everything bad happens as they are getting ready for it. We asked if she was still keeping all of the commandments that we talked about and she didn't really answer the question. We shared an encouraging verse in the the Book of Mormon. Helaman 5:12 and told her that she can make it. We have tried to be able to teach her again this week but we haven't been able to so far. But we are still trying and we had a sister in the ward who said she is going to text her to see how she is doing. So that was a bummer but its better for her to not be baptized until she is ready to keep the covenants associated with it. We are going to try to keep her on the path though.
Also this week we went on an exchange with the Longview 3rd elders, one of
which was in the MTC with me! It was a good exchange. I was with Elder
Horrocks who is from Midway, Utah and we got to work together. We went to
help the T. family with some service and when we got to their house
and Sis. T. wasn't there we got a text saying that she was over at her
neighbors house helping them with things because their house had caught
fire that morning. It burnt out their roof but it had been put out fast
and no one was seriously injured. It's crazy though because we know
their neighbor really well. They are a great family. We helped them
salvage things from their house and move out furniture. But there were
so many miracles for them as well.They had really good insurance on
their home and they were able to start renting the T.'s parent's home
which is right next to the T.'s and there was a big out reach from
many people who have donated things to help them and many more. D., the
father, said that he really appreciated our help and that God was in all
that had happened that day.
We went back the next day
to have dinner with the T.'s and D.'s family. We talked to them a
lot and we watched the Restoration DVD with them and had a really good
visit with D. afterwards. We invited him and his family to church and
D. said he would love to visit some time. They weren't able to make it
this Sunday but maybe next Sunday they will be a little more settled in.
They had been reading from the Pearl of Great Price before their house
burnt down so we are getting them another one. D. has a lot of very
interesting religious views which is how the Pearl of Great Price came
up and of course they were interested. Sis. T. said that she felt like
it's time D. and his family became members of the church. So hopefully
things will work out and they will get baptized one of these weeks!
Also
this week we got a referral from sister missionaries in Louisiana. Apparently Miss S. was visiting family over in Shreveport and met 3
sister missionaries and talked to them and got a Book of Mormon and she
has been reading from it every night she says. We gave her a call and
set up an appointment and met her. She has had a crazy life and is
trying to change. Her current circumstances are not really good which is
probably going to be difficult to work with but she will be able to
make the changes necessary. Everyone can change it's just a matter of whether or not they are sincere enough to make the change relying completely on the Savior and His atonement. That's the only way any of us
can change. She had some sincere questions that we were able to answer. She also gave us a referral for her friend who practically lives in Louisiana. She is maybe a mile or 2 from the border but we went out and
met her and taught her the restoration. We got lost on our way there
though because it is in the country and back in the woods. We actually
drove past her house because it didn't have a number on it and we went
further in the woods and came to a point where we couldn't drive the car
anymore so we got out and walked for a ways till we got to a fork in the
dirt road and didn't have the gps. So we went right and crossed a really
muddy part of the road and when we got to the other side we met a black
guy on a 4 wheeler who told us we were lost and had already passed the
lady's house. So we turned around and hiked back. (We hadn't gone too
far.) It was an adventure in deep east Texas.
I got y'alls package ! It was great thank y'all so much!
Also we met a member at Walmart who had just moved in the ward. We were
walking into Walmart and she was walking out and she said hey elders and
we said hi and we all kept walking. My companion and I asked each other
do you know who that was? No maybe she's in the Spanish branch. Well she wasn't. She came back into the store and found us and said, "Hey elders I
walked past y'all and then I said to myself wait, elders. I need to ask
them where the church is at." So we told her and she came! It was great! I'm so grateful that we were able to meet. It can be really hard for
someone to move to a new place and meet new people. It's really easy for
people to just stop coming to church. But thankfully that isn't happening.
What a Tender Mercy.
So good things happened this week too! And even more good things will happen this week.
I love y'all!
Love your missionary,
Elder Drew Bowen
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| Adventures in Deep East Texas! |
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