That’s right! It is a new year. 2013! Pretty hard to believe, eh? Well, I’m
excited for it. 2013 is my missionary year. All missionary work, all the time! The
first part of 2012 was goofing off, the last bit of 2014 I'll be coming home,
but 2013 I have nothing else going on. I’m excited for it. :D
Sounds like things at home are going well, and I'm sorry
to hear that Elder Bear wasn’t feeling up to skiing. I sure enjoyed talking to
you guys on Christmas. That was pretty fun, (cheesy singing aside, that was
just embarrassing... for everyone involved. But it was sweet, and I guess the
thought that counts.) And am anxiously awaiting Mother’s Day.
I have thus far thoroughly enjoyed my time here and have seen tremendous potential not only for the Branch and the work we are doing here as messengers of the Restored Gospel, but also for the people of this area as a whole. Obviously there is some resistance in most people’s minds to changing their lives to be in closer harmony with the teachings of the Restored Gospel (and we have certainly encountered that), but the majority of people here (whether they realize it or not) are already living their lives according to the teachings of the Savior. Everyone is so kind, friendly and welcoming, even to complete strangers. Most would all gladly give anything you stood in need of, and even though some have expressed pretty strong distressing in the church, we are treated with respect and love. I only hope that we can help these people to see that they are already following the teachings of Jesus Christ in deed, but not in word. All they need is to understand the doctrine, commandments, and ordinances and how they can improve the goodness that they already possess.
We had the opportunity to teach on several
occasions this past week, many of which were not in a lesson setting,
and the majority of which involved clearing up misconceptions about
the church and replacing them with a more accurate representation of
reality. But, we were also able to have several lessons in the company
of members of the Branch. The first was with the B Family and
their friends the P’s. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
with an emphasis on faith and repentance, and how those two steps
help us in our lives and prepare us for the next two, being baptism and receiving the
gift of the Holy Ghost. We met at the B’s house for dinner, and were unable to
set up a time to meet with them again as of yet but we hope to be able to do so
this week.
Saturday we were able to get Brother S to come
with us to visit a single sister named K, she was a potential found by previous
missionaries and she was unable to remember their names due to a brain injury
which affects her memory. They provided some service for her, but never taught
her any of the lessons as far as we can tell. She seems to be a genuine truth
seeker with a love for the scriptures. She currently attends the
Seventh Day Adventist Church AND Kingdom Hall, she has attended a
number of different churches over the years and
has connected with several of the pastors, but as soon as the pastors
left she felt that there was no substance to the church or that
she didn't really belong. She likes attending the services
she currently attends but disagrees with them on some points of
doctrine (namely the Godhead). We were able to answer her questions and share
with her the message of the Restoration. She committed to reading the
Book of Mormon and being baptized if she comes to know of its truthfulness for
herself.
We were able to meet with others, but I'm afraid my time is
about up, so I will have to keep you up to date at a later date. And hopefully
we will be able to resolve the problem with this computer before then.
Love, Elder Thomson
No comments:
Post a Comment