Week 23 - "To every high there is a low, to every to there is a fro ... That's what makes the world go 'round."

Hi, everyone,

This week's quote is from The Sword in the Stone and may not be quite accurate, but it's the best I could remember.

The reason I use it is that a lot of things happened this week. There were some low points and some high points, and that's just the way things are. The scriptures tell us that it must needs be that there is opposition in all things. I've started to wonder if for every good thing that happens on my mission a price of a bad thing has to be paid, so the equation of the mission all balances out or something.

I guess we can get the low points out of the way first. We only had one person we're teaching come to Sacrament meeting this week. John and Jean came, of course, but they're members now. David ghosted us at our lesson on Saturday and we can't get in touch with him anymore. I'm thinking he got anti-ed somehow, but we'll see what the future brings. Then there was a point Sunday that I just wasn't feeling it as far as street contacting people. We were in this area with all these deep driveways, and I just felt like even if people were outside, it was a violation for me to come onto their driveway and approach them, and I flubbed it. I guess things can't always be sunshine and roses on a mission.

But hey, there's also some good news! I don't know if I've mentioned Andrew before, but he's this awesome guy that we're teaching who could be so magnified by the gospel, and we're going to be taking him on a tour of the church building today. I'm really hoping it goes well and he has a desire to attend church. I'm hoping for the same desire for all of the people we're teaching. We're working on them, and they're slowly beginning to consider the possibility of coming, so I'm praying that one week there will be so many people at church with us that we don't even have time to help all of them (that will be, like, 4 or 5). We've invited a lot of people, but we haven't committed them to come. Some of them are people we've only met and haven't had a sit-down lesson with, though, so I don't think I would feel comfortable asking them to commit to do something. It seems sometimes in missionary work like there's this fine line between inviting and encouraging someone to come into the gospel and trying to drag them into it kicking and screaming. I don't want anyone to join the church, look back on their experience and decide that coming into the church wasn't really their decision--that it all happened so fast, and it was just such a whirlwind, and they didn't know what they were doing--and use that as justification to leave. This needs to be their decision to make, so I never want to compel people, but I do want to persuade people. I do want to help them understand that there are reasons for them to join the church, that it can be of great benefit to them now and of eternal benefit to them in the future, and then I want them to make that decision on their own. I've found that the thing that makes the biggest difference as far as that factor of self-motivation is simply love. We care about these people we're trying to teach and help, and when we show them that (by, for instance, listening to them, encouraging them, or serving them), they start making commitments without us even inviting them to. They recognize this is something that they want, and they express a desire to participate in it.

Anyway, I feel like I'm getting off-track. What were some of the other good things that happened this week? There was a member we visited who we did the "member dialogue" with (that's basically a lesson that we've been advised by the mission president to do that involves helping members of the ward recognize the blessings of the gospel and asking them who they know that could use those blessings), and he was able to bear testimony of his experiences with the gospel in front of his daughter, who hasn't been baptized yet, and he said that he'd never done that before, so I felt like that was a success. But again, ups and downs: That was on a day when literally every appointment we had scheduled before the day began fell through, so. I guess that's just what happens.

There was also this great moment with a guy we're teaching whose wife is a member and whose kids attend church but who hasn't attended himself but is taking the missionary lessons. They invited us over for dinner (which was fine, considering he's not a member, and we taught him while we were there), and he said that he's never really felt like religion has stuck for him until he started looking into this religion. He also said he tried to give himself to God before, and it didn't really work, but now it seems like things are different. He was also saying something about how the way he feels about what he's learning is different, and he was struggling to come up with the words for what he was trying to express, so Elder Anderson piped in and suggested "Does it feel familiar?" and he was like, "Yes! That's what it is! You said the words for me!" That made me all happy inside--I once asked President Stratford during an interview how we can recognize those who are elect. He said the gospel will have a familiar ring to them. So I was really happy to hear that. He was seriously considering coming to church this week but didn't, so we'll just have to keep inviting him and letting him know he'll be welcome. It seems like he's really appreciating the doctrine, and he and his wife both seem to be reading the scriptures more, so that's good.

Gosh, this is a short email. I guess it makes sense, considering that the time between preparation days was so short, but still. I feel like I should have more to talk to y'all about. ... I looked a little, and I found another cool thing to share. It's about Andrew. That same night we had dinner with that family, we went and saw Andrew, and I felt the spirit very strongly during that meeting. He's been struggling a little--probably like all of us do, he sees the world in the state that it's in and gets a little down about it. He sort of wonders if and how he can make a difference and why he's here. I was able to testify and suggest that perhaps the reason he is where he is right now is because he needs to hear the message we have to give him. He thought that was pretty deep. I felt really impressed to say it, and I think it needed to be said. Andrew is awesome. I really hope he progresses in the gospel and is able to access the power that this gospel can give him. He's already just a really great person who tries to lift others and help others and encourage others, because that's the way he was raised, and I feel like if he had the gift of the Holy Ghost with him, he would have the power to minister to others in ways and to degrees he's probably never even considered. I think he might be the type of person who's going to take this journey slowly, but when he "enters in by the way," he's going to be a great help to a lot of people.

That's about it for this week. I appreciate your prayers. I know they help me, and I know that there's something special about when others who have a close relationship with God pray for you. I've experienced the blessings that result from that.

I found out that my email last week didn't get through to all of you, so I guess I would just encourage you, if you have the time, to do the activity I suggested in the "add-on" email I sent out.

You know, I just looked at the beginning of the email, and just to comment on what I said, I don't think the good and bad events I'm experiencing balance out. I think I am experiencing more good things than bad. At the very least, the good things I am experiencing are powerful, and they're making an impact on me. I'm grateful to be on a mission and be experiencing all these good things.

Thank you all for being with me on this journey! Keep calm and carry on.

Elder Davis