Monday, July 30, 2012

Week 30 - June 4, 2012


Hi everyone!

Sure enough, we're both staying here in Clarksville for this transfer, as we expected. I'm totally fine with that, too. This week was really good, and it made me excited for the work coming up. It'll be hard, but it'll be good, too.

Sure enough, Gabby and Agustin are moving this week. :(  But they asked that we get the address of the Spanish branch in Indianapolis, and we're going to get their new address to send missionaries up there. Every time we see them I tell them to chase after these things. Try them, because God dropped us two guys in your laps in response to your prayers! It means it's good! It means it's right! So we're excited for them, even though we won't get to work with them.

Rodrigo and Esbida are doing good. We actually had a really really good chat with him this week, and kind of figured out some of his doubts, desires, etc. They had missed an appointment so we dropped back in later that night. He was there, so we talked for a long time, and it was good. They still have so much potential, especially because he speaks such good English that they can be retained in this English ward in case the Spanish population doesn't really increase here. They will be tremendous tools in shaping Spanish work here in the area if we can help them progress. So we're doing all we can!

Our numbers were kind of down last week and the week before, so Elder S and I talked about what we could do better. We both knew that we just need to open our mouths a little wider, and not be afraid to share the gospel! You're thinking, "You're a missionary. That's what you do all day, everyday." But it's seriously so easy to just hand a card to someone and be on your way. Especially if they are English speakers and you know you won't even get to teach them. But as we made the effort to teach more, to spread the message more, we had a few really really neat experiences. One was a lady we contacted in the park. She's an odd duck, to say the least, which is funny, because she was there to check on a hurt duck she had seen earlier in the week. We didn't even talk to her very much about the message, and she came to church! The English elders were with her, but said that she's pretty great, and seems interested! So that's good! And then last night, we were down at the park by the river, and there were tons and tons of people! And a few of them we had already met, so we asked if they had checked out the website, etc. We ended up having really really good conversations with them, and one of them said he thinks he's going to come this month, because he wants his son to be in church. So that was cool! And then one of the last people we contacted was a super cool guy from the Caribbean. He's a grad-student at University of Louisville, and he was just studying at a park bench. We ended up talking to him for over 30 minutes, and he was so cool! And so open to everything! So that was really cool. This contacting challenge from President Woodbury has definitely increased referrals throughout the mission because of how many people we are talking to, and it's really really exciting when you meet people that are open to listen and try it out! Who knows if they ever would have been contacted by missionaries otherwise?

Aida came to church again yesterday, and we had the coolest Gospel Principles ever. We have some really amazing Spanish speakers in the ward, and they all just took control of the lesson, asking Aida questions, asking their own questions, etc. It was so great, and she absolutely loves coming. We've still had a super hard time getting to teach her a real lesson. She needs the missionary lessons to understand why it is that we even do what we do, or how we are different from anything else! But we're working on it.

The weather was nice this week, but I don't anticipate that staying. The humidity doesn't bother you much until it just gets a little warmer, so I'm sure in the near future I'll be telling you guys all about how yucky it is. I finally met someone who said she couldn't decide if the wet-heat or the dry-heat is better. Most everyone else just says that the wet-heat will kill you and that the dry-heat is nothing in comparison. I guess I'll know first hand this summer! Haha.

Things are going good. We're excited to be here another transfer, and we're excited at the potential that's here. Hopefully we can really make the best of it this summer! :)

Y'all are my favorite. Thanks for all that you do and all of your prayers for me! They help. :)

Love,
Zac

p.s. no pics. we haven't really taken any lately. sorry!

No comments:

Post a Comment