"So today was transfer day and we started it out by eating breakfast at a members home. It is so cool. This member will not cook the same thing twice for us. Every time we go over he experiments and makes up new kinds of food. We have eggs with a unique seasoning and we also had pancakes with a little bit of pumpkin seasoning and we have had cranberries and choc. chips in the pancake mix. Like it wasn't bad, it just wasn't the greatest thing to be honest, ha ha. He has one rule and it is if you don't like it , don't eat it. As simple as that. So my companion packed some more and then our district went to Buffalo Wild Wings(so good-it has been a long long time since I have been there). Then we went to transfer meeting and I found out my new companion is Elder Strong. He was my zone leader in Orange and he only has two transfers left. So if I stay with him for another transfer, I will be here for 6 months.
We had another lesson with Bro. Tegtmeier today. We start off by asking him if he prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true. He answered yes. So, I'm like, sweet! What did you get from it? He answers, nothing. We tell him that it is important to keep praying cause sometimes God wants us to work for it. At that moment a thought came to my head and I smiled. I said, " Brother Tegtmeier, I have a story for you." I told him a story about how I prayed to know if I should go on a mission and every time I prayed, all I got was peace. I didn't get an answer. This happened for about 3 weeks of me constantly praying and receiving nothing. Up until it was the day before my farewell and I kept praying but still got nothing. I was freaking out and then at the last possible moment, my prayer was answered. I said, "So, Bro. Tegtmeier, I know exactly how you feel. You wanted an answer and you didn't get it. I also know how it feels to constantly struggle to find that answer and still not get it and I know how it feels to receive that answer after I had gone through all of that. That is why we want you to keep praying about it cause prayers aren't always answered when we expect them to be. Sometimes God wants to see how much we really want it before you get the answer you're looking for." Then I looked at him and he said, "I guess I could try some more." Then we talked about faith and prayer. We went to lunch at Jasons Deli, which actually is a super good place. Like who knew, right?
Today we were trying to get formers and found out that one of them got baptized in Austin. That was new, I've never had that happen. Then we stopped by this one formers house and we met his friend and actually taught him and he was pretty solid (He ended up dropping us after a couple of days cause he got anti-mormoned pretty hard by his friend) For lunch we found this BBQ place. We go in and they had this deal where you get a salad, baked potato loaded with cheese, sour cream, peppers, ground meats, and then they poured BBQ sauce on it. After that they gave us a hamburger steak and jalapeno bread- all for $8! It was the most Texan meal you could get. I was fixin to take a pic of it but my i pad died, so ya.
We had another lesson with Bro. Tegtmeier. I didn't think he got that much out of it, but when we finished, he thanked us for coming by. He told us that he knows we are dedicated to what we teach and because of that he is warming up to the idea of spending eternity with his wife, not just until death. So that was cool.
After that we went with some members to a Mexican restaurant. They have the cutest kid I have ever seen. She's about 4 and she loves the missionaries. Like she sat in the middle of both of us and she just talked constantly and then would randomly give me a hug and then give my companion a hug. She talked some more and then grabbed her fake camera and "took" pictures of us. She was super cute.
Then we went to visit another former member and he lives in a really, really, really nice neighborhood. Like these houses are mansions. Even the streets sound rich, ha ha. Like King Arthur Drive, Nottingham Drive, Yorkshire Lane and Round Tower Lane. His name is Bob and we knocked on his door and he answered and was super friendly. He invited us in and give us drinks and said his wife wasn't home. Then he told us how he found the missionaries and they gave him a Book of Mormon and he started to read it and couldn't stop. He finished it in a week! Then he told us about how he wanted to be baptized! His wife is a Southern Baptist and hated the fact that he wanted to be a Mormon. She told him that if he joins the church she will leave him. Then Bob looks at us and says maybe in the future, but I can't choose between this or my wife. Honestly, it was sad cause I knew what he was missing out on. I also thought how hard it would be to choose that. I told him to invite us to do service and his wife may change and he said, maybe. Then his wife came home. Let me tell you that the look on her face was priceless when she saw us in her home, talking to her husband. She was pretty nice and she made sure to tell us that she was a baptist. We have been out here long enough to know what us and the baptists agree on. So we start talking about Christ and stuff like that. She warms up to us and then Bob gives us this really expensive Italian soda and the flavor is Blood Orange. (it was so good). It was getting late so we told them we had to go. The wife gives us a giant container of cashews and Bob gives us more of the soda for the road. They told us to come by whenever we want or if we needed anything or if we just wanted to talk. Its weird, when we left I was talking to my companion and we both agreed that he will get baptized eventually in this life, it might take a few years, but I know he will.
Today was like a super good day. Me and my companion walked around an apartment complex trying to find our investigators apartment. We ended up teaching 3 people before we reached his apartment and then we taught him. We then went to Port Arthur to find a referral and he wasn't home. His neighbor had tear drop tattoos and other tattoos and even some gang tattoos. Anyway, he told us he's done things but wants to change his life. So we taught him. Then we were able to teach a couple more people. Like it was going great! It was a day where we didn't get bashed at every other door and it was great!
So we finally taught this investigator named Joann who we were trying to teach for like a week and we brought a member with us. We taught Joann and it was a good lesson. We invited her to church and Joanne said that she didn't know. She said she had to watch these kids for her church. Suddenly, Sis Borton (our member) says, "Well, hey, I can pick you up and drive you to church and you can stay for half of sacrament meeting then I will drive you to your church. And Joanne said, "No, I can't have you miss the Sacrament. " Sister Borton was like, " No, I'd rather pick you up so you can experience it." Then something clicked with Joanne. I think by Sister Borton's example, she was able to see how important the sacrament is to us. So she said she could drive to Sacrament but she might have to leave early. So we started the lesson by Joanne telling us there is no way she could come to church and it ended by Joann saying okay I'll see y'all tomorrow at church. It starts at nine, right? So that was a pretty cool experience.
Love,
Elder Saunders
 |
| Our newest fan! She loves the missionaries- 4 year old member with Elder Saunders and Elder Strong Port Arthur, TX Mar 2016 |
No comments:
Post a Comment