This week, even though it's been a lot of long days, has gone by really fast. We have found a few people we are trying to teach but haven't quite got any return appointments with them yet. All of them are west Africans and they are pretty bad at punctuality and scheduling. It's not a bad thing, it's just how a lot of them are, so we've been trying to meet with them but haven't had a lot of luck so far! We tract apartments quite a bit ,which is not my favorite thing to do, but it shows the Lord we have faith that He will put someone in our path to teach. So far no luck with tracting, but we have had some luck with contacting!
On Tuesday, we were tracting in this apartment complex by our apartments and we knocked a whole floor and we were like, "This is dumb, lets go outside and talk to people." So we did. And we found this guy who is from the Congo and moved to Hopkins 5 days before we found him. He was hitting the hood of his car with a hammer trying to get the dents out so I was like, "We gotta talk to this guy." haha So we started just talking about his family and stuff and then about what he believes in. He said he believed in God and Jesus so we were like that's awesome because our whole message is centered around Jesus Christ. We gave him a really quick restoration lesson and he said if we are teaching about Jesus he would love to hear more. So we are still trying to set up a return appointment with him.
We also found this guy who is from west Africa while we were tracting. I guess he has met with missionaries before because he knew we were missionaries when he answered. He said he wants to meet with us, he is just super busy. I hate that excuse, but everyone has it, so we are also trying to meet with him again too.
The coolest thing that happened to me this week was on Friday night. I got to play football! We were in this park contacting and across the street from the park I saw this kid and his dad playing catch with a football. So of course I went over and was like, Hey, can I throw you some passes?" Annd he was like, "Yeah, sure!" So I told his dad who we were and that I was playing football when I got home and hadn't thrown a football for a while haha. Then the mom came out and I talked to her while I threw passes to the son and Elder Long talked to the dad. The mom was kinda reserved to talk at first but I just talked like a normal person and didn't say anything about the church or anything. As we kept talking she asked about missionaries because her cousin and her cousin's husband are members in Salt Lake! So we talked about Utah for a while and about football and then started talking about what church they went to. They are pretty devout Lutherans and I just said I respect that and then told her about our church a little bit and told her about what we do as missionaries. Once she started opening up a little, it was a great conversation! They were a super nice family and we will probably stop by again soon and see if we can do any service for them or anything like that! I was a happy camper that night!
We had a zone training in Bloomington on Friday morning. It was soooo good and I learned a lot. The focus was having faith to find people and working with member families to help you find. Elder Long and myself and the Minnetonka sisters have a big plan we have made with the bishop to teach members how to turn everyday events that happen into missionary opportunities and eventually fellowshipping! I'm really excited to implement it and hopefully see the fruits of it the next few months! The ward is really good here and they want to help with the missionary efforts, they just aren't always exactly sure how!
It's been a much better week, and I know attitude, desire to serve, and working hard play huge roles in that. Even though we aren't seeing huge successes like baptisms or people to teach, I feel like we see a lot of little successes each day. I know God will put someone in our path soon that is ready for the Gospel. Colt, Max, and Alex, I'm pretty sure last week we all had a slow, tough week. I know what y'all are going through! It's cool that even though we are all so far apart we are still going through the same things together. It's a good feeling knowing we are all striving and struggling to bring the children of God back into the fold. Keep your heads up and know I pray for you every single day. Jake, we all know you got your ups and downs at college as well. Keep up the good work and know that we love you so much! You are in my prayers every single day as well. Motivational scripture for the week is Alma 36:3 "...whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."
Thanks to everyone back home for the prayers and uplifting emails I get during the week! There are times where I get home at night and want to put my head through the wall, but I have some great emails to read, whether that be from my parents or Christy or Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks so much for sending those, they always seem to come at the right time. I'm humbled by all your prayers. I can really feel those working in my life right now and I am grateful for them.
I'm so grateful for this gospel and I know it is the only way to true happiness in this life and the life to come. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share it and it is going by so quickly (I'm almost out 3 months, Max is out 4, Colt is almost out 6). It's really not that long when you think about it in a lifetime perspective. The amount of good you do in those two years is incredible and I feel blessed that I can serve God for two years and share his gospel with the people of Minnesota! Love you all and have a great week!
Much love,
Elder Beach
#10 #MavUp
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