Saturday was a pretty good day! We found these apartments in Hopkins that we hadn't tracted yet so we decided to tract those. We talked to a few people but no one was super interested. One lady said we could come back later this week but that was about it haha. Then we knocked on this one door and this guy named Jeffrey answers and said we could come in. He was on crutches and told us he had lost his leg in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. When we went in the Alabama vs Auburn game was just starting..... BUT we turned it off to have a lesson. So we found out he had met with missionaries before and had a Book of Mormon but hadn't really read it or anything and never was super interested. He told us he was looking for a church where people lived what they taught and weren't hypocrites and didn't take all your money. I told him he would find that in our church! We shared our testimonies of the Book of Mormon after teaching him about it and he said he would come to church the next day. He texted us that night and asked if we had gotten him a ride, so we knew he was serious about coming to church!
Right after we visited him we stopped by DeAndre and KeAndre'a for a lesson. They were both hung over when we got there and said they had been out bar hopping and stuff the night before. We talked to them about consequences of our choices and used the push-up lesson about the atonement as a visual aid. So Elder Beach got to do a quick set of 50 push-ups. They really understood that Christ's atonement is there whether we use it or not, but it makes our Heavenly Father and Jesus sad if we don't use it! We had a king size Hershey's bar and used that as the "atonement." Then I did 15 push-ups for everyone to get some of the Hershey's bar and I did push-ups for everyone whether they took the candy or not. They loved the lesson and really understood it. So we taught about how, Christ atoned for their mistakes and how it's always there, even if they don't use it. But we should all use it! Then we talked about making choices when there's an easier wrong and a harder right choice. KeAndre said he always wants to make the harder right choice but just ends up making the easier wrong choice because in the moment it seems easier and more fun. So we talked about the consequences of making the choice to drink a lot and stay out late: he was sick, he slept through half the day, etc. Then we talked about the consequences if he had chosen to go to bed and not go bar hopping: he would feel better, more productive day, feel better about himself... etc. Then I said "KeAndre, another consequence of going out and drinking and sleeping for half the day is you missed half the Alabama vs Auburn game!" His jaw dropped and he goes, "No!! Are you serious?? That was the only game I wanted to watch today!" He freaked out and was trying to get the TV to work and the signal was so bad and wouldn't work that great. It was seriously the funniest thing ever haha. The signal on the TV wouldn't work so we told him to pray for it to work. So he did and it started working. So we watched about 15 minutes of the game with them and got to build our relationship with them. They told us they were for sure coming to church on Sunday, and we were like, "But what if you don't?" And they both said, "There is no way we aren't coming." And we were like, "OK! We will be here to pick you up!"
After dinner we did some stop bys and found this guy named Lamin who is from Gambia. He is actually the son of one of our potential investigators and he let us in and we taught him about the Book of Mormon and got a date set with him for baptism. He seemed excited to read the book because it taught of Christ and he had a strong belief in Christ and wanted to improve his values and life. We told him the Book of Mormon would help him do just that and he liked it.
So we asked Johnny Chapman to take us, DeAndre and KeAndre to church and Brother and Sister Hadley to take Jeffrey! All three were able to make it to church and LOVED it. The members were so nice to them and they met like 3/4 of the ward and people were great! They really liked the talks in Sacrament meeting and also the lesson we had in Elder's Quorum about stumbling blocks in life. It was just a super good Sunday! I was so happy we had 3 investigators at church and they stayed the whole time too haha. We had dinner at Bishop's house Sunday night and it was super good. Bishop Patterson is awesome and I love him. He and his wife played all these Christmas songs on their self-playing piano and Bishop Patterson sang all the songs and his daughters were so embarrassed and we were dying. It was a good time!
Sunday night we tracted in the freezing rain for an hour and a half and had zero success but went home content with our work. If people don't want to hear our message that is their choice. We are just servants of the Lord trying to deliver the message we know will bring people happiness. I know this church is true and it brings true happiness to people. I saw that in the faces of DeAndre, KeAndre and Jeffrey. I love the Book of Mormon and know it is true and that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration!
I love you all and hope your week is amazing! I'm sure going to miss being home for the Christmas time of year. I love Christmas with my family and friends but I'm grateful I can help people in the Minnetonka area find that joy and happiness this Christmas season.
Much love,
Elder Beach
#MavUp #10
DeAndre, KeAndre and Jeffrey at church!
