April 2, 2007

Sorry everyone is doing so poorly. I don't remember much of last 

week, so let me consult my Missionary Daily Planner...Alrighty, there 

we go.

We had a good Zone Conference on Monday, which is why I sent the 

e-mail on Tuesday. I'll try to notify you of any Tuesday Preparation 

Days TWO weeks before they happen, so that you don't have to freak 

out that I missed a week (or two weeks, as you probably thought on 

Monday last week).

In the way of people that we're working with, there is Jeff and 

Amanda Sample. Jeff has been less active for several years, and 

Amanda his wife was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, but they were in a 

motorcycle accident a month or two ago that got them thinking about 

things. Jeff is really growing in his faith, and Amanda seems to be 

growing as well. They need to do it together. I think he'll be 

reactivated, and she'll be baptized.

Next is Dalton, who is trying to date the daughter of an active 

couple, and he's come to church for quite some time. So we decided, 

why not teach him?! He came to all three sessions on Saturday. At 

this point I'm not sure if he's in it for the girl or for the truth, 

but I think he'll turn out alright.

Li is a guy from a Pacific Island who speaks some Marshallese. We've 

been trying to learn from him by reading the Book of Mormon, Articles 

of Faith, and Joseph Smith pamphlet in Marshallese. He said that he 

thought that they were really good, wanted to know more, and he asked 

us how he could be baptized. I'm not sure he completely understands 

what's going on, but my supposition is that he feels the Spirit, and 

that is what's driving him. Elder Jaynes and I will have to take 

Brother Milne with us so that he'll be able to explain further, and 

make sure that he understands.

While on exchanges with Elder Brewster, we contacted a media referral 

who wanted a Finding Faith in Christ DVD. Her name is Sandra. She 

said she didn't have time to watch it with us, but we taught her most 

of the 1st lesson anyway, and she said that she could see discipline, 

happiness, and humility in our faces, and that was something that she 

wanted. So, an awsome investigator pretty much fell into our lap. I 

know the Lord is helping us.

We're also working with a member who is trying to quit smoking 

(Sister Phillips). We met with her yesterday, and she said she's not 

ready to quit, but she did peform an act of faith, and said the 

closing prayer for the lesson. As long as she keeps doing these 

things, and gets out of her comfort zone, and trusts that the Lord 

has sent us to help her, then she will end out alright.

General Conference was awsome. My favorite session is always the 

Priesthood Session. While Elder Hales's talk was directed to the 

young men, it directly applied to me. My "decade of decision" is 

almost half over, and I've gotta decide now what the rest of my life 

is going to be like. That's something that I've been thinking about a 

lot lately.

Oh, by the way, we have no TV or DVD player, but I feel that Special 

Witnesses of Christ would be an excellent DVD to watch with 

investigators. The Mormon Tabernacle Chior's "Love is Spoken Here" 

would be a great CD to listen to in the car, which is why I suggested 

it. Honestly, I need some music. Some good music. Otherwise, I'll 

probably end up going through Beatles and Jimmy Eat World in my head 

(which has been happening lately), and I'd rather try and stay 

focused on the work, and have music that is mission appropriate in my 

head. There'll be time for Beatles later. In the way of other things 

to send me (other than the short-sleeve Missionary Mall shirts), 

those Missionary Mall socks are really nice (the $3/pair kind, that 

are supposed to breathe through the top). The others are really 

wearing down. That's all I have.

I haven't gotten a DVD about the church, but I learned something 

about resolving concerns of investigators, members, and people we 

talk to: don't resolve concerns that do not exist. If anybody asks me 

about the DVD, I'll resolve their concern. If not, I'll keep my mouth 

shut. I did get a little "Mormonism Has Another Jesus" phamplet in 

Fort Smith, which not only takes scriptures from the Book of Mormon 

out of context, but also neglects others. I won't say what was in 

there, but I will say that it was a load of dingo's kidneys, and 

anyone that reads the Book of Mormon will be able to refute the 

issues in that phamplet. If anyone you know has any questions about 

it, simply tell them that they ought to learn about the Church by 

talking to the Church's official representatives, the missionaries, 

or to read the Book of Mormon and the King James version of the 

Bible. Otherwise, it'll be like taking your Ford to a Saturn 

dealership to see if they can tell you anything about it.

Current address is: 902 Brookhaven Court #201/ Springdale, AR 72764

Oh, and thanks for the Articles of Faith cards. I was wondering who 

sent them! ;-)