This morning, Monday, our zone went on a hike. We had been planning it for about a month, and it finally happened this morning. Our zone motto or mantra for the current moment is "RISE" (courtesy of Elder Fotu) and so one of the purposes of the hike was to go and see the sun rise. So we had to get up at 3:45 this morning so we could go pick up Elders Graham and Rumel in Sparkman, and then drive to the trail head so that we could start the hike in time to be there before the sun came up. Well, we began at about 5:00, still in the dark, and it turns out that the hike was only like a 15-20 minute walk, so we actually got to the sunrise lookout point way before the sun even came up. Almost everyone in our zone has a hammock, so we all just put them up and laid in them for a while until the sun came up. Then we had breakfast, a devotional, and headed back down. For breakfast we had planned to make pancakes, so Elder Hastings and I went down to the ZLs apartment in Byrd Springs last night to help them cook pancakes and so we could be closer to the trail head so that we didn't have to wake up even earlier. 3:45 was early enough for me. Well, the hike was fun, hammocking was fun, and I love our zone. Everybody in it is awesome.
Earlier this week we had interviews with President Sainsbury. Every missionary that I have talked to loves our Mission President, and I do, too. He's such a great guy, and he loves us missionaries and always wants to help us. He just told me that he enjoyed reading my letters to him, and that I have adjusted to missionary life a lot better than a lot of missionaries he has worked with. I'm glad that I have not had any problems with homesickness or depression or whatever goes on with new missionaries sometimes. Missionary life is tough enough without having to deal with those things.
After interviews, Elder Hastings and I had an exchange with the Fort Payne Elders (Gibbons and Gwira). I went with Elder Gibbons, and he is a crazy guy. One of the first things he said to me was, "I'm one of the most apostate missionaries in the mission. I'll try not to taint you too bad." He was sort of joking, and he definitely didn't need to say that because he is a good missionary. He just listens to music that he probably shouldn't and occasionally will let out a few words that should probably be censored. But he and I had a really good time together for that day. We did service at the library (unfortunately we did not get to paint rocks this time), we were able to teach 2 really good lessons with people we had found last week, and we met 2 more potential investigators as well. One of our lessons was with a guy named Gary. I may or may not have told you about him last week because that's when Elder Hastings and I knocked into him. Gary told us that he was pretty much fine with his beliefs, but he said that he wondered why there were so many different churches. Elder Hastings was like, "Hey, we have the answer to that question!" So then we got to teach him the Restoration. Then Gary was like, "Well, I also kind of wonder what happens after we die." And Elder Hastings goes, "Hey, we have the answer to that too!" And thus was born a return appointment. So Elder Gibbons and I got to go teach Gary about the afterlife portion of the Plan of Salvation. Near the end of the lesson Gary told us, "You guys have told me in ten minutes things that I have never been able to learn from the Bible." Well, that's kind of our job as missionaries. The funny thing was that we actually taught him from the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon.
After we had that lesson with Gary, we stopped by his neighbor across the street who we had also knocked into on the same night that we found Gary. Elder Gibbons and I were able to teach the Restoration to her, and introduce to her that there was a prophet called of God after Jesus, and that there is a prophet on the earth today. She was open to the idea, but was really skeptical about the Book of Mormon. We invited her to read it probably 3-4 times, and at each time we just bore our testimony of it. Each time we asked her if she would read the Book of Mormon she just thought about it for a few seconds and then said, "I don't know." She eventually ended up not taking a Book of Mormon, but we did leave her with a Restoration pamphlet and we told her to check out mormon.org. Whether or not she will is up for grabs, but I know that the Spirit was there during that lesson, and that we gave her a lot of things to think about, and a lot of our own testimony. She didn't take a Book of Mormon, but that was still a really good lesson.
That night Elder Gibbons and I went knocking doors for a while, and we knocked into an older guy who said his name was [something] Collins, I have no idea what he said for his first name. Anyway, we talked to him for a few minutes and got to share the Restoration briefly, and invited him to church. He told us that he would love to come to church, but the only way he could come is if there was a seat for him in the bathroom. For whatever reason, he figured it was okay to share with us that he needed to poop like 4 times every hour or something, and so he didn't have the ability to sit through a church meeting. I was trying so hard not to laugh, but now that I think about it, I feel bad for him. That would be awful to be in that situation. Anyway, I told Elder Hastings about him later and he said, "Mr. Collins, huh? It should be Mr. Colon if he has to use the toilet so much." That time I didn't try not to laugh, I just laughed. Anyway, after Elder Gibbons and I finished our exchange, he just told me that I was a really good missionary, and that he never would have guessed that I have only been out for a month. I told him that he was a good missionary as well, even though he jokingly claimed to be an apostate.
I probably told you about Roger last week, but we have been continuing to meet with him. I'm really excited about teaching him. He seems really solid, has been reading the Book of Mormon, and I'm pretty sure he knows it's true already. We had planned to give him a church tour on Saturday to show him around first because he told us that he would come on Sunday. We called him about an hour before to make sure that he was still up for the tour, but he told us that something was wrong with his car, and that he wouldn't be able to make it. We asked him if we could just come over to his house and have a lesson with him and he said we could. We talked all about the Book of Mormon, and how his reading was going. He told us that he had started reading just at a random chapter in the middle of the Book, and when he was able to find it again, it was Alma 32. That is like one of the best chapters in the Book of Mormon, and it talks all about exercising faith. Coincidence? Probably not. Anyway, he told us that he didn't really understand it that well. Mostly what he didn't understand were some of the names that he had never heard before, and a couple of new vocabulary terms that he didn't know. It wasn't hard to help him get the gist of it. We told him that it would make more sense if he began reading from the beginning, and he said that he would. We read the introduction at the front of the Book of Mormon with him, and we talked about the last two paragraphs. They talk about reading and praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true, and therefore knowing that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that this Church is the Lord's Kingdom reestablished in these last days. He committed to praying about the Book of Mormon. After he did, Elder Hastings asked him, "If you come to know it's true, what will you do about it? What action are you going to take?" He thought about it for a minute and then told us that he didn't really understand the question. Then Elder Hastings did something that we hadn't planned for, but that was totally right in the moment. He asked Roger, when he came to know that the Book of Mormon is true, if he would be baptized. Roger told us that he would. Man, I was so pumped. Our prayers have been answered in that we were led to Roger a couple of weeks ago. We didn't set a date with him, but now he really has a solid understanding of our purpose in teaching him is. Roger really wants to know the truth, and wants to know what path to take in life. I hope and pray that his prayers are answered, and that he will find that truth that he seeks in the Book of Mormon. I'm really excited for him, and we are hopefully meeting with him tomorrow if the weather isn't too bad.
Speaking of that, we have been told by President Sainsbury and the APs to stay inside tonight and not proselyte. P-Day ends at 6 PM, so normally we proselyte from 6-9, but they told us not to because of the weather. Hopefully they don't say the same thing tomorrow, because I don't want to be stuck in the apartment all day, and I really want to see Roger. We also have another appointment or two tomorrow. When we received word to stay inside, the weather was not bad at all. In fact, it wasn't even raining or windy yet. Right now it's raining, but it is bearable. I guess President knows best, and we'll do what he says.
I got to speak in church yesterday for the first time as a missionary. I really need to get better at being able to write talks quickly. I wrote a pretty good talk, in my own humble opinion, but it took a lot of time for me to put together what I did. It's a lot easier to throw together a lesson really quickly (though you aren't supposed to do that) than it is to throw together a talk. They take a bit more time and prep. Anyway, I spent quite a bit of time on it, and it went pretty well. Unfortunately, we didn't have any investigators at church yesterday. We have really been struggling with getting people to church. I don't know why, because we invite like crazy, and we text and call and remind everyone we have invited on Saturday evenings. Like I said, Roger had some car trouble, and didn't feel comfortable getting a ride from a member. A couple of our investigators had work, or had to watch the kids and/or grandkids. But I still feel like we should have more people at church given the amount of people we invite. There's not a whole lot more we can do about it, because eventually it is up to the the person to decide whether or not they want to come. I know that investigators are a lot more likely to be baptized on their date, and keep their other commitments if they come to church regularly. We have been praying for more baptisms, so I guess that we need to do better at praying for better church attendance as well.
Mom, thanks for ordering me the ukulele. It actually came when you told me it would! I was so pumped that you said two-day shipping and it was actually two-day shipping. It just makes me sad that I don't have that much time to play it. I have to read Preach My Gospel, the Book of Mormon, the other scriptures, and I started reading Jesus the Christ about 2 weeks ago. Also, Elder Hastings always goes to bed at like 9:45 or earlier, and I don't want to play it when he is trying to sleep. Anyway, it's really fun to play, and I try to get in as much time playing it as I can each day. I'm pretty much a pro by now. (By the way, you only need to know like 6 chords and you can be a pro, too.)
Well, this has been a good week. I thank each and every one of you for your prayers in behalf of me, Elder Hastings, the other missionaries that I serve with, and the people that we are teaching. You are all in my prayers always. I love you and miss you all. As they say here in the South, "Have a blessed day!"
Much love,
Elder Beach
Eating at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Morning hike to view the sunrise.
My zone on the sunrise hike.
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