We started off our week up in Montgomery (that's where we emailed from last Monday). We then began our exchange on Monday night, went through Tuesday, and then we had interviews with President Sainsbury on Wednesday, after which we went back to Greenville. It was kind of dramatic trying to get permission to do a 36 hour exchange, and there was a bit of misunderstanding, and there's lots of details that I could rant about (more on that later maybe) but we'll leave it at that. It was fun to be in my old area with my old companion for a day and a half. It was a little odd to be in my old house, but not have it be my house. Elder Tyrrell and I went hard, hit those bikes, met lots of people, and had fun. We also hit the jackpot in that our dinner appointment on Tuesday cancelled, and then we talked the Villalobos into having us over. All 5 of us (Capitol is a trio currently) had dinner over there and that was lots of fun. They are one of my favorite families.
Interviews were interesting. I told President about some of our current predicaments (mostly the fact that he told us we need to visit every single member on the roster, but that is quite literally impossible given the miles we have). I also cleared up any misunderstandings about our reasoning behind doing a 36 hour exchange instead of 24. He gave a couple of suggestions on how we can do things, but not anything we hadn't thought of before, so we'll see how it goes. We have already been doing pretty good on miles, I just wish that they (meaning our vehicle coordinator) would recognize how many miles we have already cut out instead of just telling us to do better. (For example, about 6ish months ago, the car in this area was averaging upwards of 4000 miles per month. That's a lot, I know. However, currently it is the 25th, and our monthly miles are at about 1500. That is a BIG difference, and we have been trying pretty hard. That being said, our monthly allotment is 1300, so I am sure we will get a call at the end of the month telling us to try harder.) Anyway, interviews were good and I learned a couple of things that I can focus on to help out with the work down here. It was a good couple of days in Montgomery.
This week we got to meet with a guy named Ray. He is the boyfriend of a member in the branch who has been coming to church with her for the last 2 months or so. He watched the President and Sister Nelson youth devotional, and also has started to read the Book of Mormon on his own. We went to go talk to him about all of that stuff. We went over to his house, and he collects lots of things. His whole house is full of samurai swords and armor and Star Wars memorabilia, and Lord of the Rings stuff, and just all kinds of cool things. We spent like an hour just having a tour of all of his stuff haha. Then we talked to him about church and the Book of Mormon. He basically told us that he just wanted to read on his own, and go to church and just soak it all in. He didn't really want to have us teach him or anything, but he told us that he would come to us first if he had any questions. He then told us something that I wish more people would understand. He said in effect, "I figured that if I read the Book of Mormon and it's not true, I wouldn't have lost anything." That is the phrase that I wish every single person (member and non-member) would get into their head. Just read the Book! If it's true, you have literally found the one thing that will allow you to unlock every blessing available. If it's not true, well then you have spent some time reading a great book that teaches you more about the Savior. What a bummer that would be, right? Anyway, I'm glad that R is reading it, and I hope and pray that more people do.
We also met this week with a guy named David. I met him once before a few weeks ago. He is a member who was baptized about 2-3 years ago. Kind of an older guy, so he fit right in with the members, and was good friends with many of them. Then about 8 or so months ago, he had a falling out with one of the members and hasn't been to church since. And in all honesty, I have been told the story from the perspective of Elder Kapcsos, the member who David now hates, and David himself. It sounds to me like David is really blowing a tiny little incident out of proportion. When we meet with him he just tells us about how he misses going to church, he always asks us how specific members are doing, and I can tell he just wants to be there. However, he refuses to go because, in his mind, he hates one of the members, and he thinks that they hate him. I have talked before about how I just don't understand less-actives. I still don't. All of them have their reasons for not going to church, and I haven't heard a good excuse yet. It's just odd. I wish we could find a way to resolve the issue of so few people coming to church. In each branch/ward I have been in, the active to less-active ratio is about 1:5. Any suggestions? Leave them in the comments below (or email, whatever works).
Well, it was a good week. We have several follow up appointments this week with people we met a few days ago, and we're doing our best to find the elect. I love y'all, and am thankful for your prayers and letters and emails. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Beach
#RollTide
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