This week we finally moved into our new house. It's pretty awesome. There are a few quirks to it that we are still figuring out or getting used to, but for the most part, it's much better than our previous living arrangement. We spent most of last P-day cleaning up and packing. Tuesday morning we spent hauling our stuff into the new house. We pretty much just dumped it all in the front living room and then changed and went straight to interviews with President Sainsbury. Following interviews, we had a quick district council meeting and then we went on an exchange with the Gadsden Elders which lasted until Wednesday evening. So our first day in the new house, we didn't even get to stay in it haha. Wednesday night we weren't allowed to proselyte past 6 PM (unless we had appointments made or members who invited us over) because it was Halloween. Ruby had us over for dinner at 6, and then we came home and just unpacked for the rest of the night.
Thursday we were finally able to visit the Baxleys. They are pretty cool, and I'm pretty excited for Brother Baxley. He's been reading the Book of Mormon, and he tells us that he's about halfway through. His health is poor, and he's not ready yet to commit to anything like baptism, but Sister Baxley is doing everything she can to make sure that they are sealed in the temple someday. Long way to go, but she is doing so awesome! They told us that they would be at church as long as they were feeling well, but they didn't make it. That was too bad, but we are going to keep visiting them often and see what we can do to speed up the progression of Brother Baxley. He'll progress when it's time and when he's ready, but maybe we can help him get ready a little sooner.
On Friday we had our Follow-Up Trainers Meeting (which is for trainers/trainees, mostly just to make sure you are both still alive and to have some trainings about stuff). It lasted pretty much all day. There was one point where the trainers and trainees were separated for about an hour for some different trainings. Ours as trainers only lasted about 40 minutes and then we just told funny mission stories for a while. That is one of my favorite things about getting together with other missionaries - hearing stories. They are especially awesome when I was either a part of them, or I know the people or the area in which they took place. Also at these meetings, we talked a lot about what we can do to increase the number of baptisms in our mission. One thing that was brought up is how much more Sisters baptize than Elders, and we discussed why that is. One of the major reasons that we decided was that Sisters are better at showing people that they love them. And people are more likely to progress when they know that they are loved and cared for. Now, it's not that Sisters actually love the people they meet more than Elders (which may or may not be true), but I guess that most of the time females are just better at expressing their love to people than males are. Due to that and other reasons, Sisters baptize more people than Elders do. That's something that I have been working on for the last few days, and will continue to work on throughout my mission and my life. I've been trying really hard to just tell those that we meet and teach that I love them, because I do! If I didn't love them, I wouldn't do my best to share with them the gospel and the blessings that come from living it. So I've been really focusing on that this week.
Another thing that was mentioned is something that Elder Rumel said. He is a guy who was trained in Scottsboro right before me by Elder Fotu, and then he was companions with Elder Hastings. Those 3 are all guys that I love and respect a lot. Anyway, Elder Rumel said a little while ago, he and Elder Fotu were talking, and Elder Fotu said to him, "You know, I really hope that everybody in this mission makes it home. And I don't mean home in a year or two, I mean home home." I thought about that, and it has definitely stuck with me. I hope that we all do, too. And I don't just hope that everyone from the mission makes it Home, but I hope that everyone that I have come to know and love throughout my mission and throughout my lifetime make it there, be they friends, family, missionaries, members, those I've taught, neighbors, or whoever else. I hope and pray that we can all "make it Home." That's why I'm a missionary. That's why I'm here in Alabama as a representative of the Lord. I'm here to help people come unto Christ, the only person who has ever lived that can bring us all Home.
On our way home from our Follow-up Trainers Meeting, we stopped in Oneonta to grab a Little Caesar's pizza. While we were eating, we saw this guy who was pushing his car off to the side of the road and so we went over and gave him a jump start. Unfortunately, his car had a few more problems than just needing a jump. So after trying to start it up a few times, he eventually just called someone to come pick him up and we left. Before we left, we talked to him a little bit about what we do as missionaries, and we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. He said that it would be fine if missionaries came and talked to him some more, and so we got his info and sent a referral to the Elders serving in the Locust Fork branch. It was a good way to cap off the night.
On Saturday evening we went to go try and see Damion. He is a guy whom we have been seeing for quite some time, but we only go see him every couple of weeks because he just doesn't progress and he's kind of lazy. At this visit, we really focused on two things, 1) prayer, and 2) coming to church. Damion is a tough guy to get to commit to anything, but after we read from the Book of Mormon with him about these things, and we explained to him the importance of doing them and the blessings that come from it, he agreed to do them. He prayed at the end of the lesson for the first time in a long time, and he came to church! I didn't want to be pessimistic, but I was honestly surprised that he showed up. He stayed for all 3 hours and when we talked to him afterwards he said that he enjoyed it. We asked if he would bring his brother, Lee, next week (he's the one who didn't show up to the church tour/baptismal service, or church last week), and Damion said he would try and get him to come with him. So that was great!
Daniel also came to church, unfortunately his daughter, Gabi, didn't. He told us that she would have except she was not feeling well, so that was good to hear at least. We should be seeing her at church in the future. We were also able to meet with Daniel and the Branch President after church, and talk to Daniel about receiving the Priesthood and getting a temple recommend. He's going to be interviewed for them next week! Daniel told us how ready he was to start contributing and helping out. He more or less said, "I want to do something. Give me some responsibilities." Haha he's so awesome. When we explained to him a little bit about priesthood duties and responsibilities he was so excited to start doing them. I love Daniel, he's such a stud.
The Gadsden Elders also had another baptismal service after church and Daniel stayed for that and it was so awesome. Like my title says, we had a great weekend due to the continued progress of Daniel, and the fact that Daniel came to church.
Also, another great highlight of the week was that Alabama absolutely spanked LSU. Haha it was so awesome to check the score. Also Utah State is ranked #14 as of now, which is the highest I've ever seen them. It may be the highest they have ever been ranked, I'm not sure. So awesome! More good to add to our great weekend.
Alright well, love y'all! I'm loving it here in Attalla. Sometimes the going is rough, but the Lord is definitely looking out for us and blessing us when we do our part. It's so great to be a missionary, and it's so great to be here in Alabama. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers, and know that you're in mine.
Elder Beach
#RollTide
PS - Due to the unusual amount of baptisms that have been poured out on our district the last few weeks, at interviews President Sainsbury called us "The Celestial District." Haha it was so funny.
#BirminghamAlabamaTemple
We moved into our new place, but the stove/oven we brought with us doesn't fit into the space. Our handyman friend has been helping us do some electrical work so we can soon cook in our house!
Exchanges with the Gadsden Elders. I was with Elder Bare.
Many of the Elders I have come to love in my mission!
Testing out the "wide lens" selfie feature on my camera.
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