First, in a most unlikely turn of events, Jalen Hurts became the hero and led Alabama to a crazy victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship. We didn't have the opportunity to catch any of the game (I will explain why in a moment), but we have caught up on all that happened and it was quite the game. Alabama is heading into the College Football Playoff undefeated. Roll Tide.
As the game started, we were trying to figure out what to do. I know that the white handbook says that "Saturdays...are a great time for proselyting because most families are at home and are together." What the white handbook doesn't say, is that that statement almost does not apply in Alabama during football season. But anyway, nobody had invited us to watch with them, and we didn't have anyone specific to see, so we started knocking doors. From some inside sources, I had hear that the score was (I believe) 21-7 for Georgia in the 2nd quarter when we started knocking. We hit a few doors, and most didn't answer. The few that did quickly turned us away because the game was on. We finally happened upon a 34-year-old guy named M. He told us that he didn't care much for football, and he immediately let us know that he had just completed a 14 hour shift as an ambulance driver. We hardly had time to respond to anything he said before he just started telling us story after story about his past 10 years as a firefighter, EMT, ambulance driver, etc. Super cool guy, but he barely took a breath for like 2 hours while he just told us these stories haha. By the end, I said to him, "You know, we've been here for 2 hours and I don't even know your name." He told us, and we introduced ourselves, and we told him a story of our own - the story of the Restoration. It was brief, but he seemed genuinely interested, we exchanged phone numbers, and I look forward to seeing him again in the future. (Side note: While we were talking with M, I couldn't help but wonder what the score of the game was. However, his neighbors a couple doors down, ones who had just turned us away, were watching the game. They were VERY loud, and so I could tell that Alabama was doing better even though we couldn't see it. It was funny to hear them just cheer and complain at random points while we were talking on the porch.)
The last few weeks we have been struggling to get people to church. I'm not really sure why. We have had 4+ people who we are expecting to be there each week, and none have come. I'm not sure what exactly the reason behind some of them are. The Gadsden Elders had another baptism on Saturday, and we invited lots of people to that as well. None came. The Bs told us, "If we aren't at the baptism, we'll for sure be at church." They weren't. We invited K to the baptism, and she just ignored our message. We asked her member friends to reach out and invite her to it, and to church again since she hasn't been for a few weeks. They told us they would, but she didn't come to either. D told us he was out with his friends on Saturday night until 5 AM, and that's why he wasn't at church. I'm not really sure what's up with G, but while her dad is consistent, she still has only been to church the one time about 6 weeks ago. We are working on people, loving them, teaching them, and helping them, but it's still just frustrating sometimes when people choose not to live the commandments we invite them to live, and thus miss out on the blessings promised from living them.
D is interesting. At some points, I feel like he is understanding things really well, and then sometimes he seems like he's completely clueless haha. He's really limited in his basic gospel/biblical knowledge. We read part of 2 Nephi 2 with him this week, and we talked about the Fall of Adam and Eve. We talked about its purpose, its consequences, and how those consequences (sin and death) can be overcome through the Atonement of Christ. It was a little bit deeper than I had intended to go, but D was understanding things, asking great questions, and it was going really well. But then he stops us and says something like, "Wait, Jesus was born after Adam?" Yes D. Everybody was born after Adam. He was really confused by that, and we had to spend some time explaining other things again haha. It was quite the adventure. But honestly his retention is better than most people, and he is slowly but surely understanding things better and better. Now we just need to help him put his knowledge into action. Like James says, faith without works is dead. Gospel knowledge, without gospel living, is dead also. I know, like John 7:17 states, that "if any man shall do his will, he will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." We learn gospel knowledge, we put it into practice in our lives, and then the spirit confirms to us that that specific doctrine or practice is from God. And then we naturally will want to learn more about it and live by it more as well. What a cool cycle!
On Sunday morning, one of the members on our street came to church and said that the tree in between them and their neighbor had fallen on their neighbor's house. We organized a cleanup crew pretty quickly and met after church to help get it cleaned up. Luckily the tree didn't split their house in two, as it probably could have. it fell on their porch and destroyed the corner of their roof above it. We chopped and sawed and cleaned up what we could, but somebody with some heavier equipment is going to have to finish the job for us. But it was a great opportunity to minister to a nonmember neighbor, especially since there are a whole ton of members on that street. They were very appreciative.
We also were able to go and visit T again this week and have a lesson with her. We mostly talked about the Book of Mormon and its importance, and how it goes together with the Bible to testify of Christ. We also talked about how it is evidence of the Restoration of the gospel to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. She had lots of random questions about Jesus, about science/religion, and about Adam and Eve. We answered each of them, and invited her to keep reading the Book of Mormon. We also invited her to church with us, but she told us she was Catholic and that she goes to church with her dad on Sundays. She did tell us that she might visit sometime though, and she said we could come back again and teach her more about the Book of Mormon.
Like I said earlier, the Gadsden Elders had a baptismal service on Saturday for a couple named C and N. They are super awesome. Some of the coolest people I've met. They were actually met by Sister missionaries about 9 months ago, and they just kept meeting and learning and reading until they were finally able to enter the waters of baptism. I know that people like C and N, D and R, and others whose baptisms I have witnessed, are out there. Sometimes it seems that they are few and far between, but they are out there and they are waiting for the gospel to be proclaimed to them. Something that C said at the service (and something that D told us a couple months ago) was this: "The more I read [The Book of Mormon], the more I believe." How true that is. It always strengthens our testimony, and brings us closer to the Savior. The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and His mission more clearly and powerfully than any other book. Anyone who reads with a desire to know the truth will be able to say, "The more I read, the more I believe."
I love y'all! Have a great week! Hope everybody had a chance to watch the First Presidency's Christmas devotional last night. It was awesome. Go watch it if you haven't.
Love,
Elder Beach
#RollTide
#SECChamps
#LightTheWorld
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