First off, we were able to visit with Hunter this week. About 2 weeks ago he just pulled up to us in his car and said, "Hey, you should come to my place and we'll talk." We weren't really sure what to think about that, because usually the only time someone is really excited to see us is when they want to argue about something. Though those visits are basically useless, I'm not going to lie...they're fun. So whether someone wants to argue or not, if they ask us to come over we will. We stopped by a day or two after he pulled us over, but nobody was home. We left a note on his door, but never heard anything from him again. Then the other day, we decided to stop by again. He let us right in and we sat down and talked. He's originally from Gadsden, and has lots of family in Attalla, so that was cool to make a connection there. Hunter has been in Tuscaloosa for about a year as a student at one of the community colleges here. He said that he was pretty religious in Gadsden and attended church regularly, but hasn't been able to find a church that fits him in Tuscaloosa. He told us he had stopped us that one day a couple weeks ago just because he had seen us riding around a lot, knew a little bit of the sacrifices we make, and figured that what we had to share was pretty important. All of that was music to my ears! It was so awesome! We shared with Hunter the message of the Restoration, and invited him to read the Book of Mormon. We related the story of Joseph Smith to him, and how he was looking for a church but couldn't seem to find the right one. After we taught him about how truth has been restored, Hunter told us that he was excited to read from the Book of Mormon, and we are excited to meet with him again this week.
William has been working overtime this week and so we were only able to meet with him once. I'm not sure exactly what he does, but I know that he works at the Mercedes plant. He told us that there are some big boss executive dudes that are coming in the the plant soon, and so everyone has been working extra so it is extra nice for them. Anyway, we did have one lesson with him and it was really good. Like I said before, William has a desire to learn unlike anyone I've seen. That being said, he struggles a lot with reading and comprehension skills, but is working hard to get better. When we sit down and explain things to him then he gets it, but if he just reads on his own then it's a struggle. Anyway, we read a chapter with him for our lesson, and he's doing a little bit better. He even made the comment to us, "I'm getting better at reading! And I feel the spirit so strong when we sit and discuss things." Man, I love William. He's a stud. We got our hands on a children's Book of Mormon, and we are going to bring it by next time we go over there to help him understand things better when we aren't around to explain it. Hopefully that will help. Anyway, we are hoping that his work schedule isn't quite so crazy this upcoming week so we can see him more.
This week the YSA branch had a combined sacrament meeting with Birmingham, so they all went up to Bham this Sunday. As a result, we were able to attend the home ward here in Tuscaloosa for the first time since getting here. It was pretty fun, and it was good to meet some new people. We did hear one unfortunate bit of news while there. We talked to Allison Rowe about her neighbor that she was going to give a Book of Mormon to. On the day she was going to bring the Book over, her neighbors weren't home. So she put it in a bag with a note, and left it on the porch. Later, Allison found the bag and the (unopened) note back on her porch. They haven't talked since. (This was a couple weeks ago.) She was pretty sad about that, and I was too when I heard it. It's happened to me plenty of times, but it's especially sad when it's a member who is trying so hard to share the gospel with their friend and then just gets shot down like that. It's pretty disheartening. But what matters is that she tried. She did her best to share her testimony and share the things that have brought her joy. As a missionary you learn to get over rejection quickly, but when you aren't used to it, it's pretty sad. Elder Cook I believe said something really cool in his talk last week in Conference. He talked about how people are sometimes scared to do missionary work because they are afraid of losing their friends. But Elder Cook said that if we try to share it and they reject us, they will still be our friends. That was a cool thing he said, and a good comfort to people like Allison who try hard and then get rejected. If this happens to you, just keep your head up. Keep trying. You did the right thing. God is proud of your efforts. They are not wasted.
I have a testimony of that. We can still love people, and they can still love us, even if they don't accept what we offer them. I have had, and heard of, too many experiences to show me otherwise. There are plenty of people that I have met and come to know and love who never got baptized, or maybe even came to church. Just love people. That's the most important thing.
I love you all. Have a great week. Know that you're always in my prayers.
Elder Beach
#RollTide
PS - We got to go the Alabama spring game this week. 'Twas pretty cool. The expected turnout was 75,000, but there were only about 30,000 there. Haha pretty disappointing, but still quite the crowd for a spring game. I look forward to going to a real game at some point in the future....
Bryant Denny Stadium before the Spring Game.
Only 30,000 people showed up for the game. In a stadium that holds almost 100,000 it seems pretty empty!
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