On the 4th we went down to this place near Montevallo, AL, called American Village. They have built a few buildings that look Revolutionary War era, and they had lots of cool little programs and reenactments of things, and lots of games and vendors set up. Our responsibility was to help with one building and event that was mostly meant for kids. They had lots of little games that kids from that time period would have played, and there were also a few other things that we helped the kids out with. It was pretty fun, and we all had a good time. We were there for about an hour and a half before our event time actually started, so we got to walk around a bit and see the different buildings and stuff. 'Twas pretty neat.
On Friday we had district council. As district leader I'm kind of supposed to be in charge of what we discuss and stuff like that, and I had no idea what to do for it. I had asked everyone in the district if there was anything that they would like to train on or discuss about, but I got little input. So I just decided to break out one of my go-to chapters in the Book of Mormon: Alma 42. We just went around the room and read the verses aloud and discussed insights we received as we read. It turned out to be an awesome district council as everyone shared their thoughts and their testimonies with one another about the things taught in that chapter. It's one of my favorite chapters about the Atonement of Christ, and it does an incredible job of explaining how justice, mercy, repentance, grace, and other things work together. The Book of Mormon is truly the word of God, and as we read and discussed it that day together, the spirit was felt very strongly by everyone. I love the Book of Mormon, and I love reading it each day. I learn so much from it.
On Saturday we met with the Allreds for interviews, and it went well. President Allred did my exit interview, and he mostly just said that I need to get married ASAP haha. Obviously the plan is to get married eventually, but I don't really have plans for that anytime soon. For now, I'm just going to finish strong and keep serving with all I've got for the next 2 weeks. I'm much more concerned with that than I am with getting married right now....
I believe I told y'all about OB and Mark last week. They were two homeboys that we met and invited to our sports night on Tuesday. We texted and called them both before to remind them, and we only got a response from Mark who gave us a "Maybe I'll be there." Neither of them came, and we have been unable to contact them since. Hopefully the tides will turn soon because they were both pretty interested in learning more about the gospel when we first met them.
I'm not sure if I told you about a guy named Doug who works at the mall. We met him there a little while ago, and he was really interested in talking about the gospel with us. He has lived in Utah for a couple years before, and he loved being around members of the Church because we are "the nicest people ever" according to Doug. I agree! Anyway, we saw him again this week and he told us that he's moving to Alaska in a few days, and so we can't really meet with him anymore. We'll send his info on up there, and hopefully the missionaries will find him.
Also, though we briefly got in contact with William last week, our efforts to reestablish that contact with him this week have been fruitless. So it goes sometimes. He's still in our prayers and we are optimistic that we will continue teaching him in the future.
It was odd to attend my very last testimony meeting as a missionary this week. We had an awesome one at the YSA, and though attendance at the branch was sparse, many shared their testimonies and they were all amazing. The spirit was strong and we were all uplifted as we shared the feelings of our heart with each other. One thing that I shared as part of my testimony is something that I want to share with y'all to close up this email. That is that I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and I am going to stand in his corner no matter what. I'm going to be in his corner because he was in the Savior's corner. I know that Elder Christofferson spoke the truth when he said, "Jesus has had no greater witness nor more devoted friend than Joseph Smith." The angel Moroni prophesied that Joseph's name would be had for good and evil throughout the world. Today, it sure seems to be had for more evil than good. But that's okay. I know that he was God's prophet, and I will defend Joseph Smith as well as defend the Savior for the rest of my life.
Alright, I love y'all, pray for you often, and hope you have a stellar week!
Love,
Elder Beach
#RollTide
Got my "rally cap" and my game face on! :)
The backstory of this picture is that we texted everyone in our district a message and told them to respond so we would know they got it. The Sisters responded with this picture, so we responded back with one of our own. (haha)
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