This week was pretty good. We spent some time on the bikes, spent some time in Fort Payne, and (almost) spent some time in Hunstville. We have been just working hard and having fun. I love being a missionary.
Last Friday we had interviews with President Sainsbury. I asked him about some possibilities of what might happen this transfer, and I guess it's not a guarantee that I will leave Scottsboro. I thought that I was out of here this transfer, but that may or may not be the case. Even though I've been here almost 6 months, I would be fine with another transfer. If I stay, I would be here for Deana's baptism, and I would just be in a place that I know and love. It wouldn't be all bad if that were to happen.
Right after interviews we drove all the way from Huntsville to Fort Payne for an exchange. We have been doing our best to keep our miles under control, and have been doing a fairly good job. However, on Friday we drove 272 miles - in one day. It definitely put a dent in our allotment. We had a good exchange though. I went with Elder Layton, and we had a good time. At one point, we were trying to visit a less-active member on their roster that he had never met. We drove like 30 miles into the middle of nowhere to find his house, and when we got there, his mailbox was in front of two houses so we just had to guess which one it was. Well, we guessed wrong, and we ended up meeting this crazy guy and talking to him for like 40 minutes about all of his conspiracy theories. One of the very first things he said to us was, "You know in Revelations, when it talks about the 200,000 horses crossing the Euphrates river?" After ignoring our "no" he said, "Well, I don't think there are that many horses in the world, so obviously it's talking about robots." Yeah, that is about how the rest of our visit went. Crazy guy, but he was super nice, and we did actually talk about the Gospel with him for a little bit. He had a copy of the Book of Mormon in his house, so we invited him to check it out and we gave him a Restoration pamphlet.
After that we went and knocked on the door of the less-active that we were looking for. He invited us right in (which was unusual to me - most of the "less-actives" in Scottsboro don't want to have anything to do with the Church anymore). But we were able to chat with him for a while, share a message with him, talk a little bit about how and why he joined the Church, and then invite him to church. I'm not sure if he came on Sunday, but at least we were able to invite the Spirit into his home and begin to reignite the testimony that he has. That's one of my favorite things.
On Saturday we went over to Dustin's house for a little bit. He still hasn't read any of the Book of Mormon on his own except for the introduction. We just don't feel like Dustin has a whole lot of "real intent." When we help him to understand our goals for him (including an eventual baptism), he agrees that those are his goals, too. When we ask him what would keep him from getting to that goal, he just tells us that he is on the fence right now, and that the only way he is going to tip one way or the other is by "studying the word," (reading the Book of Mormon) as well as attending church and continuing to learn. At this point, the question is always in our minds: Why haven't you done those things? If you are going to make a decision about joining a church, you should investigate that church. However, Dustin hasn't done much investigating beyond hearing the lessons. After promising us on Saturday night that his family would be at church, they didn't show. I'm a little bit disappointed in him, but I'm also just sad because I know how much the Gospel can help Dustin and his family. I think we are just going to give him a break from our visits for a while before we go back again.
Deana, however, is as solid as ever. This Sunday was Stake Conference, so it started at 9:00 instead of 9:30. We let her know on Saturday night, but I guess she didn't get the text until morning because she showed up late. That was okay though, because she got to hear the best part. For Stake Conference, they broadcast the first 30 minutes from the Stake Center in Huntsville, and the following 90 from Salt Lake City. It was expected that a General Authority would speak, but who we got was Elder Bednar! It was awesome, and Deana got to see it! It was a great Stake Conference. Right afterwards, we were talking to Deana and she just kept telling us (as always) how much she loved it and how much she has learned and how much she enjoys the things that she learns in this Church vs. all others that she has attended. She is a true investigator. She is reading and studying and praying on her own, learning on her own and with our help, and she is coming to church. She even told us, "I knew that I would be late this morning, but I decided that I wouldn't miss for anything." That was a great thing to hear. Elder Soares, of the Presidency of the 70, also spoke in Stake Conference, and he talked about temples. So naturally Deana asked us all about them. We answered everything that we could, and also referred her to mormon.org and lds.org to find out more about them. Deana is just awesome. I'm so excited for her baptism, whether I'm still in Scotty B or not. When Preach My Gospel or the Scriptures talk about "finding the elect," people like Deana are who it's talking about.
Last week we got to start teaching the Orgill kids. The two boys are 10, and they are twins. Their younger sister is 8. They have all been coming to church with their mom for basically their whole lives, so it's really easy to teach them. It's really exciting to teach people who actually want to get baptized. It doesn't seem to happen all that often, but there are people out there. I love teaching them.
One tiny bit of sad news this week: We were supposed to go over to Huntsville today (Tuesday) to the Space and Rocket Center. However, because of the 12 snowflakes that fell today, the Governor declared a state of emergency due to weather conditions. As a result, the Space and Rocket Center closed, and we were unable to attend. Sad day, but I think we'll get over it somehow.
One bit of info that you may or may not think is kind of cool: I have been working this week on creating my own "bashing Bible." A couple of other missionaries I have met have them, and they are awesome, so I have begun to make my own. Now, this Bible is not meant for use in a proselyting setting. Everyone knows that bashing doesn't make things better. It is mostly meant for me to learn, and then I can use it for instructional purposes, should somebody with real intent ask about a certain point of doctrine that we believe. Basically what this "bashing Bible" is, is a Bible that has been marked and cross-referenced to show the basic points of our beliefs and also to show how some common beliefs that other faiths often have are not all that accurate. My Bible is marked based on these categories:
- Add to or Take From
- Contradictions (the Bible contradicts itself)
- Faith, Works, and Faith + Works
- Godhead
- Gospel of Jesus Christ
- Lost Scriptures
- Plan of Salvation
- Points of the True Church
- Priesthood
- Prophecies of the Book of Mormon
- Restoration/Apostasy
- Temples/Family History
I got most of the 250ish references from other missionaries, but I added about 50 of my own as I went through them and highlighted. It's been really fun to take time and find where some very important doctrine comes from. There are so many great truths in the Bible that people understand and believe correctly. Unfortunately, there are many that people don't. During the hours I have spent putting this "bashing Bible" together, I've learned a lot of things. Perhaps the most important one is that we NEED the Book of Mormon. I'm so thankful for the added witness of the Book of Mormon to clarify doctrine. I love it.
I love all of you, too. I hope y'all have a good week. Hopefully I have my transfer news by the time I email next Monday. If not, I'll let you know as soon as I can. Thanks so much for everyone's prayers for me, Elder Marshall, Deana, Dustin, and others. We can't change other's agency, but we can sure pray that they use it in the best way. I'm thankful for the power of prayer. Love y'all, talk to you next week!
Elder Beach
#ROLLTIDE
#NationalChamps
Roll Tide!
My GoPro that I purchased at "Unclaimed Baggage".
Some new friends in Scottsboro, Brother and Sister Hicks.
Elders in their "natural habitat" - a bamboo forest! :)
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