Well I had my first full week in Fairfield, Iowa. Man, I have never worked this way! Elder Wilson and I have just been attacking working in this area and are working our butts off. It has definately been an amazing week.
We had the opportunity to do interviews with President Jergensen this last week and that was awesome. It's always a pleasure to get to address concerns with your mission president face to face, and to just talk and find out what he has in mind, and what He has in mind. I guess I'm supposed to make this area explode or something, because President Jergensen is expecting alot out of Elder Wilson and I- he believes we're a powerful companionship; in which I think we work really well together.
So this last week Elder Wilson and I have spent alot of time tracting. We were left with no investigators after last Saturday, because well, we baptized our last one... so this area requires alot of creativity to find people to teach, but in the long run we came down to the idea that we need to just tract and OYM like crazy (OYM means to Open Your Mouth, or just talk to everyone on the street we can). On the Sunday that Randy got confirmed though, we recieved two referrals that were very exciting. We weekly planned for them and on Friday we just so happened to set a date for one of the referrals- Amanda McGuire. She is currently engaged to a member in the Branch and she grew up Catholic. But she decided she'd take the lessons since she was asked to and she's marrying a LDS so she better understand what LDS' believe. She said she felt really good while talking about it, and she likes it more than the Catholic Church and what we taught her made her want to be baptized. We are working with her to prepare her to be baptized August 1.
We've also been working with a Less-Active who we've been trying to get back to church, we visited him 3 times this last week to remind him that he had a ride for it, and last minute he decided to not come. That was a bit of a downer, but it's on his head. We did what we could to get him to come to church, we'll just have to help him come this next Sunday!
While tracting Elder Wilson and I have set a goal- our mission is currently pressing that there is too much "Bible Bashing" going on. Missionaries are becoming to focused on knowing how to put down other peoples beliefs and how to prove them wrong and make them look stupid, instead of you looking stupid (when in turn you do look stupid to the people who drive by everyday walking in the very humid weather that's over 90 degrees and in a white shirt and tie), it just doesn't fulfill our purpose.
It isn't the Doctrine of Christ.
So our mission has a rule now to only study out of Preach My Gospel, and the Book of Mormon, and to only teach out of the Book of Mormon. Elder Wilson and I have been working pretty hard on this, and we've made a personal goal that each of us will hand out 2 Book of Mormons daily. It's very very hard. But this last week we did hand out 1 each! Both in the same day. The Book of Mormon I gave away was a rather interesting experience granted she was a Quaker and she was trying to sell a really old Winnie the Pooh book the moment we knocked on her door- but she was interested in the basic principles of the Doctrine of Christ. That is something that is amazing to me; as a missionary we often try so hard to point out great doctrines and vast things that are "bound" to get their attention. It was simple, if we teach the purpose and the role of the Book of Mormon then they will understand OUR purpose as Representatives of Jesus Christ, and they will be edified!
I want to invite everyone who hopefully is reading this, which there probably aren't alot- but if there are- to read 2 Nephi 31. Study it, and pray about it. Think about the 5 principles to the Doctrine of Christ which are the focus, and message of the Book of Mormon:
1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Atonement
2. Repentance
3. Baptism by Immersion
4. Recieving the Gift of the Holy Ghost
5. Enduring to the End
I know if you all will do this then your Faith in Jesus Christ will grow, and that faith will lead to action- you'll want to be better and you'll want to repent- you'll follow His example. Hopefully for some that will be baptism and recieving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and fortunately others already have recieved that sacred ordinances. But I hope you take in your mind and in your hearts the desires and the purpose of the sacrament. Why we partake of it. Think on your baptism, and what that means to you, and to your Heavenly Father. What does it mean to you that when you take of that ordinance, that you are recieving a remission of your sins when you take it worthily, and faithfully? Are you taking it worthily and faithfully? Do you feel clean and forgiven after you take it?
I want to invite you all to commit yourselves not to me, but to God and to Jesus Christ, as you take the sacrament. When you take the sacrament think of Jesus Christs Atonement, and what that is to you- pray, "Lord, I would follow thee."
Come unto Him, and choose the right.
I love you all
This I share in the name of our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ
Amen
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