4/15/13

This week was good and bad. I'll start with the bad, and get into the good:

 

BAD: I am tired. I am as tired as I'll get out. I sometimes really miss my old area, and then I have to shove my mind back into focus mode and just think about what is going on here. The work here is stressful, simply because its different. Federal Way Zone is very much a planning zone. Everything is organized. You can practically foresee the outcome of any situation. I loved that. Here it's "Oh we're going here, and we get a call and have to go there! Then we have to go do this!" AND ITS SO RANDOM! That doesn't really sit well with me. I have been fighting tooth and nail to make this zone a planing zone. I feel like if we dont plan we plan to fail and there's just a lot to be worked on. I traveled to Tiffany Park area on Thursday to sit in on their planning session. Oh! IT was WONDERFUL! We PLANNED, as in SERIOUSLY PLANNED for an investigator. I had them making phone calls left and right! The deacons quorum president was involved to visit their investigators, we called people who were speaking in sacrament meeting to ask them to put a basketball plug in to make the topic more relevant to some investigators. The bishop was notified. Those investigators are getting baptized this weekend! OH GLORIOUS! Planning is great! I think the Lord likes plans because He inspires me most when I plan. I can't stand not having solid plans. It stresses me out, and Im stressed out. I have no time to make my own plans.

 

GOOD: Elder Barnett, Elder Burgess (the new missionary - turns out he is not a trainee, just another awesome companion), and I placed. 43 people on date for baptism for May 11th this passed week alone! That will at least yeild 4 baptisms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By the way, I am a huge fan of Elder Burgess. He is a humble Elder and does what he's asked and doesn't complain. He is also hilarious, which is great comic relief for me. In fact, the other day, it started down pouring hale here. Elder Burgess turned to me: "Want to lose the suit coat?" He asked. "Let's do it!" I replied. We did it because we knew Elder Barnett was on exchanges in the rain and we knew he didnt have a warm car like we did, so we went tracting with short sleeves and hale throbbing our skin! It was great! And on the way back home he just ran through puddles screaming "WATER! WATER! WATER!" and he sounds like Severus Snape so it was extremely funny.

 

Dash Point baptized 2 people last week! Paris and Nathaniel were baptized! YAY!

 

I traveled down to Fairwood area on Sunday to conduct an interview for a baptismal candidate named Chris. This was probably the highlight of the week. Sometimes, missionaries use interviews as a last ditch effort to get someone who is "on the fence," to get off the fence. This was one of those times. Chris is 19. He was wondering if he had a testimony. I sat him down and told him about myself. Explained why I was interviewing him and told him why I could interview him and what the interview meant. I had him tell me about him. Obviously I cannot go into too much detail, but there is one spiritual moment I would like to touch on. As he became more comfortable with me he explained "I don't feel AS SURE as everyone else does here about the Gospel being true, and... yeah." I looked at him in the eye for a moment and paused.

 

"Can you explain more?" I asked, "What does 'and...yeah' mean?"

 

He chuckled. "Everybody in this church says 'I know such and such is true... Im just not that strong yet. I don't see myself being like bishop or like Elder Fotu or Elder Rowden."

 

There again was a pause.

 

"What are your feelings about the Savior?" I asked him.

 

"Like... about what he did for me?" He said

 

"Yes." I said.

 

"I feel... Grateful. I am just thankful he did all that for me."

 

I allowed a pause again.

 

"What causes that gratitude? Do you know?" His silence answered the question so I answered: "Its the spirit! Why does your soul feel naturally grateful for something so precious? Its because you already know its true!" The room became quiet, that quiet that only comes from the spirit. I continued as I looked him in the eye. "There's someone eternally opposed to your happiness. You know that right? Who is it?"

 

He smiled a little, probably thinking the question was obvious, and it was. "Satan." He said.

 

"Right," I said, "We don't want to talk about him more than we have to. Not that we EVER want to talk about such a pathetic being. That Satan is going to do everything he can to keep you from happiness, and therefore, Heaven Forbid if you are baptized into the true and living Church of Jesus Christ!"

 

The spirit then came into my mind and said "He knows this is true."

 

I continued, "Chris, I know you know this is true. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Esspecially the father of lies."

 

Then I had an impression to give him my nametag. I didn't know why at the time, but I did it anyway. I took it off and passed it over to him.

 

He looked at it and I said, "Anytime you feel like doubting what you already know, you just remember that a servant of the Lord told you this day that you have a testimony that Jesus is your Savior."

 

I asked him to bear me his testimony. It was a fantastic testimony. I know he knows its true.

 

He is getting baptized this weekend.

 

Later, I called the two missionaries in that area and asked. "How is Christ doing?"

 

"Great!" They said.

 

"Is he still getting baptized this weekend?" I asked.

 

"Oh yeah, he's still a go!" They said, "By the way, Elder Lovell..."

 

"Yes?" I asked.

 

"Do you always give people you interview your nametag?"

 

We chuckled, "Nope." I said.

 

"Well, it was awesome." They said, "He pulled it out and showed it to us after."

 

 

 

Interviews are the best! I loved that!