Monday, February 23, 2015

Planting Good Seeds

Totally still not Zone Conference week... But, that's okay. Zone Conference is a lot later this transfer, because we're having a mission tour again. So, we're going to have one the area Presidency come and speak to us, likely about the Area training plan. Because of that, it won't be until the second to last week of the transfer. Unusual, and kind of disappointing, but it is what it is.

But, you'll be happy to know that we are having interviews this Thursday, so I'll finally be able to get my ecclesiastical endorsement renewed, along with my temple recommend... I keep thinking it's going to be a long interview, but knowing President Millar, it's likely not. I know I've mentioned it before, but he is definitely a heart surgeon, just based on how quick and orderly the interviews are.

Work here's still moving along. It's sometimes difficult to see the actual progress we're making, since I do look at it from a day to day perspective, but I do think that things are generally improving. Elder Mercer seems a lot more confident in everything he's doing  and we're finding all sorts of really great people. I just keep praying that they'll turn out. We're certainly planting a lot for the future, finding all sorts of people who can meet with us in a month, or want to meet up, but just can't do it this week... Why is the world so busy? It's all good, though, I understand that I'm filling a need.

We picked up one really nice family this last week that we've started working with. There's a mother, a 13-year-old son, and a 6-year-old daughter. They're pretty great, and really trying to understand the things that we teach. The preparation for the lesson was a testament to me that the Lord does always recognizes the best people for the job. We tried really hard to find a member to come with us for the first appointment, and were unable to find anyone. So, we showed up, and apologized, and said we'd have to come back the next day. So, we called, and called, and called.... And finally got someone. The next morning -- they cancelled. And so we called, and called, and called, until we finally found a young man who was on half-term, and could come out with us. Turns out, the family's really into Minecraft, and so is he. And a lot of the different challenges in the family that I couldn't relate to, he could. I'm pretty grateful for that.

Also, learned a great lesson from the pioneers this week. I remember hearing a while back about how the pioneers always planted crops as they went along so that those that followed them in however many months would have food along the trail to eat, and how as they did that, the Lord would often bless them that they would have enough food to eat themselves. As Elder Mercer and I were walking through Highcliffe the other day, we stopped to talk to a man building a fence. He wasn't super interested, but he was willing to talk for a while, and so we tried our best to help him understand how important what we had to share was. By the end, he still wasn't too keen, so we left him a card, and continued on our way. I remarked to Elder Mercer about that lesson from the pioneers, and how when you spread good seeds, and tend the soil properly for future missionaries, you'll find good seeds and properly tended soil that other missionaries have left behind. So, we went to go knock on a few doors. We knocked on one, and then felt to talk to a man on the road working in his van. We helped him out with a pipe he was cutting, and then spoke to him about the church. He'd met missionaries before, and said he felt we were "on the same path, but didn't quite believe the same things". I asked him what he meant by that, and as we talked he recognized the fact that we believed largely the same things, and that the things beyond that we had to share were really quite logical. He gave us his address and phone number, and so we'll be by in about a month when he gets back from visiting his son in France.

Well, that's about it. English Mother's Day is on the 15th of March, and so assuming I carry through with that, that's when I'll be Skyping. I figure that doing that will be much more effective than waiting until May, especially because it likely reduces the chance of trunkiness resulting.


Visit to a local graveyard...



Fun Ward Activity

Love you so much!

- Elder Green

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