Hi Everybody!!!
Kamusta-po! This is the last week of my second transfer and so I am probably going to be getting a new companion. So a new language might appear (hopefully Spanish? Maybe Mandarin?) Who knows! Anyway life is good for me. The amount of guests coming to the Square is dropping quickly so it's getting harder and harder to find people but we have had a few miracles this week. One thing that I have noticed is how there are such opposites in the mission. Meaning, if we have a really, really good day on Monday, then Tuesday will either be slow or just average. Or if we have an awesome day on the Square, when we go to the teaching part of our day it will be slow. I know I know I need to work on faith but that is really how it happens! So Friday of this last week we had an amazing day in teaching. We found out that two of our investigators made it to church - despite the odds. Take that Satan! And they were meeting with missionaries! Such an amazing feeling. We were helping people change their lives and make decisions that will impact their whole families for the better.
Group #1: We go onto the Square and talk to these two guys who are about our age. We say hello and they practically run over to us (warning sign #1). I was thinking, "Wow, they are really enthusiastic about talking to us, maybe they haven't talked to any Sisters yet!!" Yeah, if only that was the case. They split us and the younger one starts talking to me. He holds out his triple (warning sign #2) and says, "You know, I was flipping through a few pages and I am just not sold on the Book of Mormon. How did you know that it was true?" Total Anti. Love it. I was like, "Oh, well, let me show you a scripture that really helped me come to know that this book is true." I grab the triple out of his hands - just to accidentally flip to the wrong scripture to see what notes he had written. Wow, he had posts like crazy in there and it was all cross-referencing scriptures to the Bible, and "proving" how it is a book of the Devil rather than of God. I was like, "Oh sorry, wrong page. Let me just get there. Oh, here it is. Oh, sorry, you put your post-it notes all over it so I can't see what it says." So I read him Moroni 10:3-5. We get into a discussion on how we know that we are not being deceived by the Devil. I asked him how he found out the Bible was true and he said, "There is archeological evidence that proves it." I responded, "Oh, so you base your salvation on archeology?" He started shaking and changed the subject to grace versus works. This poor kid. He was obviously new. He sounded like a robot and my heart went out for him. He was trying his best to save my soul. How cute. My final statement after that was, "If we don't NEED to do anything why is the Bible so big?" And I said I had to leave and grabbed Sister Belleza who was getting in a heated debate. Mostly I just smiled and listened to him talk. They tell us not even to waste our time so I didn't cast my pearls before swine... I mean friends of another faith.
Group #2 There were about 6 of them. They circled Sister Belleza and me and started asking about grace and works. The ring leader was their pastor and I knew that we had nothing on this guy. We bore our testimony and said we had a meeting to run too. Gosh, do we go to your churches in California (they were from Riverside) to bug them? I felt bad for all of the teenagers that he was training. They have no idea.
Anyway good happy stories - We met this couple from New York; spiritual tour from the beginning. I almost wanted to invite them for missionaries after 2 minutes of talking by the Temple. I told them the Joseph Smith story in the Assembly Hall and the man started shaking his head. When I asked what he thought about it he said, "Absolutely astounding!" I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad reaction but he continued and said, "To think that God would still appear to people today. If only it was true!" I said, "That's the best part! It is true and he was only 14-years-old when it happened." I felt something stir inside me when I said he was only 14. I repeated it again but it was such a confirmation moment for me of how truly amazing Joseph's prayer was. I could feel the spirit there so strongly and we took them to the statues of the priesthood being given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The man was shaking his head again. I invited them for missionaries but they said NO! I nearly choked. Why not?! But they had gone to the St. George Visitors Center and already had been referred. Dang. Oh well, numbers don't matter, they were awesome anyway. We met a man by the north gate alone by himself so we showed him around. He was so open and whenever we asked him a question he would say, "I have never thought about that but yeah it makes sense!" He referred but didn't want us to call until the missionaries showed up at his door. That's ok.
Now that I am teaching people I can see how the Adversary works on them. From the moment they leave Temple Square till the missionaries come they are being surrounded on all sides. I have never prayed harder in my life for Heavenly Father to protect them. I always thought it sounded silly but when two of our investigators ended up in the hospital the day before missionaries and church, and then our other investigators' cars break down, homes get broken into, etc. I want to rip my hair out because I can't be there to help them!
Anyway I have to run but I want to let you all know that this Church is true! Satan wouldn't try so hard to block us at every turn if it wasn't. Well, until next week! Pray for my investigators!!! Miss you all!
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