Hey guys!
This was a great week! We got one new
investigator, and I'll go into detail about that shortly. We also had a tad bit
more success with lessons in general, but we still got stood up a bit this week
at times. We also did our best to focus on contacting, but a few wrenches got
thrown in there. I'll get to that as well.
On Tuesday, anywho, we went to deliver a French
Book of Mormon to a man, named Morocco, whom we met a few days prior. We got to
his house, which turned out to be a complex for students, but he wasn't there.
We knocked on a few doors, then met a man named Kingsley (a great name) after he
let us know that Morocco was gone. We explained what we were there to do, and
that we would enjoy speaking to him about the church as well. He let us in and
we gave him the first lesson, then invited him to be baptized on the fifth of
November. He accepted! We will be trying to really solidify this as we keep
meeting him, and I'm really hoping this works out! We then finished with a
prayer and as soon as we were leaving the building, Morocco came running up and
we were able to give the Book of Mormon to him anyways. Unfortunately, he only
speaks Italian and French, and scarce German, so I'm afraid that we may be at a
standstill for him for now, but I am confident that if he reads, that will open
up the path for him to learn mostly by himself through the Spirit. If that
happens, we could have some great lessons in spite of language barriers. If
not, we'll do what we can. But that was a cool day. I'm glad we got to meet
with Kingsley and deliver that Book of Mormon, and I have high hopes for the
future.
We also had a member lesson with a man named
Inan. We had a very sweet old lady, "Schwester Plattner", from the ward come
with us to greet him, since she is actually his neighbor. The lesson was pretty
good, but we weren't able to get a solid return appointment in the lesson
itself. We'll be trying to reschedule with Inan. Also, he rushed us out
because his wife was coming home, who he said would be opposed to us being
there. That is a topic that will have to be dealt with eventually if we are to
keep teaching him, haha!
A wrench was thrown into our schedule that day
because the SIM card in our phone stopped working and got stuck very badly
inside of it. We were planning on contacting our other investigators to meet
the night it broke, so we got a bit messed up there. The next day we finally
met with our other district elders, and got the phone fixed, but that was a bit
of misfortune for us that day, haha!
Overall, we could have had much more success
this week if we didn't get held up by things such as the phone, or other
incidents that occurred throughout it, but I am also pleased with our
opportunities to have met Kingsley and Inan, as well as a few other
investigators! We're planning on really pushing ourselves for lessons this week
and have begun to schedule as many appointments as possible. I hope that this
week
proves to be fruitful!
I've read through the last of Alma and halfway
through Helaman this week in the Book of a Mormon, and that has been a great
study opportunity! These scriptures always reveal valuable truths and
principles. One thing I would like to focus on is the times which we read about
the "pride cycle" throughout these chapters, and the entire Book of Mormon. I
found a very cool scripture from Helaman 3, which reads:
27 Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful
unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy
name.
28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is
open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who
is the Son of God.
29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold
upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder
all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of
Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery
which is prepared to engulf the wicked--
I find it both wonderful and saddening when I
read about the phases that the Nephites and Lamanites in the Book of Mormon go
through in pride. It is shown that the Lord blesses people so greatly when they
simply turn to him. We preach so often to our investigators that our Heavenly
Father is waiting to distribute the greatest blessings of eternity to His
children, and that is because it is true. He does bless us. The sadness comes
when we receive such blessings, and then forget to thank the Lord or continue to be penitent. We may harden our hearts and forget the mercy of God, and when
we do that, we become subject to the worldly tumult and danger that constantly
threatens us in an increasingly wicked world, as occurs with Nephites and
Lamanites through the Book of Mormon. I hope we will never forget the Lord in
our lives, whether it be in times of sorrow or in times of prosperity!
Also, I will share with you guys the German term
of the week. This is how you say "Garb of Secrecy", referenced only once in the
Book of Mormon, in Helaman 9:
Vermummungsgewand
Also, I've found that in many cases, the more
old English that you read, the more you realize similarities between that and
German. Plenty of examples, but just one is:
"Wist" is a past participle of "wit", a verb
that means "to know" in old English. Weiß, or Weiss, in German, means "to know"
as well.
THE MORE YOU KNOW.
Love you guys! Thanks for reading and for all
your prayers! You all have great weeks!
Love,
Elder Wallentine
P.S.: I've had at least two dreams in German
this week. It has begun.
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