sooooo ya this week was really really good. i learned a ton and made a ton of progress as a missionary and a person. our investigators are doing well and i thank God for that.
so tuesday was really really interesting. the day started out with our first appointment falling through. we tried someone else afterward and that didnt work either so we did some street contacting. then it was time to meet the branch president. he picked us up and took us to his home where we ate with his family. they were soo nice and we ate tacos. first thing that slightly resembles home haha. they are really cool fun people and i could understand about half of the things they said. after that we talked with the president about how we can help the ward and some other things and that was wayyy good. then we tried this idea my companion had. we put a map of the area on the floor and we proceeded to talk about how the president has the keys for the people that live in his branch boundaries and we asked if he could tell us where to go to find people that are ready to hear the gospel. he agreed and asked us all to say a prayer. after each one of us, his wife included, said aloud a prayer, he scanned the map and pointed out 3 different places on the map the Spirit told him we needed to go. wayyy cool expirience. we have just started to tract the areas but we know there are people there the Lord has prepared. the rest of the day was, as it would seem, a nightmare. we had appointments set up for the rest of the day and back up plans for visits as well. in all we went to 13 different places, including members, investigators, street contacts, and less actives, all without a single one answering the door or allowing us to come in. i think that is probably a record. not all of them knew we were coming back a lot of them were solid seeming appointments. at about the half way mark i was discouraged to say the least. by the end i was happy, joking, and the 13 fallen appointments seemingly made me take myself less seriously. i realized that i could be angry or i could see how crazy the situation is and laugh. its probably a blessing because now everytime a appointment falls out or we are rejected i can look back at that day and take comfort. the rest of the week i was happy no matter what we were doing and no matter what happened. ive also been using a part of grandpa william clayton's, "come come ye saints" to help me realize this. my mission motto now is "no toil nor labor fear, but with joy wend your way." my triple great grandfather helps me all the time haha.
we did have some success this week too though! quite a bit of it later in the week. we had 6 investigators in church yesterday!! i dont think this place has had that many in church in a very long time!
one of them is B. we met him monday night and he is one of our best investigators now. he loves to learn and was soo stoked to have a book of mormon. we taught him the first lesson as we walked to his appartment with him. we saw him like 2 by "chance" during the week and each time we asked him if he had been reading and he had. we also invited him to come to church with us and set up plans to do that. he came yesterday with us and really enjoyed it. he agrees with everything our church teaches and really just wants to learn more. he says he is both muslim and christian and loves the book of mormon just as much as the quaran and bible. we teach him twice this week and probably will invite him to baptism.
another investgator we are really stoked about is C. she bore her testimony in church yesterday!!! haha she said she has tried a lot of churches and she feels the best at this one. she has come to church for the last 3 or 4 weeks now. she is very busy so its hard to get in to teach her but we should have our 3rd lesson with her this week and we plan on inviting her to baptism as well. she is the coolest lady. shes like 60 something but is like a teenager. loves to laugh. she is an animal something or other. not a vet but she does like maybe pet pshycic stuff? haha she has a radio show and she interviewed us on her radio show! we got to talk about what we believe, how to contact us, where our church building is, and how to learn more online. sooo cool. my awful german is going to be on the radio hahaha
one of the biggest successes this week is we had G come to church. she has been investigating for a few years now. her husband is handicapped so its very hard for her. we made some extra calls this week to check up on her and i think that made the difference because she actually came to church. something that has only happened like 3 times in her investigation. i think she was really touched by the testimonies born and she knows this is where she needs to be. we will invite her to baptism again this week and hopefully that exta love and spirit pushes her over the edge so she excercises some faith.
another thing is we were chumming (when you leave pass along cards in mailboxes before you tract an area) in one of these golden areas the president identified, when it started to rain. it had been a long day, it was the end of the day, and we were exhausted. the rain wasnt a bummer though, it actually energized me. i thought about how much i loved the summer storms back home and it gave me strength! i was smiling ear to ear, completely soaked, and completely happy. memories of home wíth family and friends can lift us up.
so ya that was the major points of the week. this week has soooo much potential. we have more solid investigators now than the program has had for awhile, we have 3 areas we have prepared people waiting in, we have zone conference, and we plan to visit members that we have prayed about to try to get some referals from the ward. this gospel is true. God loves us, we just need to trust Him and see the whole picture. i would say more but there is no time and i have already said a ton. love you all. letters are appreciated. pray for these people. i love all you at home. you give me strength!
-elder clayton
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