So today we had interviews with President. This involved a "zone inventory" in the morning, in which President trained us on a few principles, then we had our interviews, then a companionship training with the assistants about our area book and things like that. It was really great! We've got a lot a new things to apply in our areas to work more integrated with the ward members and find new people to teach. One of the biggest takeaways from today is that our mission president really is dedicated to us and to the work. We feel lots of love from him and his wife.
This week was also full of great experiences as well. It was a little difficult of a weekend for the work, and we were both exhausted and wondering what more we could do to find someone to teach. Sunday night at 7:30 we found ourselves sitting on a curb going over our agendas. My companion said he didn't know what to do, and I was trying to encourage him, but inside I also asked myself if I really knew what I was doing. I decided to let our stresses off to one side for a moment. We only had a little more than an hour to proselyte, and there weren't any appointments. I thought we should visit a certain less active member that the ward council asked us to visit. We said a prayer to confirm what we were to do and afterwards I just felt like we needed to move our feet.
Our plan to visit the less active didn't work out. We felt prompted to visit someone we had an appointment with earlier in the day but the appointment fell through. Once we got there and knocked on the door of the building, the guy who lives closest to the main door answered as usual. It was kind of like an apartment building, but private, like there's a front door you have to go through to get upstairs to the other apartments. The person we were looking for wasn't home yet but we contacted the man who answered the door. He said he was busy working on his thesis, but after a minute he said he needed a break anyways, so he let us in to hear us out.
He said he'd heard from the missionaries over 5 years ago but he felt like they were rushing him so he stopped investigating. It was interesting his case because he said he didn't want to get baptized and go back to his old habits, so he figured he was better off not getting baptized. I simply asked him that wouldn't he be worse off knowing that what he's doing is wrong and not following God? He said "you know, you've got a point." He was really attentive the whole lesson and said he really wanted to investigate for himself and receive an answer. Honestly the Spirit was really strong and we could tell that this guy was being prepared by the Lord.
What I've learned from this experience is that the Lord is at the helm, and we have to be willing to submit ourselves to Him. Perhaps I have a little more experience in the mission, but when I get to a point that I think I know what I'm doing and I can do it by myself, that's where pride comes right in. I am humbled to be a representative of Jesus Christ as a full-time missionary. I know that as baptized members of His Church we have also covenanted to take upon His name at all times and in all places. True missionaries don't just wear a nametag on their shirt, they wear it on their heart.
I love you guys so much! Hope you all have an excellent week!
Elder Evan Smith
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