Hey everyone!
Don’t worry! We didn’t do anything wrong! I’ll talk about it in a sec!
Tuesday was a great day! On Monday, we were told that we had apartment inspections the next day, so we cleaned a ton on P-Day on Tuesday morning and during the Web-ex, we completely changed the extra room that was used for junk into a study room! It looks sharp! I’ll include a picture and video next week.
During the Web-ex, President talked about the yearly goals that were set in January and that we were on track to beat a lot of them, but investigators at church was a little low. He said that they were setting a mission wide goal of getting 208 New Investigators for the week.
As a district we would have to find 10 and as a companionship, we were asked to find 3. This would be a stretch for us because we usually don’t find that many, but President Miller said that this would help us see the Hand of the Lord in our work and it would show us that He was the one who found and prepared the investigators for us (that’s what the title is referring to).
After the Wedb-ex, we met with Troy and had a good lesson with him about budgets. We ran back home after Troy and finished cleaning. The Saxey’s (who are a senior couple from Gilbert, AZ) (they also do our apartment inspections) came in to town and they LOVE Casa Vallarta, so we stopped by there before apartment inspections. I’ve been to Casa Vallarta probably about 6 times over the course of 3 months and I love it! It’s so good! It’s also probably the only Mexican food they have on the Cape.
We passed apartment inspections and only had a few things to work on. We had a short lesson with Richard about the Book of Mormon and set up a date to meet with him! It was really good because it helped him to prepare for our next lesson!
Later that night, we drove to Sandwich, MA and had dinner at Tavernas, which is the other SUPER good restaurant in our area, with Tanner Little (who is a member from Utah who is playing hockey in the Cape League and who stays with Sister McLean) and Sister McLean. The PB&J wasn’t on the Menu, which was weird, but I ordered it anyway. It came out and didn’t have as much grape jelly on it as last time, so I asked if they could put some more on it, but the waitress said that he took it off the menu and that was the last of the Peanut Butter and Jelly they had in house. So, for the record, I got the last PB&J Bacon Cheeseburger ever served at Tavernas 😉
On Wednesday, I prayed that we would be able to find 3 new investigators that day. Kind of crazy, but we can do all things through God if we have faith. So we went to visit some people with Brother Hofhines and one of them told us to come back that night, and the other one wasn’t home, so in true Brother Hofhines fashion, we went tracting. We knocked on probably three doors before someone let us in! We talked to her for a few minutes and her friend came downstairs right at the beginning, so we taught them both about the Plan of Salvation and will probably see them sometime this week.
Later that day, we were walking on Main Street and there was a younger guy hunched over on a bench and when I said hi, he said hi back, so I stopped and told him about our message, and he said that he would really like to hear more about it! He said his name was Elliot and when we set up an appointment with him, he said,”That probably fits right in with your schedule” and sure enough it did. We think he is really looking for more in his life. Later that night, we went back to the people we stopped by earlier, named the Chase’s. They had gone to Salt Lake City and had gone to the family history center and had traced back their ancestry hundreds of years, but it wasn’t saved for them, so they want to do it again. We gave them the number for someone to help them in the branch and shared the first lesson with them, as well as why we do family history and brought in the building of the Hartford Connecticut Temple. They weren’t as interested in our message, but showed interest in the Temple Open House!
On Thursday, we had a ton! We served at the library in the morning, had lunch, and then went to our lesson with Elliot. At the beginning, a guy walked up carrying a sleeping bag and a tent and smelled like smoke. He asked if we were talking about the Bible, to which we told him that we were, and he joined right in. As we taught, Elliot didn’t say much, but the other guy, James, would jump in and fight against what we were saying or tell us what he believed. Eventually Elliot had to leave, but we kept talking to James. We eventually agreed on a lot of points and he wants to attend a worship service. After James, we went to visit a lady who has been in a nursing home downtown for quite a few years. We walked in and went to her room, but she wasn’t there, so we went down the hall, and it turned out that they were having dinner, and someone showed us to her. We said hi and asked if she knew her grandson. A doctor came up to us and said,”Just to let you know, she has dimensia, so she doesn’t understand a lot, but just to let you know so she doesn’t get angry”. At this point, everyone was looking at us. She was also hard of hearing, so we were speaking loudly. We shared a scripture and left with a prayer, and had to go back and get someone to leave because the elevator was locked…It was a really weird and tiring afternoon, but the Lord was watching over us, so I hope that someone was blessed!
Friday was Zone Meeting! We drove up to West Bridgewater and had a training on extending commitments. They left us with pictures with this on them: Ask Direct Questions, Promise Blessings, Bear Strong Testimony, Follow Up. The background picture is one of my favorites and I included it. It is of Christ extending his hand to Peter who is sinking after walking on water. I love it so much!
We also had transfer texts come in….I am being transferred to Hartford, CT to shotgun train. It is going to be hard to leave the Cape, but I am excited for the new challenge and calling that has been extended to me. I am thankful for the trust President Miller has in me and I know that the Lord will help make me worthy for His hire.
Also, Elder Fochtman and Hilbig, who were in my MTC district, are companions again, and Elder Shull, my MTC companion, is coming to Plymouth to be companions with Elder Evans! It should be a blast!
After Zone Meeting, we had a lesson with Barbara about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and about patience. She was really sad to hear that I am leaving, but I will see her tomorrow and this next week when she comes to tour the Hartford, Connecticut Temple!
After Barbara, we went to our lesson with Richard! Brother Lamb was able to come and we were going to talk about the Plan of Salvation, but it turned out to focus on the Book of Mormon. He had read a lot more than we asked him to, so we clarified the story in 1 Nephi and helped him see patterns of how commandment keeping blesses our lives! We are also meeting with him tomorrow! He is so prepared and we hope to lead him to be baptized!!
We didn’t get as much done on Saturday, but we were able to knock some doors. We went to see a Less Active/Part-Member Family, but they weren’t home, so around the neighborhood we went! Literally nobody wanted to listen to us….we were also struggling with a good opening, and a parable that I kinda made up a few days before hit me.
Every day during morning studies, we fill our jar with knowledge. The Holy Ghost can then use this jar and combinations of things we prepared in the morning to meet the needs of others. If we just rely on what we learned the day before, we are going to fail and not have what is necessary. It was a rejuvenating lesson to remember and helped me start a new and better path for this next transfer.
Sunday was spent seeing people like Brother Peters, the Spearins, the Bassetts, and everyone at church. I’ve met so many amazing people here and have grown a ton as a missionary. They mean the world to me and I can’t wait to see them again! Today we are in Plymouth at their church building (which is actually just a store front) since Elder Turley is going home, and so we have snacks, are playing Magic (which is a strategy card game that is big in the mission). I didn’t really think it would be cool, and I didn’t like the artwork, but they came out with a new series that is all about invention and is really modest, and so I’m really having fun with it now!
I am so thankful for my time on Cape Cod and for all of the amazing people I have met! I pray that you will continue to read your scriptures and try searching by topic, as our mission president has suggested. The next time I email, it’ll be from Connecticut!
Keep it Goin!
Elder Davis
Where the Lord Wants Me 