Where the Lord Wants Me

So last week I emailed on Tuesday, so I got a little bit of a jump on the week.

Tuesday evening was a learning experience…..we got done emailing a little late and realized that a short appointment we had was about 20-30 minutes away and that we were going to be very late. We texted them and asked if they still wanted us to come, and they were okay with it, so we trecked on! On the drive, we took the freeway and it was getting us there pretty late, and the GPS has taken us longer paths sometimes, but really only when we were on shorter distance, and even though we were on faster time, I thought I knew what I was doing 😉 So I got off at a certain exit that I had determined would get us there faster, and yes, we didn’t have to go two exits further for a turn around, but it was much, much slower. It added about 10 minutes onto our drive, and by the time we finally got to their home, we were about 25 minutes late…..thankfully, they were very gracious about it and with young kids, they were having some “fun” of their own. The Spirit instructed us to teach about humility, which was a very timely topic, and for me, it was a little uncomfortable, since we had come so late. We had a healthy conversation. We talked about what humility is, and how they, after having a big move, had experienced humility. They shared the story of how they got the house they just had moved into and how they had to be humble to the will of the Lord in the process of getting it, but how it turned out for the best. It always seems that way. When we listen to him, it always turns out well. It’s tough to see that right up front, but it pays off when we look back. That doesn’t mean I’m perfect at it, very far from it, but we can all work on it every week. It was a great lesson for me and they said that it was just what they needed, so it all paid off!

Wednesday was Minteria’s Baptismal Interview. We didn’t have a whole lot of prep time, since we decided to do it on Tuesday, and it helped that President White from the Mission Presidency was going to be down in Bridgeport on Wednesday, but we went over in the morning, went over the questions, and then drove to Bridgeport. Oh! Also, I was on exchanges with Elder Sandage, who is from Taylorsville, UT and Elder Nagtalon was in Southington with Elder Hoth. We drove down to Bridgeport, and President White and Minteria connected really well. He helped her feel comfortable with the whole interview, and she passed!!  After her interview, we went to dinner with Sister Taggart and had delicious chicken and baked vegetables. She also always makes a whipped up homemade white sauce with whatever greens she has in the house. She taught me a valuable lesson. You just have to use whatever you have and make do with it. We ate outside since Josh, who is usually there, wasn’t there. We talked a lot about her experiences growing up in Venezuela, picking coffee, getting home after walking miles to their small farm, and most of all, how her mother was an amazing missionary. She would look at someone and say, “They need to be baptized” and then she would go out and baptize them! She shared many experiences of when this happened, and one with a devout Catholic man, and they started their lessons with the rosary so they could teach him. Her mother was so bold, and it carried to her daughter! Her mother would say,”Nothing I say can offend them. It’s the truth!” or something like that. (While we were there, we also worked on killing rodents with smoke bombs since they are ruining the retaining wall….part of a day’s work!).

Thursday we had Weekly Planning, and we finally figured out how to do it! We just look for the needs of the people, and work off of the teaching record. It is really non-stress and helps us keep moving, but only if the teaching records are up to date, otherwise, it is as slow as a sleepy elephant. We had a lesson with Bill and Robin, and afterwards, we stopped by a less active member’s house. Kenneth lives around the corner and hasn’t been to church in years, but when we came over, he seemed more than willing to come to church, and even to take Bill and Robin to Minteria’s baptism! He also gave us homemade jam and not to mention, he showed us around his big garden on his small plot of land. It was awesome! We also saw Sergio and taught about Charity, which was a suggestion from Sister Taggart. He loves charity, and it is one of his central focuses, and Sister Taggart thought that it would be nice if we focused on what he likes. So we talked about Fast Offerings, Humanitarian Work, Temple Work, and pretty much every other charitable thing the church does. He really appreciated not only us talking about charity, but showing how we live it in our everyday lives. He said that that is what is missing in many churches… they just don’t have charity.

Man, I didn’t even get through the details of the week. Suffice it to say, Minteria was baptized, I was a witness, and it was awesome. The spirit was there and you can just see a change in her countenance. She is amazing! Kenneth has had a lot of background spiritual experiences, like Sergio, and they both are growing. Listen to the Spirit… love you all!

-Elder Davis