March 5, 2018
Hey everyone! This week was momentous for a few reasons. Tune in for more!
Monday Some things ran late on Monday, and we had scheduled to stop by some potentials that Elder Bushman and I had found a week earlier, but it didn’t seem like we had a lot of time. Our initial replan was to go home, get dinner, and make some calls for the week, but it didn’t feel right. We decided that we had enough time to go and do the stop bys and still be able to eat dinner. We parked further down the street and as we walked up to one house, that house didn’t feel right, but the number of another did. It was the house of Hector. Hector has a crazy busy schedule, but he was very nice to us and asked us to come back. We knocked three times, and his son came to the door, but no answer. We knocked again, but no answer. We started writing our info on a card when the door opened! Hector was pretty excited to see us, and even though we just wanted to set up an appointment, he invited us in. We talked about his religious background, and eventually transitioned into teaching him about how the preisthood was lost. We asked him,”What do you think happened after all of the apostles died?” He said,”Well, it sounds like the church crumbled and there was no one to lead it.” We literally wanted to hug him! He read some other scriptures and was SO attentive the whole time. We are hoping to teach Hector again this week, but I am so thankful that we followed that feeling, especially one that would have usually been easy to ignore.
Tuesday-After some visits with Br. Frantz, one of the members in the ward, one of the families we had planned to see wasn’t home at the time, so we had some extra time. One brother’s name kept coming up in random conversations throughout the day. We hadn’t seen him in quite some time, even though we had visited him a lot in the past. It took us forever to figure out where he lived, especially since it was dark and we didn’t have a GPS, but we got there! We knocked on the door, and he came to answer it, a little more shaken than normal. He sat us down and asked,”Do you have any prayers of comfort for people, because I haven’t been able to think of any?” He almost started crying, but kept it in. Over the last few months, he has had many close friends pass away, or be close to passing away and it has taken a toll on him. We had arrived right when he needed help. It was a testimony that Heavenly Father watches over all of us and cares for our needs.
Thursday-We met Elder Neeley! Elder Neeley was from Idaho Falls and had moved to the Tri-Cities Washington State area. He is really prepared and doesn’t seem phased at all by the mission. He’s ready to work and we’re excited to have him!
Friday-At District Meeting, we spent some time setting goals for the transfer. Eventually, we set three goals. 1) Look at the points for being a Successful Missionary every morning and night, to remind you about what makes you successful and to learn and improve each day. 2) Evaluate our teaching appointments by the points on Pg. 21 of Preach My Gospel after each appointment. 3) Ask yourself ‘Why?’ all of the time. Why am I on a mission, why am I studying right now, why are we working, why don’t I go home? Because we want to find prepared people to teach! This will help us gain more faith. It will be a good transfer and we are excited to work! We also met Sister Ussery (Usher-y), who is from Eastern Utah. She is excited to work with Sister Esplin and in the Southbury Ward!
Saturday-We stopped by the Bernardis early in the morning, and as we were going around to their door, they were about to leave in their car! Perfect timing! We were able to talk for a few minutes before they headed out. We hope they will be able to come to church soon. That night, we had the adult session of Stake Conference! Sergio didn’t know we were coming to usher, so he was so surprised when we all showed up! It was really funny. Also, he was giving a talk, in which he did wonderfully! He talked about Baptismal Covenants and how we literally make a marriage covenant with God, like the ancient Israelites did with God in the Old Testament. The prophets always say that Israel is an adulterous and wicked nation because they didn’t hold up their end of the covenant. Entering into a covenant with God means that we will obey his commandments, live like His Son, and always remember Jesus Christ. As we do so, He will walk beside us for our entire life and we will always have His Spirit to be with us. Many other people talked about commandments, like the Word of Wisdom and Tithing, that are important in keeping our covenants. I saw a lot of people I knew from the New Haven and Southington Wards, and also Elwood Harris, who is in the Southington Ward now! Pretty cool!
Sunday-We had Stake Conference and they focused on the Stake Goal,”Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ”. Many people shared their conversion stories and ways they share the gospel. It was a great way to be able to energize the members in a non-threatening or scary way! The focus was more on living the gospel and sharing what we feel (the Holy Ghost). It was amazing and it felt like heaven was hugging us the whole time! I hope you can all feel that love while living and sharing the gospel!
I love you all!!! Have a great week, and email me if you need any help with figuring out how to share the gospel.
Love, Elder Davis
Where the Lord Wants Me 