As of next week, I will have been a missionary for 5 months! My oh my, how time does fly. Speaking of time, I don't have much today, but I'll try and fit everything in as quickly as I can!
This work is pretty tough at times, but at other times it's absolutely incredible. Yesterday was one of those awesome days. Three of our recent converts (Cotter Love, who I baptized, and David and Diego Estrada, the twin brothers) received the Aaronic Priesthood, and they will be going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead on Saturday! The primary in our ward has been working hard and bringing their scriptures to church each week. When they do, they get to put a penny in a jar. When the jar was full, the primary president bought a hardcover copy of the Book of Mormon to give to the missionaries - us! All the primary kids also wrote their testimonies on index cards for us as well to give, with the Book of Mormon, to an investigator. It warmed my heart and made me tear up. It was so sweet and precious. The adults in our ward are pretty awesome too - they are really starting to trust and love Elder Wayne and myself. It's so wonderful to see. I love this ward, and when I get transferred at some point, it's going to be SO HARD to leave. To round off the day yesterday, Florance and Damari were both baptized!!! So many people came, the service went very well, and then the "reception" afterwards was wonderful. We had all sorts of traditional African foods as well as other yummy treats. It was a really great time. The best part? They all insisted that the Elders get the leftovers. Alright, more food! Hahaha. At any rate, the baptism was really special. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost for it, and Elder Wayne baptized both of them.
At the retirement home we give service at each week, they had a "Volunteer Appreciation" party for everyone that volunteers there. We got certificates and prizes to thank us - it was completely unexpected. It was really nice of them to do that for us!
This weekend we got to go to the Khmae New Year festival in Lynn! This is the year of the dragon. It was on Saturday - we helped set up, and there was a ton of cool things going on. Games, food, shirts (I bought one!), performances...it was a great time. We weren't allowed to proselyte, but it was still really cool to volunteer and to use the language. It was great to see so many Cambodians all in one place! Now, if we could only figure out where they all hide for the rest of the year...
In addition helping our investigators, we're working with a few less-actives, including a couple prospective missionaries! We had a couple awesome lessons with those guys this week - hopefully we can get them back to church and have a desire to serve. This calling as a missionary is just so fulfilling. It's amazing to see the lives of others change as they accept, or in some cases return, to the blessings of the gospel.
Last night, Elder Swasey cut my hair. I'll admit, I was a little scared at first, but he did a really great job! It was a good step for me to take in learning to trust and love other people more, especially my companion and fellow missionaries.
"Onward, ever onward, as we glory in His name!"
Best wishes and much love,
Elder DeLong
Monday, April 30, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Is it spring yet, or not?
I swear, if I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say "I'm all set," or "We're all set"...my goodness. I want to make a T-shirt that says "I'm all set" with "Boston MA" underneath that. That's the phrase here: "All set."
The weather here has been quite interesting. In the beginning/middle of March, it got really warm and SO beautiful, and then it got way cold again. And recently it's been warming up...and then the last few days it's gotten cold and windy again. It rained all day yesterday and is still raining today. I feel like nature can't make up its mind on what time of year it is.
We met these two little boys last week, who were probably about 6 and 10, ish. Their family are all Seventh-Day Adventists, and their parents were NOT interested, but they were! We talked to them for a while and had a lesson with them outside their home. It's too bad that we can't teach them without their parents, but they loved the Book of Mormon. Maybe their parents' hearts will be softened and other missionaries can teach their family at a later time.
Damari and Florance are all ready for baptism - we planned their baptismal service with them yesterday! It will be next Sunday, after church. Woo hoo! =D
I can't believe how blessed I am. In my first two transfers I will have seen 5 baptisms of our own investigators already! Wow. At any rate, we are way psyched for them!
It's back to P-days on Mondays again. At the end of each transfer, P-day is on Wednesday. So last week on Wednesday, we went and saw the Charlestown Naval Yard, home of the U.S.S. Constitution - "Old Ironsides!" She is the oldest commissioned warship afloat! So that was way cool. There's a couple museums there, and an old destroyer ship from WWII as well - the U.S.S. Cassin Young. It reminded me of my Grandpa on my dad's side, who was in the Navy, stationed on aircraft carriers.
Pres. Evans interviewed me and Elder Wayne this last week. He's a wonderful man and I had a great talk with him about my struggles as well as the things that are going well and all that I'm learning. It's going to be interesting having to adjust to the new mission president, who starts in July.
I wanted to close this email by describing what happened this last Thursday. It was an incredible day - probably the best day I've had out here. I was completely blown away by how everything turned out, and how guided we were. The hand of God was truly made manifest unto us. I will never, ever forget this day.
We had our weekly planning session, and went out to proselyte and teach and such around 4:00 PM. Our investigator who had an appointment with us at 6:00 that evening cancelled with us, but said she would be available at 8:00 instead. Our member who was supposed to come with us to the lesson couldn't make it anymore since it was later, so we scrambled around trying to find someone. We finally did, but he lives in Lynn and the appointment was in East Boston and we would have to pick him up. We were desperate though, since we wouldn't be able to teach her if we didn't have another adult male, so we agreed to pick him up. To counteract having to drive up to Lynn, we went around, trying to contact our referrals that live in Lynn. Our efforts there are usually pretty unsuccessful - people don't seem to like answering their doors or their phones for us...but not this time. We contacted several people who we haven't been able to get ahold of for about a month, and we set return appointments with 3 of them who were interested! And then, when another person we tried to contact wasn't home, we were walking down from his porch, but there was this other man on the sidewalk walking towards where we were. I had this strong, distinct impression that he was the reason why we came there at that moment. We talked to him, and actually ended up teaching him the entire first lesson and giving him a Book of Mormon right there on the side of the street. It was pretty awesome! We were so guided by the Spirit to visit all these people, in the order that we did and at the times we did. And THEN, since we had to take time to go pick up that member for the appointment, we had to take a little extra time driving to where he lives and then all the way back down to East Boston. When we were walking from the car to where our investigator there lives, we ran into this young guy who, as it turns out, is a less-active member who recently moved here from Costa Rica. He's like 20, and we're going to visit him this week. He seems really cool and excited to get back to church. Then we get to the home of our investigator, and find out from her mom that she's sleeping. But then, we found another less-active member who we haven't been able to contact until now. It blows my mind to think that if things hadn't worked out in the exact way that they did, we wouldn't have been able to talk to all of these people and set appointments with them. It's crazy, because our Heavenly Father had to have influenced the lives of all of these people to work together in the exact, perfect way for all of this to work out. He is truly preparing people for the gospel. He cares so much about each and every one of His children. AND THEN...to round off this amazing day, we went to Wendy's to grab some dinner before heading home at 9:00 PM (we didn't get to eat dinner that night). Turns out the people in front of us in line were a married couple that are members of the church, visiting here for a couple days from Seattle for the husband's cousin's wedding. They immediately offered to pay for our food. Talk about blessings! It was an unforgettable day. Being that guided by the Spirit is how every day should be out here. It was an incredible experience.
Much love and best wishes to all!
Elder DeLong
The weather here has been quite interesting. In the beginning/middle of March, it got really warm and SO beautiful, and then it got way cold again. And recently it's been warming up...and then the last few days it's gotten cold and windy again. It rained all day yesterday and is still raining today. I feel like nature can't make up its mind on what time of year it is.
We met these two little boys last week, who were probably about 6 and 10, ish. Their family are all Seventh-Day Adventists, and their parents were NOT interested, but they were! We talked to them for a while and had a lesson with them outside their home. It's too bad that we can't teach them without their parents, but they loved the Book of Mormon. Maybe their parents' hearts will be softened and other missionaries can teach their family at a later time.
Damari and Florance are all ready for baptism - we planned their baptismal service with them yesterday! It will be next Sunday, after church. Woo hoo! =D
I can't believe how blessed I am. In my first two transfers I will have seen 5 baptisms of our own investigators already! Wow. At any rate, we are way psyched for them!
It's back to P-days on Mondays again. At the end of each transfer, P-day is on Wednesday. So last week on Wednesday, we went and saw the Charlestown Naval Yard, home of the U.S.S. Constitution - "Old Ironsides!" She is the oldest commissioned warship afloat! So that was way cool. There's a couple museums there, and an old destroyer ship from WWII as well - the U.S.S. Cassin Young. It reminded me of my Grandpa on my dad's side, who was in the Navy, stationed on aircraft carriers.
Pres. Evans interviewed me and Elder Wayne this last week. He's a wonderful man and I had a great talk with him about my struggles as well as the things that are going well and all that I'm learning. It's going to be interesting having to adjust to the new mission president, who starts in July.
I wanted to close this email by describing what happened this last Thursday. It was an incredible day - probably the best day I've had out here. I was completely blown away by how everything turned out, and how guided we were. The hand of God was truly made manifest unto us. I will never, ever forget this day.
We had our weekly planning session, and went out to proselyte and teach and such around 4:00 PM. Our investigator who had an appointment with us at 6:00 that evening cancelled with us, but said she would be available at 8:00 instead. Our member who was supposed to come with us to the lesson couldn't make it anymore since it was later, so we scrambled around trying to find someone. We finally did, but he lives in Lynn and the appointment was in East Boston and we would have to pick him up. We were desperate though, since we wouldn't be able to teach her if we didn't have another adult male, so we agreed to pick him up. To counteract having to drive up to Lynn, we went around, trying to contact our referrals that live in Lynn. Our efforts there are usually pretty unsuccessful - people don't seem to like answering their doors or their phones for us...but not this time. We contacted several people who we haven't been able to get ahold of for about a month, and we set return appointments with 3 of them who were interested! And then, when another person we tried to contact wasn't home, we were walking down from his porch, but there was this other man on the sidewalk walking towards where we were. I had this strong, distinct impression that he was the reason why we came there at that moment. We talked to him, and actually ended up teaching him the entire first lesson and giving him a Book of Mormon right there on the side of the street. It was pretty awesome! We were so guided by the Spirit to visit all these people, in the order that we did and at the times we did. And THEN, since we had to take time to go pick up that member for the appointment, we had to take a little extra time driving to where he lives and then all the way back down to East Boston. When we were walking from the car to where our investigator there lives, we ran into this young guy who, as it turns out, is a less-active member who recently moved here from Costa Rica. He's like 20, and we're going to visit him this week. He seems really cool and excited to get back to church. Then we get to the home of our investigator, and find out from her mom that she's sleeping. But then, we found another less-active member who we haven't been able to contact until now. It blows my mind to think that if things hadn't worked out in the exact way that they did, we wouldn't have been able to talk to all of these people and set appointments with them. It's crazy, because our Heavenly Father had to have influenced the lives of all of these people to work together in the exact, perfect way for all of this to work out. He is truly preparing people for the gospel. He cares so much about each and every one of His children. AND THEN...to round off this amazing day, we went to Wendy's to grab some dinner before heading home at 9:00 PM (we didn't get to eat dinner that night). Turns out the people in front of us in line were a married couple that are members of the church, visiting here for a couple days from Seattle for the husband's cousin's wedding. They immediately offered to pay for our food. Talk about blessings! It was an unforgettable day. Being that guided by the Spirit is how every day should be out here. It was an incredible experience.
Much love and best wishes to all!
Elder DeLong
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
April 18, 2012
Damari and Florance BOTH passed their baptismal interviews! We're hoping to have their service on the 29th of this month. We're so happy and excited for them! Our other investigators continue to progress. Hanz actually called us and told us that he wants to get baptized! We're pretty psyched for him and his mom, Darlene, as well. We also have a couple new investigators that we've started working with and tons of referrals to contact. The work is never-ending! =D
I had my FIRST EVER Cambodian street contact! We were on exchanges again (I was in Lynn with Elder Swasey) and so I was the only one who spoke Cambodian (Elder Swasey speaks Spanish, and very well, I might add). We saw the lady and he was like "She's Cambodian!" and so I went and talked to her, in Cambodian! It was so awesome. She said I spoke very well, which is a HUGE compliment coming from a native speaker. I told her who I was and why I was there, and got her address and phone number to visit her again later. We haven't gotten a hold of her yet, but regardless, I was pretty stoked!
Mission life is rough, but I refuse to be a "creature of circumstance", as I once heard from a friend of mine. No one is going to determine how my mission will go except for me; the only thing I can control about any situation is my attitude towards it. And so, I press forward in faith! Along the same lines, I saw a quote the other day that I really like. It's now on a sticky note by my desk: "Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation."
The Cambridge Massachusetts stake had stake conference this last weekend, which was pretty great! I enjoyed it. Darlene and Hanz actually came to it! They drove all the way out to the stake center (the LDS population is a tad bit more spread out on the east coast...haha!), and they liked it a lot. Apparently, my voice has grown in strength and volume - the Elders that share our apartment were sitting a few rows in front of us, and they said they could hear me singing all the way up there. To quote one of them, "You've got the lungs of a camel, or something!" It was a funny moment.
Monday was a really cool day - we got to go to Lexington (yes, THE Lexington) and see a reenactment of the battle that took place there. "The Shot Hear 'Round the World" - the combat of the Revolutionary War started there! It was awesome. It was also really cool to think about how all of this was set up and happened so that the Restoration of the Gospel could take place! After the reenactment we all went over to a member's house (I swear, I think half the missionaries in the mission were there!) - they invite the mission over every year for this! They had breakfast for us (we had to be there at 4:30 AM for the reenactment! I believe it started at 5:30...), it was really great. Then we got to go to the temple for a few hours - the Boston temple is SO beautiful. It's down in Belmont, and it sits right on the top of this hill by the highway. It's incredible. I loved being there, I've missed it! We got to go to the Provo temple every week in the MTC! I guess I took that for granted. At any rate, it was wonderful to feel of the sacred Spirit that the temple brings. Monday was a really long day though, because after getting up early and doing all that, we got home around 1:00 PM, and still had to proselyte until 9:00 PM! Needless to say, I was exhausted.
Yes, it IS a Wednesday - we have P-day today instead of on Monday this week, since tomorrow is transfer meeting. They do this for the whole mission so that everyone who is getting transferred has time to pack and whatnot, and then tomorrow starts the new transfer! I'm not going anywhere, and neither is Elder Wayne. I have a couple weeks left in the training program, and then maybe one of us will get moved next transfer. We'll find out, I guess!
Much love,
Elder DeLong
I had my FIRST EVER Cambodian street contact! We were on exchanges again (I was in Lynn with Elder Swasey) and so I was the only one who spoke Cambodian (Elder Swasey speaks Spanish, and very well, I might add). We saw the lady and he was like "She's Cambodian!" and so I went and talked to her, in Cambodian! It was so awesome. She said I spoke very well, which is a HUGE compliment coming from a native speaker. I told her who I was and why I was there, and got her address and phone number to visit her again later. We haven't gotten a hold of her yet, but regardless, I was pretty stoked!
Mission life is rough, but I refuse to be a "creature of circumstance", as I once heard from a friend of mine. No one is going to determine how my mission will go except for me; the only thing I can control about any situation is my attitude towards it. And so, I press forward in faith! Along the same lines, I saw a quote the other day that I really like. It's now on a sticky note by my desk: "Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation."
The Cambridge Massachusetts stake had stake conference this last weekend, which was pretty great! I enjoyed it. Darlene and Hanz actually came to it! They drove all the way out to the stake center (the LDS population is a tad bit more spread out on the east coast...haha!), and they liked it a lot. Apparently, my voice has grown in strength and volume - the Elders that share our apartment were sitting a few rows in front of us, and they said they could hear me singing all the way up there. To quote one of them, "You've got the lungs of a camel, or something!" It was a funny moment.
Monday was a really cool day - we got to go to Lexington (yes, THE Lexington) and see a reenactment of the battle that took place there. "The Shot Hear 'Round the World" - the combat of the Revolutionary War started there! It was awesome. It was also really cool to think about how all of this was set up and happened so that the Restoration of the Gospel could take place! After the reenactment we all went over to a member's house (I swear, I think half the missionaries in the mission were there!) - they invite the mission over every year for this! They had breakfast for us (we had to be there at 4:30 AM for the reenactment! I believe it started at 5:30...), it was really great. Then we got to go to the temple for a few hours - the Boston temple is SO beautiful. It's down in Belmont, and it sits right on the top of this hill by the highway. It's incredible. I loved being there, I've missed it! We got to go to the Provo temple every week in the MTC! I guess I took that for granted. At any rate, it was wonderful to feel of the sacred Spirit that the temple brings. Monday was a really long day though, because after getting up early and doing all that, we got home around 1:00 PM, and still had to proselyte until 9:00 PM! Needless to say, I was exhausted.
Yes, it IS a Wednesday - we have P-day today instead of on Monday this week, since tomorrow is transfer meeting. They do this for the whole mission so that everyone who is getting transferred has time to pack and whatnot, and then tomorrow starts the new transfer! I'm not going anywhere, and neither is Elder Wayne. I have a couple weeks left in the training program, and then maybe one of us will get moved next transfer. We'll find out, I guess!
Much love,
Elder DeLong
Monday, April 9, 2012
Sorry, it's really short this week!
We have an extremely limited amount of time today, so I apologize that this week's email is shorter than normal.
Florance and Damari are ready for their baptismal interviews, and their baptism is scheduled for two weeks from yesterday. We are so excited for them!!! We had a cool experience with Florance this week - she has been praying, as have we, to help her get Sundays off at work, or to find another job. We found out that she had an issue with modern-day prophets though, so we scheduled another lesson with her this week to help teach her more about it. She prayed about it, and we resolved her concerns during the next lesson. She gained a testimony of it, of the Book of Mormon, and of everything we've taught her. It was a precious moment as her faith really shone through. And THEN...after the closing prayer she gets a call from her boss - she wasn't needed at work this weekend. SHE GOT TO COME TO CHURCH!!! =D She hasn't been in a couple weeks because of work. It was definitely a miracle, and I know that our Heavenly Father answers our prayers!
Things continue to be busier than ever, which is good in this work of saving souls! I feel so blessed to be in this area. Things are good in that light, but I'm struggling with a lot of other things - getting along with my companion (again), learning this language, finding the guidance of the Spirit, other things...but I know that all discouragement and contention and frustration comes from the Adversary, and so, I press forward with faith in our Savior! Speaking of which, I am so thankful for this Easter season, and for the Atonement and Resurrection. Through Christ, I can overcome my trials, weaknesses, faults, and struggles, and through Christ, I can find hope. Despite difficulties, I love being a missionary! I know I'm where the Lord needs me to be as I serve Him in this part of His vineyard.
Next week we get to go to the temple! I'm so excited for that. Another blessing to note: we got an invitation last-minute to go to a member's home for Easter dinner. They found out through someone else that we didn't have plans for dinner, so they invited us to come to their big gathering! We had probably 6 families/couples there, and then us. It was a great time, and we had some great food.
I love each of you very much, and as always, I continue to learn and grow each and every day - from you, from the people I meet here, and from our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Much love and best wishes!
Elder DeLong
Florance and Damari are ready for their baptismal interviews, and their baptism is scheduled for two weeks from yesterday. We are so excited for them!!! We had a cool experience with Florance this week - she has been praying, as have we, to help her get Sundays off at work, or to find another job. We found out that she had an issue with modern-day prophets though, so we scheduled another lesson with her this week to help teach her more about it. She prayed about it, and we resolved her concerns during the next lesson. She gained a testimony of it, of the Book of Mormon, and of everything we've taught her. It was a precious moment as her faith really shone through. And THEN...after the closing prayer she gets a call from her boss - she wasn't needed at work this weekend. SHE GOT TO COME TO CHURCH!!! =D She hasn't been in a couple weeks because of work. It was definitely a miracle, and I know that our Heavenly Father answers our prayers!
Things continue to be busier than ever, which is good in this work of saving souls! I feel so blessed to be in this area. Things are good in that light, but I'm struggling with a lot of other things - getting along with my companion (again), learning this language, finding the guidance of the Spirit, other things...but I know that all discouragement and contention and frustration comes from the Adversary, and so, I press forward with faith in our Savior! Speaking of which, I am so thankful for this Easter season, and for the Atonement and Resurrection. Through Christ, I can overcome my trials, weaknesses, faults, and struggles, and through Christ, I can find hope. Despite difficulties, I love being a missionary! I know I'm where the Lord needs me to be as I serve Him in this part of His vineyard.
Next week we get to go to the temple! I'm so excited for that. Another blessing to note: we got an invitation last-minute to go to a member's home for Easter dinner. They found out through someone else that we didn't have plans for dinner, so they invited us to come to their big gathering! We had probably 6 families/couples there, and then us. It was a great time, and we had some great food.
I love each of you very much, and as always, I continue to learn and grow each and every day - from you, from the people I meet here, and from our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Much love and best wishes!
Elder DeLong
Monday, April 2, 2012
Week 6 in the field!
This is my 118th day of being a missionary. Can you believe that? I only know that because we drove by this restaurant called 99 the other day, and I thought that it'd be funny if we went there on my 99th day as a missionary. Then I realized that I probably missed that since it's already been 4 and a half months or so...sure enough, it has. I'm amazed at how fast time goes by, but I also feel like I've been out here for a very long time.
Last week on P-day, we ran into our solid investigator, Darlene - she's the one who walked into church one day, wanting to know more. The "miracle investigator" from last week. She and her son are both doing great! But anyway, we ran into her at the grocery store last P-day, and she said that she got a prompting from the Spirit to come find us there and pay for our groceries. We couldn't believe it. She wouldn't take "no" for an answer and INSISTED on paying for our food. We were beyond thankful and expressed that many times over, and she kept saying "don't worry about it!" She's incredible. I still can't believe she did that for us.
We also did a "deep clean" of our apartment last P-day, which took about 4 hours. We had a good time in the process, and our apartment looks SO much better. We passed our cleaning inspection, too! The whole mission has to do this twice a year, just before General Conference.
Speaking of General Conference...WOW. I got so many answers to questions and prayers that I have had. I am so grateful for personal revelation and for the guidance from the Holy Ghost in our lives. I want to do all I can to draw closer to the Lord and to become the missionary, man, husband, and father he needs me to be. I'm not those last two yet, but when the time comes, I want to be ready.
We attempted to watch the Saturday morning session (or should I say Saturday afternoon...the session times here are noon, 4:00, and 8:00 PM!!!) at the Revere chapel, but trying to fix it and 2 phone calls with Salt Lake City tech support couldn't fix it...so we missed most of the first session. The second session we watched at a member's home, and for priesthood session we watched it at the chapel. They got it fixed! We watched Sunday's first session there as well, and the second session on Sunday we watched at a different member's home with our investigator, Damari. I love conference, I can't wait to study the talks in the Ensign! =D
Tracting is really really REALLY hard, just for the record. But on the positive side, the negative experiences make for really great stories! We had this one lady who was pretty crazy...she kept asking us all these really weird questions, and said that it was "outrageous" that we were doing this, that we should be in school and working. She said that if her grandchildren were doing anything like that, she would be horrified. She tried to make us admit that we were Seventh-Day Adventists, and wouldn't listen to us. She was like "And how do your parents feel about this?!" and "Are you scared to be out here doing this? Our next door neighbor is a policeman...and my husband is the chief of police." At that point it was obvious that she was lying. She was an odd one. The strangest part is, after we walked away, she came out of her house and watched us. We couldn't get in our car at the end of the street...we just had to keep walking. We walked back later and got the car, but I was honestly worried for our well-being at that point. Oh well. We're all children of God!
Our ward did a family Pinewood Derby the other night, so we went to support everyone. It was a great time, and it made me think of my little brothers and how much they love doing that. =]
Our investigator Ed told us a really cool story of something that happened last week. He was at his parents' house, and his dad and his sisters were giving him a really hard time about talking to us and investigating the Church. They were pressuring him and asking him a bunch of questions and putting him down for it. He said he felt like he didn't know what to say, and then they asked him WHY he was doing this. Just then, a commercial from the Church about the Book of Mormon came on the TV. "THAT'S why." That was truly a miracle and an answer to a prayer, I think. I loved hearing that! Also, he hasn't smoked in TWO WEEKS!!!! We are so happy and excited for him.
I'll close with our most interesting experience of the week - we witnessed an attempted "grand theft auto" and resulting car accident! This guy tried to steal this lady's car, and as he pulled out from the side of the street by the corner store he got hit by a car that was driving down the street, so he got out and took off. It all happened so fast, we didn't even know what happened! We had to stay as witnesses, but the police ended up not needing us at that moment. We left our number with the woman whose car almost got stolen in case she needed us as witnesses - I'm just glad that no one got hurt. Hopefully repairs can be made to the cars and the police will catch the culprit.
Well anyway, this work is really difficult. I'm struggling with things and having a hard time, but nevertheless, I love being here. I can't seem to work up the courage to talk to people on the street, but I feel more supported by our Savior than ever before. This work is hard, but more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. I have so much more to learn and a lot about myself that I need to change, but that's okay, because the Lord is here to help me, and His Atonement is real. I hope to become an effective and spiritually-sensitive instrument in the hands of God. Even though things can be really difficult and stressful, I love serving as a missionary.
Much love!
Elder DeLong
Last week on P-day, we ran into our solid investigator, Darlene - she's the one who walked into church one day, wanting to know more. The "miracle investigator" from last week. She and her son are both doing great! But anyway, we ran into her at the grocery store last P-day, and she said that she got a prompting from the Spirit to come find us there and pay for our groceries. We couldn't believe it. She wouldn't take "no" for an answer and INSISTED on paying for our food. We were beyond thankful and expressed that many times over, and she kept saying "don't worry about it!" She's incredible. I still can't believe she did that for us.
We also did a "deep clean" of our apartment last P-day, which took about 4 hours. We had a good time in the process, and our apartment looks SO much better. We passed our cleaning inspection, too! The whole mission has to do this twice a year, just before General Conference.
Speaking of General Conference...WOW. I got so many answers to questions and prayers that I have had. I am so grateful for personal revelation and for the guidance from the Holy Ghost in our lives. I want to do all I can to draw closer to the Lord and to become the missionary, man, husband, and father he needs me to be. I'm not those last two yet, but when the time comes, I want to be ready.
We attempted to watch the Saturday morning session (or should I say Saturday afternoon...the session times here are noon, 4:00, and 8:00 PM!!!) at the Revere chapel, but trying to fix it and 2 phone calls with Salt Lake City tech support couldn't fix it...so we missed most of the first session. The second session we watched at a member's home, and for priesthood session we watched it at the chapel. They got it fixed! We watched Sunday's first session there as well, and the second session on Sunday we watched at a different member's home with our investigator, Damari. I love conference, I can't wait to study the talks in the Ensign! =D
Tracting is really really REALLY hard, just for the record. But on the positive side, the negative experiences make for really great stories! We had this one lady who was pretty crazy...she kept asking us all these really weird questions, and said that it was "outrageous" that we were doing this, that we should be in school and working. She said that if her grandchildren were doing anything like that, she would be horrified. She tried to make us admit that we were Seventh-Day Adventists, and wouldn't listen to us. She was like "And how do your parents feel about this?!" and "Are you scared to be out here doing this? Our next door neighbor is a policeman...and my husband is the chief of police." At that point it was obvious that she was lying. She was an odd one. The strangest part is, after we walked away, she came out of her house and watched us. We couldn't get in our car at the end of the street...we just had to keep walking. We walked back later and got the car, but I was honestly worried for our well-being at that point. Oh well. We're all children of God!
Our ward did a family Pinewood Derby the other night, so we went to support everyone. It was a great time, and it made me think of my little brothers and how much they love doing that. =]
Our investigator Ed told us a really cool story of something that happened last week. He was at his parents' house, and his dad and his sisters were giving him a really hard time about talking to us and investigating the Church. They were pressuring him and asking him a bunch of questions and putting him down for it. He said he felt like he didn't know what to say, and then they asked him WHY he was doing this. Just then, a commercial from the Church about the Book of Mormon came on the TV. "THAT'S why." That was truly a miracle and an answer to a prayer, I think. I loved hearing that! Also, he hasn't smoked in TWO WEEKS!!!! We are so happy and excited for him.
I'll close with our most interesting experience of the week - we witnessed an attempted "grand theft auto" and resulting car accident! This guy tried to steal this lady's car, and as he pulled out from the side of the street by the corner store he got hit by a car that was driving down the street, so he got out and took off. It all happened so fast, we didn't even know what happened! We had to stay as witnesses, but the police ended up not needing us at that moment. We left our number with the woman whose car almost got stolen in case she needed us as witnesses - I'm just glad that no one got hurt. Hopefully repairs can be made to the cars and the police will catch the culprit.
Well anyway, this work is really difficult. I'm struggling with things and having a hard time, but nevertheless, I love being here. I can't seem to work up the courage to talk to people on the street, but I feel more supported by our Savior than ever before. This work is hard, but more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. I have so much more to learn and a lot about myself that I need to change, but that's okay, because the Lord is here to help me, and His Atonement is real. I hope to become an effective and spiritually-sensitive instrument in the hands of God. Even though things can be really difficult and stressful, I love serving as a missionary.
Much love!
Elder DeLong
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