We have a less-active we're working with who we
keep trying to get to church, read scriptures, fulfill a calling, etc. and this week we wanted to
either give HIM a good laugh, OR.......we wanted to see if he's
actually reading the assignments we give him....SO.....our text convo goes
something like this....:
Us: Hey Bro P--! Are you coming to church on
Sunday?
Bro P: Maybe
Us: Well, we'd love to see you there! Oh, and
here's a scripture we thought you'd like, 1 Nephi 2:15. Let us know what you
think!
[STOP
here and go read 1 Nephi 2:15]
Bro P: Nice :)
Us: Did you read it? ;)
Bro P: No not, yet. But I will
Bro P (five minutes later): That's a good
one...I recall a conference talk on that not too long ago.
FAIL.......F-A-I-L.
Well....now
we know he doesn't do his reading. Great......Gotta love them less-actives;)
I should mention………….Sis Bishop got us in a car accident this week. NBD. On a P-day. She looked over at me at a stop light....AND pressed on the gas at the same time.
Too bad there was a truck in front of us;) Love that girl! Luckily, it wasn't too bad....just a fender
bender that ripped our license plate
off and gave me chest pains
for an hour afterwards....BUT on the good side....the guy she hit,
didn't care about the minor damage to his car, so he waved us off with,
"Oh I don't care as long as you guys are ok!"
What. a. gem.
Aaaaaaaaaand he had a s.i.c.k. mustache too....like
handelbar status. #swag:) He was SO nice to us......and so was Elder
Taggart (the office elder who manages the cars;)….Were going into the shop
soon......
We got a phone call this week telling us that Yung had had a fall and is in a care
facility, recovering from a minor surgery:( She's apparently going to be
back home as soon as they can work out a care plan for her where she can have
someone with her 24/7. Until then....she
asked HER church members to call US
to have us come water her roses and care for her garden till she gets home.
#feelingneeded #mormonstatus #winnerwinnerchickendinner hahaha!
Aaaaaaannnnddddd......the "Boys Across the
Street" saga continues....we've met with one and then another,
sometimes two and sometimes three of them...off and on this week.
Unfortunately, none of them came to church this week, but we're pretty sure if we can get one, we'll get them all;)
New mormon message maybe?? That's
what we're shooting for;) hahaha!
One of them, we're trying to get interested in
the church vs. the state.....(A.K.A the gospel versus the girl
teaching the gospel:) hahaha.....it's uh.....interesting;) Boys....they're crazy:)
We've also been teaching a guy from RUSSIA!!! Joseph....you should be
proud;) His name is Lev and he brought his friend Stan with him. We're starting
to teach them English at the church building once a week......it's always an party;) This week...we were a
bit scatter-brained because neither of us have ever taught English, and so
we're newbies with no idea what we're doing. They enjoyed the lesson, though,
and want to come back....good sign I'm
assuming;) haha!
Lev wants to learn more idioms…..(I’m now
trying to separate Twitter idioms from English idioms;)…..especially the one, “Speaking
of the devil!”
He tells us, “Why you say that? Why call me a devil!? I not the devil! You
Americans….no make sense. Strange….strange.”
He’s gotta point……
Afterwards, we took them on a tour of the
church building, and ended up in the chapel. When they saw the organ and the
piano, the “Oooo's” and “ahhhh's” came flowing......as did the many stories
of pipe organs and angelic choirs of Europe. Aaaaannnddd...then....of course......the question we were
dreading, "You have a choir, right?"
Uhhhhh...yes.....BUT....I don't think it's exactly what you think it is. We
ain't no Monteverdi. Or even Mo-Tab for that reason. ]
SO...divert their attention……and instead...we
took them up on the stand, I flipped on the organ, and began to play. Soon Sis
Bishop and I started to sing, "Nearer My God To Thee" and the spirit FILLED the room. It was p.o.w.e.r.f.u.l.
They stood there quietly, and just listened. Afterwards, the first thing they
said was,
"When
does church start on Sunday? What should we wear? Can we listen to the
scriptures being read in English? Where should we sit? Does your congregation
do donations?"
Ah!!! It was amazing! And I gained a testimony of the power of hymns and
music to touch hearts!!! (And...those organ lessons....turns out....maybe.....sorta.....kinda.....payed
off:) haha!
We've resorted to doing service for
investigators we have a hard time meeting with. It gets us in faster…..oddly
enough;) Sooooo……how bout walking their dogs?? Shrup. Oh, and come to find, it's a great conversation
starter too while you're passing other dog-walkers;) #strategy.
But then, there always comes the questions from
members on Sunday, "Sisters.....were you by chance walking a large German Shepherd
down Main St on Friday??"
Weeeeeeell
.......here's the thing......:) Hey, at least we're getting noticed now....
I'm still teaching deaf friends
online....skpying and having a blast! It's amazing to see the Lord blessing me
as I pick up the language more and more. The
gift of tongues should have a sub-label of the gift of hands;) hahaha! #nerdalert;) lol
Saturday morning, I had my first "Time to get out of this
lesson.....NOW" experience.
We dropped by to visit an investigator and soon
after we sat down, we asked her what she wanted out of life. She told us she
wanted independence....the type that would come from "massive wealth" and “being
subject to no one." We went
with it, but eventually, I started getting really uneasy….like we needed to back out ASAP.
We started wrapping up, and got on the
topic of inviting her to church. She got very quite, and almost zoned out when
we asked her if she wanted to attend. Eventually, she told us firmly
"No." After asking her why, she literally hissed, "No. No. I
don't trust anyone. I can't trust people....I've been let down too much,
especially those who are so-called Christians."
As soon as she said that, I was hit by a wave of darkness. It's the most disturbing feeling you will E.V.E.R.
get. It was absolutely chilling. All I was waiting for was eye contact with my companion before tailing it to
the door. In desperation, I began praying, asking for the spirit to come back
into my heart and mind.
In my mind, the words came, "Focus
your thoughts on me. Testify and then leave."
Immediately, I imagined the Savior. And
immediately, that light was restored in my heart. I felt filled with the
conviction that the power of God was greater
than the power of the devil. I opened my mouth and testified that all
things are possible through God, and that His power is second to none. I told
her I knew that God was real, and
that the gospel was true. Immediately,
the darkness in my mind began to leave.
I've never walked taller.
It was a haunting experience, yea, but I left
that lesson, knowing that the
power of God FAR outweighs the power of the adversary. I KNOW that the only
way to true satisfaction and happiness is through Jesus Christ. He truly is the Light. I felt that!
His power will always be greater, and when we side with Him, we side with
victory. We’re on the winning team, and no one and nothing can stop this
work. Don’t let anything stop your testimony from growing either! That
light and happiness cannot be found anywhere but in this gospel and in Jesus
Christ!!!
The Church
is so true, I can’t even believe it!:)
Onward and upward,
Sister Anna Parker
