So things are pretty good here in Chino. Me and Hermana Stohlton
are working super hard. We are dropping as fast as we are finding
though. That is probably the hardest thing about missionary work,
sorting through SO MANY people to find the ones who are really ready to
change their lives. So we are pretty much in the process of changing our
entire teaching pool.
Yesterday I had a cool experience though. We had just gone over and
dropped a family, which was super sad because we knew they knew it was
true and they acknowledged that the holy ghost was there in every lesson
and that it couldn't be there unless the things we were saying were
true, and the dad had believed the book of mormon was true. But then
they freaked out I think when they started to realize that we were
asking them to change and so they decided they are "a gusto en la
iglesia catolica" so we could keep coming by and teaching them but they
weren't going to go to church at our church ever. It's so sad how people
know there's more, but they are just so scared to go out of their
comfort zone that even all the blessings they know they can receive
aren't worth it because they are just too scared. But yea, so we had
just dropped that family and were kind of bummed and we were standing
outside of that apartment complex talking about where we should go next
to find a new family that is ready, when this family with like four kids
walks by. And we said hi to them, and they said hi to us, but they
didn't like stop to talk to us so I didn't really try to get into a real
conversation. So they walked by and I kept talking to hermana stohlton.
And in the back of my head as I was talking was kind of this notion
that we are looking for a family to teach, and that's a family, but I
kept ignoring it.
So finally it just popped into my head "you are looking for a
family, and yet you just let that one walk by, what are you doing?!"
And so I mumbled something like.. "Hermana Stohlton I have to go do
something" and then I turned around and ran off. And by this time the
family was like a block away, so I ran and chased them down and babbled
something like "Hi I always introduce myself when I say hi to people but
I didn't get to introduce myself to you guys so I felt bad so I had to
chase you down to introduce myself, I'm sister Bardsley, could we come
over to your house sometime to share a message about Jesus Christ?!"
Haha. They probably thought I was a little crazy. But they said yes, and
gave me their address and phone number and set up an appointment for
friday. Haha. So yea. That's the first time I think that I have
literally chased someone down on the street. But the spirit just like,
told me to go get that family. Sometimes I think God is just up there
facepalming himself, because we ask for all these things, and he gives
them to us, but then we just let all these answers to our prayers walk
by, literally, and figuratively. He's probably like, "STOP ASKING ME FOR
THE SAME THING AGAIN, I GAVE IT TO YOU TEN TIMES, BUT YOU REFUSED IT
EVERYTIME". It's just so scary because to chase someone down on the
street you have to be pretty confident that the spirit is telling you to
talk to them or else it is just really embarrassing and people will
think mormons are super crazy.
But yea, things are going well here. Everything in the ward and the
area is picking up. And dropping all our investigators and finding
better ones is just part of that.
Last night, in this neighborhood where everyone goes crazy with
christmas lights, and they call Chino Lights, we made a free hot
chocolate stand and sung hymns and gave people folletos. It was a ton of
fun. The place is PACKED. It is crazy. people come from all over to see
the Chino Lights. And everyone else has stands there selling hot
chocolate, so we get way more people because it's free, and then we
simultaneously convert them to the gospel you know how it goes... But
yea, it was a ton of fun, and got a lot of people at least somewhat
interested I'd say. We are going to do it again next week, only more
organized. We are going to have a tv playing christmas movies and a
whole little pavilion thing.
Thank you so much for all the christmas stuff! I haven't opened the
christmas box for me yet. But all my companions really liked all the
stuff you sent for them and I am enjoying the little bag of chocolate
for me... :D
Keep it real, follow the promptings of the spirit, even when it looks ridiculous,
Love,
Hermana Bardsley
No comments:
Post a Comment