Both this past week and this coming week are ones where missionary work will unfortunately be at its minimum. Not because we weren’t trying, but because for some reason, holidays and zone conferences seem to jumble together at common points during the year. But even though our efforts weren’t as focused on our investigators, they were pointed in another uplifting direction. We visited many members on Thanksgiving in hopes of strengthening their faith in Christ. In fact, a part-member/less-active family invited us over for their Thanksgiving feast surrounded by nonmembers friends and family at their mansion that made me want to play life-size version of Clue. It went very well and it opened a huge door to start teaching their twenty-something year old son. God puts His missionaries in the most convenient and albeit awkward situations in which we can help those He has prepared enter or re-enter his fold.
During our Leadership Training conference last week, one of the Mission Presidency explained a parable from Matthew 13 that I had never really understood. From verses 44 and 45-46, the basic idea of the two different parables seems exactly the same. Both parables likened unto the kingdom of heaven, both men come upon a treasure, and both men sold all he had to obtain it. However the difference is in the countenances of the men and their differing intents during their endeavour. The merchant man was seeking the goodly pearl and completely recognized it when he had found it – this is the type of seeker missionaries hope to come by as they knock doors, street contact, and talk to everyone within close proximity. However there is a certain class of investigators exemplified in verse 44 (and one could argue that this is the majority of people) that isn’t looking for anything at all. But simply from stumbling upon the truth from an unexpected trigger, like the example of a friend, the man realized what he was missing and was willing to give up everything to have it. What we have in this Church is desirable, the pearl above pearls, one of priceless value. But some people will only recognize its worth when they unexpectedly see it in you.
Elder Low
P.S. President Topham selected 3 District Leaders from the whole mission to attend a special Zone Leader Council with a representative from Salt Lake this week, and I got called to go!
P.P.S. Wait. Darin’s already leaving for his mission? Dude where’d he even get called to?!
P.P.P.S. As you can probably tell with my lack of reply to Tasha and Sis. Simmons, I am terrible with replying to letters, especially ones that are sent via snail mail. So to be honest, it’s kind of nice only having to write you guys once a week, I would feel awful if I accumulated a stack of letters from home that I haven’t replied to. And I’m pretty used to not getting mail as much. When you train, you have to understand that the first couple months of a trainee’s mission are filled with letters and packages almost every day. If I had let Elder Sp___’s copious amounts of mail get to me, I would’ve exploded a long time ago.
P.P.P.P.S. Holy junk! Alan will be home from his mission in a month (You gave me a heart attack when you told me the 6th). Holy junk! I’ve been out almost eight months! WEIRD.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Remember what I said about not being able to put together a musical number out of the missionaries around me? Yeah scratch that. Hershey Walk’s investigator, who is to be baptized this Saturday, is requesting that the missionaries put together some musical numbers for an interlude. Maybe I’ll get to use that copy of “Give Me the Strength of Ammon” again after all.
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