I no longer live at the same addy, Elder King REALLY wanted to move. I have to admit it is a nicer apartment, I just wish we had done it earlier or he had done it after I left. I don't think I even want to unpack.
The week has gone really well. The end especially. It's gotten warmer and sunnier which I think does wonders for my mood. Everyone's been getting ready for thanksgiving, this includes American traditions like turkey bowls. Between that and moving apartments equals a very sore Elder Low.
But it really has been a good week. We also had our monthly Zone Training which was exciting to hear from our Mission President. President Topham was very adamant on helping us become the mission that will able to help the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve's goal of “hastening the work.” He encouraged us to quit doing 12 things (some of which, he advised, would shake our testimonies), things like “Quit praying for God to give you new investigators” and “Quit planning time for tracting” and “Quit relying on active members for referrals” and my personal gasp “Quit relying on the Spirit to guide you in all things.” The gist of President's advice was to become missionaries at all times that are effective, wise, anxiously engaged in a good cause, and more faithful. It was very inspiring and I'm pretty sure that you probably don't care about this paragraph, but TOO BAD.
Following suit of some of my more recent letters, we are continuing to dwindle with our new investigators. One highlight was that we did get back in contact with that family again (the one with 5 kids). We taught Toni (the mom) and a few of her kids about Jesus Christ and I think it really resonated with them.
There was an investigator we were working with for about a month named Dale. We street contacted him and we soon came to find out that his intentions for meeting with us weren't as pure as we would've liked. The time was around the election and he was curious about Mitt Romney and he also expressed that he was very lonely, feeling abandoned by both friend and family member. He sat in his apartment all day and smoked, going out occasionally on his battered bike to get food. It was probably the most revolting environment for both cleanliness and the Spirit I had ever experienced. He had many physical and mental health issues and we weren't completely sure how accountable he was. The whole time we were teaching him I wasn't sure how I felt about continuing to teach him, but I felt guilty about dropping someone who relied on us so much for contact. “How could he progress?” I wondered, “How would he even be able to come to Church, let alone be baptized?” These thoughts plagued me and I sought much counsel from my Mission President and other missionaries. We went over on Saturday, almost unsure of the outcome of the lesson, and we were very surprised because of that. My biased thoughts were replaced as I entered into his home and he said he'd been cleaning, and surprisingly he had! He also was thinking of ways he could live the Word of Wisdom, believing that using electronic cigarettes would be a step in the right direction for quitting entirely. We encouraged him to set a date 6 months away to officially stop smoking and work towards it. During this whole lesson, my whole mindset changed to thinking how everyone progresses at different speeds and he really did want this in his life. I officially said in my mind that we wouldn't drop him. And then, miraculously, he said that he probably would never stop smoking and that if we couldn't over anymore, he would be fine with that. I was floored at the fact that he dropped us. I took that as a huge tender mercy from the Lord; that I wouldn't have to live with the burden of dropping someone who seemed sincerely interested, despite his circumstances.
God cares about each and every one of His missionaries. Perhaps He inspires people to accept our message at first, even when their every intention isn't to act on it so that we don't get discouraged. I believe that He is always looking out for us and that He doesn't want us to be unhappy but that He will do everything in our power to fulfill our righteous desires.
Elder Low
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