Anyway, back to Horseheads. It is a cool place, kinda crazy, but very cool. We have some of the sweetest members and there are a ton of prepared people. Their testimonies are small and need some time to get progressing....but hey, at least we have people to teach! They come from a variety of backgrounds... from humble janitors to ex-hockey players to stay-at-home mom's to one family that manages a restaurant named Friendly's!
One of our recent converts... Jim is one of the most elect of God that I have ever met. He changed his life around and gave up everything in 2 months because he believes in the restoration and loves the Book of Mormon. He kinda looks like a hobo and Santa Clause all rolled together. He smiles and talks about how much his life has changed. Few people just grasp and accept everything we teach and try it out, but he does. It is people like that that make a mission worth it. Even if you find just one..... that is all that matters. We saw him and another cute less active lady on Monday.
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| Teaching Jim |
Tuesday we woke up way too early and drove to Owego for a ZTM and it was all about commitment and repentance. We learned we have to be bold and loving to extend these commitments. Our investigators cannot repent and come to know of the truthfulness of the church if they do not put forth the effort to see if this will change their lives. I quickly learned that the difference between a disciple of Christ and an average person is their level of commitment. If you cannot make and keep covenants/commitments, then look in the mirror and fix that... It also relates to goal setting. I used to hate goal setting before my mission. Now, I see it as a rudder on my ship of life. It provides direction and something to do and to make myself a better follower of Jesus Christ. It is one thing to go with the flow (which I enjoy a lot), but it is another thing to take control of a situation and evaluate our lives and see how we can improve and be better. Complacency is a killer! So, that was a good wake up call.
Right after the meeting, we exchanged with the Vestal Sister and I went with Sister Trapane to Vestal. It was a sweet exchange. They are struggling to find people to teach, so we went out and talked to everyone outside. They live right next to Binghamton University, so I stopped a lot of college students on the road walking to off campus housing and that was sweet. Tons of Asian students. OMG so many! We picked up a few Nings, and Yaos, and other hard names I can't pronounce.
I really have struggled my whole mission with talking to people on the street... especially after serving in Fort Drum because that is not allowed. So, the companion I was with struggles with being social and talking to people. So, we set some high goals and started talking to everyone. It was very cool. I talked to a few non-interested people , talked to a Catholic lady minister, and literally ran into a college student named Nate. We talked about school, graphic design and then taught him on the street about the restoration and it was super awesome. He said that he'd like to come to church! We also worked to find some lost investigators in the phone book and found them at 8pm that night, in the woods in a multimillion dollar home. HaHa. We were tracting late. :)
We had no luck on another street, but one man did feel bad after rejecting us and said "I have had the pleasure of having friends that are members of your Church and I have nothing but the highest respect for them." That was awesome. I might have even "sweat out of my eyes" for a like a second or two. But that last house at the end of the street belonged to a guy named Emmanuel and he was so awesome. I could see him getting baptized one day. Just so open to the gospel! We found other potentials, and it was sweet! The Sister I was with on Exchanges also had the same birthday as me, so we had a pre-birthday celebration! Woop Woop. We had some cake!
We woke up the next morning and went to some appointments, nothing fancy... but it was better with my companion and the other Sister in Elmira for the day. We had an investigator-- who tried to rewrite part of the Book of Mormon-- tell us how crazy we were. US? Well, we dropped her like a hot rock. The Crazy Quaker lady I mentioned last week, who I am pretty sure had someone spit in her oatmeal, was always quite cranky. We then traded back and it was good to be back home in Elmira and we had dinner with some grandparents in the Ward. So cute and full of personality. We had coordination meeting and went right to bed.
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| My Companion and I, we think and dress a like!! |
Thursday I turned 20! Sister Gass did make me a card, and gave me a present that morning after I opened the ones from Home. She also mentioned it was my birthday during a few lessons, so I had investigators and less actives sing to me all day. A few ward members also brought me some goodies and treats and the meal coordinator lady actually called our dinner appointment and asked her to make chicken enchiladas which I requested! Overall, it was a good birthday and we taught 6 lessons! We have some super sweet less actives, who are older single ladies that just need the occasional kick in the rear to get them to church. I also got to meet Tom. He is another great investigator that has health problems, he is in his 70's and needs help to quit smoking so that he can get baptized. He will get there eventually! :)
We also had the coolest lesson with BSG as we call them. They are a family that is related to our RS President and the Dad is super interested and started diving deep into the Book of Mormon during our lesson. The Mom doesn't have any religious background and the 19 year old son, we're pretty sure he has a crush on us.. ha ha. But, they are hilarious and have been happier since we started teaching them. They will be baptized sometime in the future, especially B. He already is like, "so how do you guys tithe?" I get really animated at their house. I lost count of how many analogies I used in one Book of Mormon lesson. I have come to realize that I over explain and complicate things, but when I use analogies, I can convey a ton of info into something simple and teachable. THERE IS A REASON WHY JESUS SPOKE IN PARABLES!
Friday we had a lesson with a drunk old guy over the phone.. :( Bad conversation. We will probably lose him as an investigator soon. We also picked up this other super cool father also named B and we taught him the restoration. He said if he liked what he learned, he would get baptized so that was Fun. We teach way more men than women in New York. I don't know how that always happens! I think that the men are more open to change, especially religious beliefs, especially when they sincerely want it. Women are more in tune with the Spirit, but when we believe something, we believe something!
We have just been finding the nicest people on the streets. For example, we found one woman named Beth who was on the standing on the street smoking. We said Hi and did the short greeting intro and she was excited and said that she wanted to learn! "I heard Mormons believe in Hell and damnation... I don't like that, do you actually believe that? Oh my gosh.. first of all, we have #1 a person who is willing to confront us on misconceptions and goes to the source of what we actually believe. #2 we taught her the Plan of Salvation right there and she loved it. She is catholic, but wants to grow spiritually. She is that rare combo in an investigator.
A lady this week didn't want to talk with us because she believed that Mormons don't eat pizza, so therefore she shouldn't talk to Mormons. WHAT? MORMONS LOVE PIZZA.. actually Mormon's love anything with bread.. Silly silly misconceptions running around out there. So much misinformation.
We also picked up another super cool young dad named Zach who used to live in Lake Placid and play USA Hockey. He got hurt and is only about 25 yrs old, but he is the nicest person I have ever met. We get to go teach him tonight! Another great potential :)
We have set a date for baptism for another woman. I am pretty sure her cats and her house are possessed with something. But, she keeps coming to Church and has really good desires. We had dinner with a family and the kids are going to find a cure for cancer someday... they're very smart and driven. The 5 and 7 year old kids can talk to us missionaries all about the US Presidents and say that their favorite animal is a 'Webbed 10 foot Renruk" or something weird from Madagascar. I can barely remember the quadratic equations, let alone compete with these kids. HAHA.
Sunday was church and we had meetings, and taught a few people over Facebook because all of our appointments cancelled on us. Just the normal things.
I do love my area, my ward and my companion here. So all is well. Now we just have to get our investigators to progress and be baptized. Word of Wisdom issues are a problem out here :( This week is an exchange to Corning and a District Meeting and Thanksgiving. I also get to work in a soup kitchen and go to MLC's. So, it will probably fly by just as fast as last week.
Everyone, have a fun and safe Thanksgiving. Lets all have an attitude of Gratitude!
The gospel is true and when living the gospel.. "inch by inch, it is a cinch; yard by yard, it is hard! So remember to do the little things!
Love you all!
Sister Kylie Williams
