Hi Mom!
Can you believe it! I’m already 8 months into the mission! Haha! Well let’s get right into it for this week!
As you already know the last few weeks have been really tough for Elder Shaw and I. People we thought were progressing aren’t. We had a few really contentious lessons. And all around were just feeling really depressed. So we talked and decided we needed to shake things up.
Sooooooo! This week we started off with hanging out with our awesome Ward Mission Leader and his wife! Shout out to Brother and Sister Lewis for supporting us by letting us clean up your yard and help ya run errands! The time we spent with yall really helped us out of our rut! Love you guys! Side note: No snakes were harmed in the making of these photos (actually that’s a lie he got hit by a weed wacker earlier in the day but he was still thriving!).
Another errand we helped Brother Lewis with was picking up a bunch of scrap metal and taking it to a scrap yard. First time I ever saw one of those magnets in action!
In the spirit of defeating depression and therefore Satan, I had my glorious mother send us a care package from Walmart. That contained the basic snacks, soda and other good food stuffs. But also, the essentials. A fish night light, and other fun crafty toys! Mom! We love you and are so very grateful for your love for us!
On a more spiritual and missionary work note. Elder Shaw and I had our first official meal and member council this week. And oh boy was it fun! We taught a family with kids the Gospel of Jesus Christ using hand turkeys! Haha. Good times for sure.
But also, to help motivate my district to find new people I came up with a fun activity. I call it “Fear No Man Bingo”. The companionship with the most Bingos wins the Title of Liberty for Next week!
Another Member council we had this week was also pretty awesome and spirit filled. We went over to help out her yard and we got to talking about the gospel. We talked about how awesome God really is. And how truly beautiful his plan really is for all of us. Yes, it may seem ugly and depressing right now here on earth. But because of his plan for us we know that it’s through these trials that we learn and grow! Then after the discussion we noticed a really nice 1986 chevrolet truck with a brand new V8 engine and Elder Shaw couldn’t resist asking to turn it on and hearing it roar! Not gonna lie it was pretty sweet haha!
Alrighty I’m gonna end with my quick testimony. I know that God answers prayers. But never grants us wishes without at least a bit of effort on our part. For the first few nights of this really grummy time I was pleading in my prayers for a better day tomorrow. But as time went on I began to realize my situation wasn’t going to change without my own effort. So I changed my prayers to be more about asking for inspiration for how to improve my situation. I of course still backed this up with a petition for a blessing of strength. All I can say is every night I said this prayer I woke up the next day with an idea to be more positive, a way for me to find joy in the work.
If there is any wisdom from these last few weeks it is this; God loves us, he knows us, and wants us to improve. But the best improvement comes when you go and do, and ALWAYS ask for help! Love you all!
Till next time,
Elder Service
