Dear Family,
Thank you so much for the great email. I love hearing all the updates from home. Here is the report for this week...
We
had an awesome lesson with Andrea this week. She is such a cool
person. I can't remember if I mentioned this, but her sister joined the
church a few years ago and now has left it in a dramatic fashion and
wants her name removed. It doesn't phase A at all. She knows that the
book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. This
lesson was on Saturday night. Then she didn't come to church on Sunday!
We have no idea what happened. She can be frustrating sometimes, but I
feel like she is getting baptized soon.
We
also had a good lesson with Kris It was funny actually. He lives pretty
close to the church. he also lives with a bunch of roommates so
sometimes we just walk to the church. It was a busy road so occasionally
people yell at us. One guy drove by us in a pick up and yelled an
obscenity at us and Kris just gave him the double bird and yelled right
back at him! It was actually pretty funny.
He
is definitely progressing. He has an issue with the custody of his
child which makes it really hard for him to come to church so hopefully
that will get resolved so he comes more often.
We
also had a pretty good lesson with Px. We taught the first half of the
Plan of Salvation. She asked some tough questions that were hard to
answer with her limited knowledge. A lot of stuff about Adam and Eve.
However, she did attend church this week and she continues to read from
the Book of Mormon so that is a good sign.
Leslie
has been sick all week so we gave her a blessing, but we were not able
to meet with her. She also didn't attend church. Hopefully she will
start to feel better next week.
Speaking of
sickness... that nasty cough that I have had has stormed back. I think
it is a sinus infection. Luckily we have a mission nurse now so she
helped me out with a bunch of different stuff. I think the worst is
behind me so I should be fine by next week.
So
transfers are this Wednesday. Elder Martin and I are both staying. We
have 31 new missionaries coming, the most we have ever had (I came out
with 17 which was the most). I think Elder Clark from North Fremont is
included in that group. The missionary that we live with is training so
maybe he will come to Gresham! Here is a crazy stat for you. On
Wednesday, 86% of the mission will have been out for under a year. I
feel like an old man! We are a young mission which means that you can
expect great things soon!
It
sounds like everybody had a great week! It is always a party when the
Beans and the Utah Harts come up to visit. I bet it was cool to see
Jourdon again. I am glad everybody had a good time. I remember Dad
saying something about how my younger cousins will change the most while
I am here. That is the truth! Everybody looked so much older the
pictures. I was like, Man, Hayden looks different..., wait, that's
Taylor! HaHa! Everybody is growing up! Thanks so much for the pictures.
I
can't remember if I have mentioned sister Fann or not. She got baptized
about 20 months ago and she is one of the most solid recent converts
I've ever seen. Missionaries just randomly knocked on her door, talked
to her for about five minutes, invited her to church, and left. She
showed up to church a couple of days later and she has never stopped. By
the way, that NEVER happens. Anyway, she bought Elder Martin a gift. It
is a book by Tad R. Callister titled, The Infinite Atonement. You may
have heard of it before. It is an incredible book and I am learning so
much about the Atonement and how it applies to me.
I
studied a lot about the Fall of Adam and Eve. Px is having a hard time
understanding their story. We told her that they were innocent and
didn't know good or bad or right from wrong. Then she asked why they
were punished for partaking of the fruit. I came to this conclusion:
Adam and Even didn't know much, but they knew what God had told them to
do and not to do. They also knew the consequences. They just didn't have
first-hand experience. It is like telling a little child not to touch
the hot stove because it will burn his hand. Do you think the child even
knows what that means? Of course not. But he knows what you told him
not to do. As a parent, you don't want your child to disobey you and
touch the stove, but you also realize the valuable lessons that come
with that first-hand experience. God didn't want Adam and Eve to disobey
Him and partake of the fruit, but He also knows all of the experiences
we would have here to help us learn and grow. Also, He wanted Adam and
Eve to choose for themselves. God values our agency so much. Back to the
stove analogy, as a parent you aren't going to stick your kid's hand on
the stove and say, "See! It hurts doesn't it!" There would be no
lessons learned there. We all have to choose for ourselves and accept
the consequences. Then again, I am just a teenager in Gresham, Oregon
who probably doesn't have a clue what happened in the Garden of Eden! We
will find out one day.
Thank you again for the email! I can't wait to hear from you next week. I love you!
Love, Jaxon
PS I did get the package! Thank you!
No comments:
Post a Comment