Missionary Slim: A journey of 42 miles begins with the first step and ends 89,000 later (Week 20 in Pennsylvania, Week 2 in Pittsburgh, PA)

In case I didn't make it clear in my last post, I'm now in a walking area in downtown (dawn-tawn as they say it here) Pittsburgh. I don't have a car, just my feet and the occasional bus. Lucky for me, I've got a pedometer which I can use to count how many steps I've been taking and roughly how far I've walked in the past week. Ready? 89,000 steps, which is about 42 miles. Yep! Forty two miles in a week! In the middle of the scorching heat, drowning in sweat and the humidity, drinking gallons of water just to stay hydrated - It's pretty much the best thing ever.

There are a lot of awesome people out here. A lot of sketchy people here too. Pittsburgh is a hub of diversity. In just one week we've met all kinds of people from all kinds of places - India, Guam, Thailand, France, Brazil, Mexico, Iran, Pakistan, Britain... All kinds of people. There are a lot more people who recognize us as Mormons too. Nearly every day someone comes up to us saying "Well, look what we have here! A couple of Elders!" We talk to them for a bit about how they know who we are, about what they believe, and before we can mention that we'd *love* to teach them, they hurry off. Oh well.

There's a lot of crime out here too. We've seen signs on churches or in yards saying "Keep summer fun! No guns!" A lot of the people we talk to have at least one relative or friend who has been killed in some violent way. Instead of saying "Have a good day" or "Take it easy" like people usually say, people warn us to "Be safe."

Before you read any further, realize that I don't tell you this to scare you or to make you fear for me. I'm perfectly safe. As long as I am obedient to the commandments of the Lord and the Mission President, and I use my head and stay as safe as possible, I will be protected. I am confident in and have faith in that. So don't any of you worry about me!

That having been said, we've already had one incident. We were in what seemed to be a nicer neighborhood. A bunch of kids were playing football and a couple of young adults were standing by watching. We go up and talk to them, and get into a lesson right then and there. They were really interested in the Book of Mormon and in Joseph Smith, so we start teaching them everything we can in the time that we have. As we're teaching, a car pulls up and a guy yells out the window to the guy we were teaching "If you disrespect me again, I'll end your life!" The guy we were teaching stood up and before I could even blink he had pulled out and armed his own handgun. Here's what went through my head at that moment:

*That's a gun. Hmm...*

For some reason, I felt absolutely no fear or anxiety or anything. The guy in the car drove away quickly, and we finished our lesson.  Elder Walker and I talked about it as we walked away - neither of us felt like we were in danger. We both felt completely safe, but we also felt that we needed to end the lesson quickly. As we turned the corner away from the neighborhood, we heard gunshots and the car sped off past us. Police officers drove past us shortly after. We don't know exactly what happened. All that we know is that we were definitely protected.

We've been teaching a lot of great people though. So many kind, warm-hearted souls. I'm so excited to be here. Not a day goes by that we don't find several people who are ready for the Gospel in the worst way.

One gentleman who we've been teaching, Cliff, is recovering from a severe stroke which paralyzed his right side. He's still completely coherent and is partially mobile, but he struggles to get around anywhere. He loves the gospel, though, and has such a strong testimony and belief and desire to follow all the things we ask him to. He has some paperwork to fill out and turn in, but as soon as he does, he'll be able to make it out to church, and then get baptized in no time!

There's also a sweet less-active member who we're teaching. Nearly all of her family is very active and all the kids served missions - Even she did! But for whatever reason she fell away. The missionaries have been teaching her the lessons and have had a lot of success getting her back. We were worried, because she was so close to the missionaries Elder Walker and I replaced, that things wouldn't go so well, but when we had our lesson this week, that fear quickly went away. We were laughing, telling stories, crying, testifying and everything in between, all in the same lesson. Her brother and his friend, both recently returned missionaries, were present and complimented both Elder Walker and I on how well the lesson went. That was certainly encouraging.

One last thing: This week at Zone Conference, we talked about how we can help everyone share the gospel and enjoy the blessings of missionary work. There is a super easy way for all of you to be a missionary right now! As soon as you get done reading this blog post, do these simple steps:

1. Say a quick prayer that what you are about to do will touch someones life.
2. Go to Mormon.org. Make a profile if you don't have one.
3. Look through the videos or articles. Feel the spirit.
4. Choose one or two or a dozen that you want to share with someone over the next few weeks.
5. Link those videos to your Facebook or Twitter or whatever.

See? It's that easy! Anyone can share the gospel. I know that this will help all of you not only share your testimonies with others, but increase your own testimony! I hope you enjoy sharing the gospel as much as I do!

Love,
Elder Alex Anderson