September 24, 2012

Missionary Slim has another "Crazy Week" (Week 33 in Pennsylvania, Week 15 in Pittsburgh, PA)

So, the Gospel is true. Just thought I would let you all know.

The very day I wrote last week saying "We are really close to being done with Brenda, but we're sticking around," we were wandering around the streets of Pittsburgh. It was late; we needed to go home soon. But we decided we would walk down one more street to see if we could find someone walking around who we could talk to. As it turns out, we didn't find somebody walking - we found Brenda driving. Her route home was very unusual to have put her in our path, but I'm convinced that it was not a mere coincidence.

"Hey, Elders!" she yelled out to us from her car. We walked over and started talking. She had a wonderful day of work, and actually used our lesson from the previous day to help someone who she visited for her work (she's a traveling family services social worker. Bless her heart). Then she told us "Every time I see you two, I get so happy!" I'll be honest, I feel the same way about her. "That's the Spirit!" we told her. 

Later that week, we taught her in her home. She really opened up to us and told us her concerns about baptism and our message. With her, it's all baby-steps. Line upon line. Right now, she's got the concept of Apostasy. She's still struggling with the whole Restoration thing, but she totally understands the role of the Book of Mormon. At this point, she's really wanting to witness a baptism and meet with the bishop. Now we just have to help her realize that her chances of meeting with the bishop increase substantially if she actually comes to church. So that's where we're at.

TY. Ty is awesome. We met him a few weeks ago, taught him once, and haven't been able to visit him since. We've seen him around, but all of our appointments fall through. Well, we were out getting ready to pound on some doors. We were in his neighborhood, though, so we figured 'why not?' As it turns out, he was home! He invited us right in, sat us down, and we had a lesson right then and there. We watched "The Restoration" (great film, by the way. Try to find it on lds.org). Immediately afterward, he started tearing up. He told us about a crazy cool dream that he had, and how when he woke up, he felt this peace. "That's the Spirit!" we told him. He agreed, and told us he may not have had that dream if we didn't introduce him to the Book of Mormon. "If you guys never showed up again, I would still read the Book of Mormon." YES!

One more crazy story. This one is about Crazy Linda. She's a ward member and... well, she really is crazy. Seriously. I would draw a picture if I could, but the word description will have to do. Her hair is all over the place. Seriously, everywhere. Her eyeballs are always pointing in different directions. She wears thick, colored glasses and the goofiest clothing (Imagine Sybil Trelawney from Harry Potter). She loves the missionaries, and collects their name-tags ("I'll buy yours for fifty bucks!" "No thanks, Linda. I like it where it's at."). She talks a million miles a second and hardly makes any sense. And, She's a Mormon. (that would make for a catchy commercial, huh?)

Anyway, we've been told all kinds of things about Crazy Linda. Bad things. We've been dodging her for the past three months, but finally we got cornered into having dinner at her home. It was... better than I expected. It was certainly not the worst food I've eaten on my mission (but it is always concerning when someone says "Guess what our mystery meat is tonight!" Not a good sign) We survived it well, and live to tell the tale!

Take care all!
Love,
Elder Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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September 17, 2012

Missionary Slim is driving investigators crazy (Week 32 in Pennsylvania, Week 14 in Pittsburgh, PA)

So, remember the woman who went crazy last week? Well, it happened again.

We were teaching another woman about how to quit smoking, and she accepted our invitation. We came back later for a follow-up visit only to find that she herself was having some manic tendencies. She insisted that we go for a walk instead of having a lesson, wanted to say a prayer, but wouldn't pray around her home or near her fiance's work, which was just around the corner. We called back a little later during the week. Her fiance picked up the phone.

"Hey. Is Rene'e there?"

"No, she's in Western Psych. She tried to stab me with a knife."

Oh shoot.

So, yeah. Apparently, when I teach people the Gospel, it drives them crazy.

Not really though. I know that the Gospel is good, of God, and only leads to do right. That's just the power of the Devil influencing their lives for bad.

I was able to teach a really cool girl this week. Her name is Adrienne, and she is so ready for the truth. Completely. Alas, however, she lives in another area. But, we might still be able to teach her occasionally because her best friends and the members who introduced her to the Gospel live in our area. So that's cool. Regardless, she's being baptized into the one true church, so that's all good.

The lesson that we had with her was incredible. Our district leader, Elder Escobar, was on exchange with me and totally emphasized her being taught by the Spirit. Over and over again during the lesson, she would come to a true conclusion, and Elder Escobar would smugly remark "The Spirit just taught you that." (Yeah. This guy is a spiritual giant. He converted 2 years ago and is probably one of the most bold, sincere, powerful missionaries I've ever served with) Anyway, she told us that she's had a lot of friends comment negatively on her investigating the Church. She just brushes them off. "If I want to learn more, it should be my right, and my true friends would support me." Yeah! She's awesome!

We actually had some success tracting this week. I know. Crazy. We just felt randomly prompted to knock on some homes really close to our own apartment. The first door was this really poisonously nice lady who wouldn't listen to us at all, but lo and behold, the second door was a guy who investigated the church in Japan, and then moved here. We just randomly (miraculously?) happened to knock on his door, and got an appointment for this coming week. Sweet! Plus, he's got an awesome name. Rion. As in, O-Rion. Yeah. Awesome.

I'd better update on Brenda. She's doing good. Her work is incredibly crazy, and she is having a hard time getting time to read the scriptures. We're really close to being done with her, but for some reason, we are sticking around. We're just waiting for it to click with her. Next time we see her, we're going to have one more go at her with the Book of Mormon, see if she has a desire to learn if it's true, and then see where it goes. Your prayers on her behalf would be appreciated.

As always, thanks for all of the prayers and support that you give me. It means more than you know. The Church is so true. I know it for sure. And, boy, does that make me happy!

Take care, all!

Love,
Elder Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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September 10, 2012

Missionary Slim and the Law of the Harvest (Week 31 in Pennsylvania, Week 13 in Pittsburgh, PA)

Slim asked me to add my letter to him as a preface to his post this week. He thought you would enjoy it.
Slim's dad
    From the Crossroads of the West, we welcome you to the 33rd weekly broadcast via the interwebs of the letter to Elder R. Alex Anderson and his further adventures in the heathen realm of outer Pittsburgia.

    I don't say heathen lightly. He has had some truly life threatening adventures there in that land rich with iron and other natural resources. Much of the area is a rich tapestry of the bounty of the land of William Penn and fans of the ritualistic game called Football, even though it has very little to do with the feet. Yes, he is surviving, even thriving under the constant, vigilant watch of his noble sidekick, Elder Walker.

 Enough of this drivel.Now on to Missionary Slim

We went to visit that crazy investigator I mentioned. We were running a little behind, so we were a bit out of breath. The ward member coming to teach with us was even more late, so we didn't feel so bad. We knocked before he got there, so we could get the small talk out of the way. As soon as we did, though, streams of profanity came bellowing from behind the door. It swung open to reveal our investigator in a frenzy of what only could be termed insanity. Seriously. We found out later that she wasn't taking her med's at the time, and later was admitted to Western Psych ("They get Med's, and are Fed till they're Dead" said our member when he finally arrived.)

This member had something else for us to do. A sister from Cleavland was in the hospital for a checkup on her double lung transplant and needed a blessing. This is pretty common (us going to give blessings in hospitals - there are about 8 or 9 hospitals in our area, and we've been in about 6 of them), so we ran over there, chatted, gave the blessing, gave cheer, and then went home.

A few days later, our phone rings with an Ohio area code. It's this sister. She told us that she had made a friend while at the hospital, and wanted to share the Book of Mormon. NICE! We went back over (we only had plans to tract, so it worked out really well for us), and met this woman. Her name is Keri, and she is full blown Presbyterian - totally active, her former husband was a deacon or elder, and she herself was in some kind of leadership calling. She studied her bible every night, said her prayers every night, but still felt there was something missing. We talked to her a little bit about the Book of Mormon, gave her a copy, read a little bit out of it, and then went our way. Before we left, she told us that she was going to share this with her women's group. (I had to resist the urge to ask if we could share HER with our women's group.)

The moral of this story - the first sister we visited in the hospital was fairly young, severely weakened by her condition and medication, the only member of the church in her family, and had the courage to not only let others know she is Mormon, but also to share it. That's cool. That's really cool. I hope I can be like her when I stop wearing the name tag.

We visited with a few sweet families too. One, the Anderson's, are super cool, and not just because they have an awesome last name. They just barely moved from Philly, (that was a blast from the East - she speaks like the people from Lebanon), her family has been less active in the past, but really wants to get back into it. They've invited us over EVERY DAY of the week. We had to decline, but we will be visiting them a lot to help them come back.

Another family, the Howie's, are just as cool, if not cooler. The mom moved from Pittsburgh (the "Ghe-tto" she called it) to Mormon Suburbia in Las Vegas. Holy cow, was the culture shock there. She was so surprised at how nice everybody was, she immediately jumped on. Her son was baptized as well. Her daughter, on the other hand, couldn't be baptized because of an abrupt move back to Pittsburgh due to complications with her marriage (long story. Really long story). Anyway, they've been here for a while now without any contact with the church. We happened to get her records in our ward, and the Bishop sent us to investigate. We could only leave a card because nobody would answer the door. No more than 10 minutes after we left, we get a call basically begging us to come and visit - they missed the church so much. Our first lesson was so good! She shared her testimony, her desire to come back, and how much she loved the church and the teachings. She talked about how important her baptism was for her. It was so sweet. And, when she said the closing prayer, she said "In the name of the Father, and the Son, and Joseph Smith, and the Church. Amen" We couldn't help bust up laughing. She was so sincere and so sweet, it was wonderful. Her daughter is just about the same, really wanting to get back and come unto Christ. The only difference is the daughter isn't baptized yet. That should change very soon.

We were walking down the street when I got the distinct impression that we needed to track a specific street. A few days later, we hit the pavement right on that street. We had mild success, that is to say none. It was starting to get late, and we were pretty far from our apartment. I distinctly remember saying "Lets cross the street, knock a little bit more, see if we can ask someone for a drink of water, and then head home." I know. Not "One more door," but close enough.

Well, we knock on the door and a woman comes out. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Uhh.." we ask, "Have we met?"

"No, I don't think we have. I'd invite you in, but my husband isn't here, and I don't want to set a bad example for the kids."

"Uhh...."

We were apparently the first Mormons this woman has ever met. She grew up Catholic, but became disillusioned to religion in general and gave up the organized part. You could tell, though, that it was still in her heart - her kindness, generosity, and love which she just gave freely was apparent. When we asked for the water, she came out with a basket of produce from her garden - exotic tomatoes, cool peppers and FRESH BASIL! I'm totally making pasta this week! She gave us her number and said "Yeah, come over later. We'd love to have you over." Later she texted and said "Thanks for the visit. Enjoy the vegetables and be safe! Hope to see you again soon." We still don't know where she came from. But we hope to see her again soon too. We'll see.

There are so many more things I could talk about, but I don't have the time. We've been blessed so much. The continued prayers and support are so appreciated. Thank you all.

Love, Elder Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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September 4, 2012

Missionary Slim and the Pentecostal Minister (Week 30 in Pennsylvania, Week 12 in Pittsburgh, PA)

It's been a long week. It's been a hard week. But it's been a good week.

For those of you who were biting your fingernails and worrying about where Elder Anderson might be transferred this time around, the answer is: He won't. Yep! I get to stay here in good ole Pittsburgh for a few more weeks, till mid October. Hopefully I'll see some baptisms while I'm here.

We've been visiting with that woman who was interested in Family Search. Her name is Rhonda. She is crazy. She is probably one of the most energetic, fast talking, and very confused people I've ever met. She has a stream of questions which just come out of her mouth constantly, good questions. Questions which we can answer. 

So we did.

We gave her a Book of Mormon, talked a little bit about it, and shared with her Moroni's promise. She looked at it, read it, and said "Oh, I HAVE to read this book. I know it's true. Truth speaks to truth." She's so excited to learn more about it and have her questions answered. And, in case she really is crazy (she likes to dance in front of her house to relieve stress), we have a member who works at Western PA Psychiatric coming with us to visit her tonight!

I was on exchange again this week with Elder Lucio. Elder Walker and Elder Van Der Spek needed to go to West Virginia for a dentist appointment (it's a really long story. I'll tell it when I get home). So, nobody was in my area, and the plans which Elder Lucio and I had consisted of ... Tracting. Well, we got started when we got a call - it was Tim, the guy who was excommunicated and recently re-baptized and ordained a priest. He was so excited about his newly-restored priesthood, he wanted us to let him know how to give a healing blessing for his wife. "Uhh, Tim," I said. I tried to think of a way I could tell him the bad news without making him sad. "You... can't give her a blessing. You have to be an Elder to do that." Yeah. Probably too abrupt.

Yet this guy never gets down and never gets sad anymore. Since his re-baptism, he has been nothing but joy and laughter. Seriously - I'm not joking. "Okay! Not a problem. I understand. Can you two come over here to give her that blessing?"

We had nothing better to do, so we got permission, went over and did it. It was a cool experience, being able to bestow those blessings on his wife. That family is preparing to go to the temple, his wife in a few weeks and him in less than a year. The joy and excitement they have is so infectious. Tim got up to bear his testimony during fast meeting this week, for the first time in 34 years. Just being around him is an incredibly humbling experience. 

Anyway, back to giving the blessing. Right after we blessed his wife, we got a call from another member of my ward for us to give another blessing, this time to a patient of his who was actually a Pentecostal minister. We get into his hospital room, and this guy looks the part - really long hair, braided beard, the whole nine yards. Despite his appearance, he was such a soft-spoken and kind-hearted man. It was so apparent that he was devoted and dedicated. This man was a studier of many faiths, and tried apply the truths from all faiths he encountered. He read from the Book of Mormon and actually used it in his preaching (although he didn't say where he got the words from. I suppose he would just say "It says here, in the words of the Prophets...") He knew that we performed blessings by the laying on of hands, and requested that of his doctor. We came, administered, and following that he gave each of us a huge hug and said "Thank you, my brother," followed with a kiss on the cheek. This guy was legit! Really. I intend to check out his online ministry when I get home, just for curiosity's sake. (Am I allowed to make confessions like that as a missionary? Hmm...)

Sunday was super great too. Along with the testimonies and everything, we had great classes which Brenda finally came to! She wasn't able to come to Sacrament meeting, but she did stay for and enjoy all the classes afterward. She even begged us to go and see the Baptismal font, just to see what it was like. We visited her again yesterday and she seems to be moving closer and closer to her answer, but with one major caveat - she thinks she can be baptized without joining the church. We'll help her get over that. But your continued prayers on her behalf would be great.

One final thing. I've mentioned that I'm going to be working on the video for the mission this year. I've started, and will be working on it every week on Saturdays. It really isn't all that cool or glamorous, but it does give me a chance to take a break and focus on something else, which is definitely a blessing. If anyone has any ideas for the video, feel free to let me know.

To close: I know the Church is true. I know that God is real. I know that becoming Christlike is a choice. But it's more than just a choice - it's a way of life. It's a series of choices. Yeah. That's more like it. Every day, in every way, we choose whether to be Christlike or not. Check out 2 Nephi 2:27.

Take care, everyone.

Love,
Elder Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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