October 28, 2013
Missionary Slim doesn't have to use his ruby slippers to get home, just the power of prayer and a tank of gas (Week 90 in Pennsylvania, Week 1 in Wintersville, Ohio)
"Gee, Toto, I don't think we're in Pennsylvania anymore!"
And isn't that the truth! After a wild turn of events, I finally made it to... well, maybe I'd better explain those wild events.
Monday, a preparation day like any other. I worked hard to pack and do laundry while saying my goodbyes to all the wonderful people that I'll be missing as I go to my new area. Tuesday, I was off. Another missionary (on his way to home, actually - he was at the end of the two years) hopped into a car and took off down the Pennsylvania Turnpike with somewhere around 200 miles to drive just to get to Pittsburgh and about 4 exits along the way.
I had arranged the day before to have lunch with a family that I taught in Somerset, which happens to be a convenient stop on the way. As we were driving, reminiscing about the mission and our areas, I took a look at the dashboard to find the fuel low light on. I quickly took a look at the digital display with the fuel range information: 12 miles. I looked at the GPS to see how far Somerset was from our current location: 20 miles.
Oh shoot.
We were panicking just a little bit, mainly because we were on a pretty tight schedule and really weren't in the mood for walking 8 miles to get a gallon of gas. The Turnpike is a toll road, too, so it would be very difficult to expect anyone to give us a ride one way or the other.
We pretty much had only one option - pray.
You know that story of the Savior blessing that bread and those fishes and it suddenly multiplying, or at very least sustaining itself long enough to feed a massive group of people. Well, that kind of miracle still happens nowadays. As we drove along, trying our best to keep the mileage as high as possible, we noticed that for every two miles we drove closer to Somerset, our fuel range only went down 1 mile. Miraculously, we made it all the way, and were able to fill up and get to Pittsburgh in safety.
So, now all the exciting stuff. I ended up getting transferred to... an area to work with a guy named Elder Almond. He's a Tooele native, born and raised in the church, but fell off in his teenage years. After a couple of years of 'riotous living', he decided that his life wasn't going anywhere good, slowly got it turned around, and is now on a mission serving the Lord. He's been out for about 6 months, and has been here for a transfer.
The work here is going great. The investigator pool is low, but I'm sure that's going to change - we found three new investigators this week. A recent convert named Jasmyn pretty much invited all of her friends to meet with us, and two of them accepted the invitation to learn more about the gospel; one of them even came to church yesterday and loved it!
An investigator named Carlene is getting ready to be baptized. She's a sweetheart with a big heart and is really good on picking up on the Spirit. She's had a rough life, and it shows, but she's got such a great desire to follow the right thing. She's had some great friends in the church mentor and guide her along, and now, she's telling everyone that she's going to become a member. I was helping her with her wheelchair yesterday, and I caught her talking to another member saying "I'm getting baptized soon!"
One more thing: This morning, we got a call from the senior couple that works in the ward with us - they got a call that one of the elderly members was in the hospital and requested a blessing. We got there, and he was in pretty bad shape. He was in his 80s, a native of Scotland, and in a coma. His health had been declining for a long time, and his granddaughter who was there felt that he was wanting to go home. She requested that we release him from mortality - the senior missionary, Elder Monson, performed the ordinance. There is always a very special feeling that comes when the words "I bless you to know that your Father is pleased with you and is calling you home" are pronounced over someone. The granddaughter was very grateful, and I'm sure that somewhere, bagpipes were playing 'Danny Boy.'
And all this happened in sunny Wintersville, Ohio! (I bet you thought I'd never mention it, huh?)
Have a great week, All!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
October 21, 2013
Missionary Slim likes photoblogging (Week 89 in Pennsylvania, Week 13 in Dover, PA)
This might be mostly a photo blog post. Lots of
great things have been talked about in the blog, but I haven't put up
pictures in a while.
A recent hurricane blew through, causing this flooding. It was pretty intense!
Kyle's baptism!
In other news, Transfers! Tomorrow,
I am off to different climes. Yep, I'm being transferred. All that I
know is I'm going to be somewhere in the western side of the mission,
but that's about it. It'll be totally different than what I've been up
to lately, though. New area, new ward (or branch), new investigators,
new companion, new everything! Except toothbrush - I'm hanging on to
that.
For the record, this is going to be my sixth area.
Probably my last, too, but I'm not going to say one way or the other for
fear of getting jinxed.
I'm leaving behind a
bunch of great people, which is the worst part about being transferred. A
ton of people who I wasn't expecting came up to me at church and
sincerely told me goodbye. It was super touching.
Wherever I go, though, It'll be good. It'll be where the Lord wants me to go. That, I'm excited for.
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
October 14, 2013
Missionary Slim sees a TON of fish but is having the best success being a 'Fisher of Men' (Week 88 in Pennsylvania, Week 12 in Dover, PA)
Missionary work is going well. We pulled out our
area book this week and found this name under the potential investigator
section:
Valentin. Contacted August 2007. Note: "This guy is SO prepared!"
And with that to work with, we stopped by. Sure enough,
we found him at home. Actually, he was leaving in about 5 minutes, but
he had time to get to know us a bit, tell us that he could visit with us
in the morning, and get our phone number.
We stopped by two days later in the morning and he let
us in with this greeting: "Guys, this is going to be the first and the
last time, because I'm just so busy, I can't commit to anything. But
come in for today." We sat down and he just started talking to us, with
us making comments here and there. He talked about his work, his family,
his homeland Mexico, his wife, his church that he doesn't attend. You
know, all the important stuff. We just sat and listened. Every now and
then, he'd stop, think for a bit, and then throw our a super-inspired
question. "So, what is it with you guys? What makes your church any
different from any other?" or "What happens to us when we die? Coz my
kids have been asking and I don't have a good answer." And we answered.
We gave him a Book of Mormon, and he seemed thrilled to give it a read.
We'll see what happens.
Same goes for the wife of a less-active member who we started teaching this week. We've gone over in the past to chat, to help them with their fish (they have a TON of fish), and other stuff. This time, though, we were going to teach. She had a TON of questions too (not as many questions as fish, though), and we were able to answer every single one. She's going to think about what we shared and decide if she wants to learn any more during this coming week, but I'm hopeful and confident that she'll choose to keep learning.
Also, we had the chance to visit with Noel again.
Without going into detail, she told us one of her biggest hang-ups with
coming to church. It was incredible how the conversation just naturally
flowed into the gospel and the love which Heavenly Father has for us and
how much He wants us to just make good choices and follow Him. He knows
what will make us happy, and He's going to try his hardest to help us.
She seemed a little bit more comfortable after that.
Finally, we had an awesome baptism this week. Kyle, who
I mentioned many weeks ago, has been taught by the sister missionaries
in the ward. They've worked through all his concerns and questions until
he finally decided to be baptized. It was a great baptism. Like the
baptism of Sarah a few months ago, we were able to have a Skype session
with the missionaries who taught him online. They were awesome guys too -
one was paralyzed from the hips down and the other had cerebral palsy.
Both were dedicated servants of the Lord, though, and were trying their
best to share the gospel.
Kyle gave his testimony as well. He explained how he
came to find the church after taking a survey online about which
religion he affiliates with the most. Turns out that the result was
"Mormon." So he got online, got in touch with those missionaries, they
got us in touch with him. He said that his first visit with us was
"intimidating." (ouch...) But the sisters came in right after that and
softened him right up. He's totally dedicated to the church and gospel
and is ready for his new life! That's just testimony to me that the Lord
really is in charge - He'll make everything work out.
Anyway, it's been a great week. I hope yours has been too!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
October 7, 2013
Missionary Slim has a few words to pass on to everyone (Week 87 in Pennsylvania, Week 11 in Dover, PA)
Today, Slim has been extremely busy and didn't have a lot of time to write. Here are a few of his own words to sum up his week:
-General Conference. Two words: HOME RUN!
-Remember
Kyle? I mentioned him weeks ago. He's been taught by the sister
missionaries, and will probably be getting baptized this coming week. Do
like one of the seventies (I can't remember which) told you, and pray
for him by name. He'll appreciate it.
-Cody, who I mentioned last week, came to Priesthood session. He really liked it.
-Noel is contemplating joining the church more and more every time we visit.
-By the time you read this, Elder Bowcut will be on an airplane to Australia.
-The Church is still SO true!
That's about all! Hope your week is as exciting as this coming one should be!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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