November 25, 2013
Missionary Slim is in West Virginia? How did this happen? (Week 94 in Pennsylvania, Week 5 in Wintersville, Ohio)
I was on exchange down in Wheeling, West Virginia, going around with Elder Coleman, and missionary who came out with me. We had several visits lined up, and most of them worked out, almost miraculously.
One was pretty remarkable. It was a former investigator who didn't know that we were coming. We knocked on the door, and she was home and invited us in. We sat down, and started getting to know her. I asked her about a tattoo that was on her arm, and she said "Oh, that's for my mom. She died a year ago, and it's been really hard for me to reconcile it and I really need some help." It's always great to be able to sit down and talk to these people who recognize their need and are seeking for help. We started teaching the Plan of Salvation, and got to talking about the purpose of life. We gave one or two, like preparing to meet God, or learning as much as we can, and then she said "Well, I don't think that's my purpose." We asked her to elaborate, and listened as she explained to us that she didn't have any kids, but wanted them. For some reason, though, she couldn't have them. "Why?" was her question.
Again, it amazed me how much faith she put into us 20 year old kids who know so little about 'the world'. We didn't answer her question; frankly, we couldn't She needed that answer for herself. But I was impressed by how much she desired to learn.
Carlene, an investigator we've been working with, was supposed to be baptized this past week. Well, she wasn't. It didn't work out. Long story short, she wasn't ready. We were going to postpone the baptism, but she wouldn't have it - she basically said it was now or nothing. It was too bad, too, because she had come so far already. But the ordinance didn't really mean enough to her to make the sacrifice. Hopefully she comes around sometime.
We did meet an amazing family, the Browns. They come from catholic backgrounds, but are really interested in finding the truth. In our first visit, they told us "We want to be baptized, and we want all our children to be too." Wow. Again, I love the people out here, and how much they love the Lord and want to put their faith in him. Sometimes, society makes them choose otherwise, but when we find those honest seekers of truth, I love it!
Have a great week, all
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
One was pretty remarkable. It was a former investigator who didn't know that we were coming. We knocked on the door, and she was home and invited us in. We sat down, and started getting to know her. I asked her about a tattoo that was on her arm, and she said "Oh, that's for my mom. She died a year ago, and it's been really hard for me to reconcile it and I really need some help." It's always great to be able to sit down and talk to these people who recognize their need and are seeking for help. We started teaching the Plan of Salvation, and got to talking about the purpose of life. We gave one or two, like preparing to meet God, or learning as much as we can, and then she said "Well, I don't think that's my purpose." We asked her to elaborate, and listened as she explained to us that she didn't have any kids, but wanted them. For some reason, though, she couldn't have them. "Why?" was her question.
Again, it amazed me how much faith she put into us 20 year old kids who know so little about 'the world'. We didn't answer her question; frankly, we couldn't She needed that answer for herself. But I was impressed by how much she desired to learn.
Carlene, an investigator we've been working with, was supposed to be baptized this past week. Well, she wasn't. It didn't work out. Long story short, she wasn't ready. We were going to postpone the baptism, but she wouldn't have it - she basically said it was now or nothing. It was too bad, too, because she had come so far already. But the ordinance didn't really mean enough to her to make the sacrifice. Hopefully she comes around sometime.
We did meet an amazing family, the Browns. They come from catholic backgrounds, but are really interested in finding the truth. In our first visit, they told us "We want to be baptized, and we want all our children to be too." Wow. Again, I love the people out here, and how much they love the Lord and want to put their faith in him. Sometimes, society makes them choose otherwise, but when we find those honest seekers of truth, I love it!
Have a great week, all
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
November 18, 2013
Missionary Slim teaches us that everyone has a great story (Week 93 in Pennsylvania, Week 4 in Wintersville, Ohio)
Monday evening, we went to go visit with Nancy. Nancy is a very outspoken, opinionated and quick-to-the-point kind of lady. She's a baptist by faith, and regularly attends her Sunday meetings, revivals all that jazz. Oh, and she's an avid coffee-aholic. Seriously, ever time we've been over there to visit her, she's had a pot brewing. (And it smells so good!)
We finally got the chance to go over there to chat with her for an extended period of time. She sat down and started telling us about how much she loved Jesus, about how her siblings and children have made some poor choices, and, of course, about coffee. We just listened, trying to glean as much as we could from it. Then, she asked, "So what can I do for you gentlemen?"
We started telling her about how we are here to draw people closer to Christ, to which she replied "Well, I'm already close to Christ!" and she went off again for a few minutes. When we got the chance, we asked her "Why did you invite us in?" and she said "Because you asked!"
Thinking that this lesson was going nowhere, I pulled out the Book of Mormon and said to myself, "Well, at very least we'll share this with her!" And I started talking about how it testifies of Christ and how important it is to gain a testimony of it. I said "I know for myself that this book is true, but that won't be enough for you. We don't want you to take our word for it; we want you to go to the Source." To my surprise, she told us "Why shouldn't I take your word for it? I believe everything you've told me. I wouldn't have you sitting here talking to me if I didn't trust you two. And yes, I'll read it and pray about it."
I was stunned, but overjoyed! I'm still not sure about where things will go with teaching her, but at very least, she's trying. We'll see where this goes.
Tuesday, I went back to Washington, the area I was in last year. I was on exchange with the Zone Leaders, and the one that I was took me to several of the people that I've taught in the past. We ended our exchange by visiting Bro. Anderson, a member that I grew very close to while I was there. We didn't tell him that we were coming, we just stopped by. As I came into the house, the whole family was very shocked and surprised to see me. Bro. Anderson came from upstairs and said to me "Brother Anderson! Come here!" and embraced me like a father. That moment was certainly one of the best of my mission. I don't think I can explain it, so I'm not even going to try. But it was wonderful.
Wednesday, we were back in Ohio, trying to track down some people. I was on exchange again, this time with a brand-spankin'-new missionary, Elder Gates. Remembering my tender days on the mission, I decided to try something which I learned early on. "Elder Gates," I said, "There is someone on this street who needs the gospel. Which three houses are we going to knock on?" After looking around for a minute or so, he said "How about those three there?" Awesome.
We knocked the first house. Nothing. So, we left a card. As we were coming down the steps, though, a car rolled up and a 17 or 18 year old girl came out, looking very confused. I called "Hey! Is this your house?" She, very sensibly replied "What are you doing at my house?"
When we told her who we were, she said "Oh, a friend from school (one of the ward members, actually) is a Mormon. He told us all about how he's going to go on a mission." As we talked with her, we found out that she really was very interested in learning about the Gospel, and especially why we would do something as crazy as a mission (I wonder that myself sometimes :P). We swapped her contact info for a Book of Mormon. We'll see what happens.
Sunday, I learned an incredible lesson, and this is what I'll close with. Everybody has a story - everyone came from somewhere, has had a slew of experiences. All too often, I forget that, and just think that wherever I'm coming from is the same place as everyone else. It's not. We often hear the cliche "Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care." Well, part of that caring is knowing the details about people's lives - their birthdays, their pet's names, their hobbies, their fears, their hopes, their destinies. And then actually making all that stuff mean something to you. When that happens, it's like magic. I've seen it time and time again.
Elder Ballard gave a commitment to us all. "We are not asking everyone to do everything. We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just “one” between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the Savior."
Let's do it. Let's care about someone the way Christ cares about us, and then reach out to that 'one'. It'll make a world of difference.
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
November 11, 2013
Missionary Slim is the Wizard of Wintersville (Week 92 in Pennsylvania, Week 3 in Wintersville, Ohio)
What a weird week...
On Monday, we went out to old man Zook's house. He's a great old guy who's been around for a really long time, and has seen the ward grow from a twig to where it is now. He's got a lot of random tricks up his sleeve too. While we were out there, he pulled out his old 'Water Witching Rods'. You know that thing that they do where they get two 'L' shaped rods, hold them straight out, and find water or treasure or something underground? Well, this guy says that it's legit, that it really works...for water at least.
He brought us out to the front of his house, puts the rods in my hand, and says "Now, walk." And I started walking. The trick is apparently to hold them perfectly straight ahead, but loose so they can turn every which way. So, I held them out and started walking, slowly. As I walked, the rods began to turn inward, completely on their own. Pretty soon, I passed the center point and Whoop! they pointed right at my chest. I reset them, and started walking back. At the exact same point Whoop! the rods turned towards me again. I held them high over my head the next time, and when I passed the point WHOOP! they swung right around and I was a helicopter.
You do some pretty weird things on the mission...
You see some weird things too, like this:
On Monday, we went out to old man Zook's house. He's a great old guy who's been around for a really long time, and has seen the ward grow from a twig to where it is now. He's got a lot of random tricks up his sleeve too. While we were out there, he pulled out his old 'Water Witching Rods'. You know that thing that they do where they get two 'L' shaped rods, hold them straight out, and find water or treasure or something underground? Well, this guy says that it's legit, that it really works...for water at least.
He brought us out to the front of his house, puts the rods in my hand, and says "Now, walk." And I started walking. The trick is apparently to hold them perfectly straight ahead, but loose so they can turn every which way. So, I held them out and started walking, slowly. As I walked, the rods began to turn inward, completely on their own. Pretty soon, I passed the center point and Whoop! they pointed right at my chest. I reset them, and started walking back. At the exact same point Whoop! the rods turned towards me again. I held them high over my head the next time, and when I passed the point WHOOP! they swung right around and I was a helicopter.
You do some pretty weird things on the mission...
You see some weird things too, like this:
I'm not even going to offer comment.
This week has been a great one. We had some awesome visits with some of the less-active and returning members of the church out here. Saturday, we had the Elders Quorum president drive us around for 8 hours during the day, completely on his own accord. Apparently, he was touched by President Monson's comment about now being the time for members and missionaries to work together. We went out to visit some people the Bishop suggested would be good to sit down with.
The first gentleman, Brother Boyd, was pretty dodgy. He let us in, but wasn't very thrilled to talk about the Gospel. He was very friendly, and open about his history in the church, about how he has flitted in and out of activity and eventually was the means for his wife and step-daughter to be baptized, but as of right now, coming back to church isn't a priority, it's only on his mind. It was plain, though, that as we left, he had more thoughts on his mind than when we came.
Another brother we visited, Brother Fray, is preparing to get the Melchizedek priesthood. He's been thinking about it pretty strongly, but after we came and sat down with him, it was plain to see that he knew what a blessing it would be in his life. We three talked about the great blessing it has been in our lives, we showed a quick video, and when the movie was done, the Spirit was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. His 15 year old son was there, and both of them seemed to be very close to tears. It was pretty awesome.
Earlier this week, we were in an area that we don't frequent very often. We looked at our maps and saw that there were a couple of less-active members that we could stop by. Neither of us knew any of the names, so we just picked one and drove over.
The name was Annette, and we had no information about her. When we rolled up, we saw a lady cleaning out her garage. We came up and almost scared her, but after we got introductions out of the way, she warmed up and said "Come on in!"
We sat down and started chatting, and one of the first things that she said was "How do you people keep on finding me?" She was born into the church in Ogden, but the hypocrisy which she saw in the church drove her away from any church at all. She's been all over the place in her life as a military woman, but finally settled down about 5 years ago. This was the first she's been visited by missionaries since then.
Then her Irish husband, Mick, came in, and boy, did we think he was going to come down like his namesake mascot. (Notre Dame Fighting Irish reference there) He took one look at us, with an unsure look on his face, and then started cracking jokes. "Oh! I thought you were INTERPOL coming to get me after all these years!" He sat down and was more than open about his feelings towards the church. Of course he's had some interaction, but has never attended. However, he seemed to be pretty open to the idea, much more than his wife. Both of them, however, were incredibly friendly to us. As we walked out, Elder Almond said "We'll have to come out this way more often." I say yes to that!
In all, a great week. And a great area!
Have a great week, all!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
This week has been a great one. We had some awesome visits with some of the less-active and returning members of the church out here. Saturday, we had the Elders Quorum president drive us around for 8 hours during the day, completely on his own accord. Apparently, he was touched by President Monson's comment about now being the time for members and missionaries to work together. We went out to visit some people the Bishop suggested would be good to sit down with.
The first gentleman, Brother Boyd, was pretty dodgy. He let us in, but wasn't very thrilled to talk about the Gospel. He was very friendly, and open about his history in the church, about how he has flitted in and out of activity and eventually was the means for his wife and step-daughter to be baptized, but as of right now, coming back to church isn't a priority, it's only on his mind. It was plain, though, that as we left, he had more thoughts on his mind than when we came.
Another brother we visited, Brother Fray, is preparing to get the Melchizedek priesthood. He's been thinking about it pretty strongly, but after we came and sat down with him, it was plain to see that he knew what a blessing it would be in his life. We three talked about the great blessing it has been in our lives, we showed a quick video, and when the movie was done, the Spirit was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. His 15 year old son was there, and both of them seemed to be very close to tears. It was pretty awesome.
Earlier this week, we were in an area that we don't frequent very often. We looked at our maps and saw that there were a couple of less-active members that we could stop by. Neither of us knew any of the names, so we just picked one and drove over.
The name was Annette, and we had no information about her. When we rolled up, we saw a lady cleaning out her garage. We came up and almost scared her, but after we got introductions out of the way, she warmed up and said "Come on in!"
We sat down and started chatting, and one of the first things that she said was "How do you people keep on finding me?" She was born into the church in Ogden, but the hypocrisy which she saw in the church drove her away from any church at all. She's been all over the place in her life as a military woman, but finally settled down about 5 years ago. This was the first she's been visited by missionaries since then.
Then her Irish husband, Mick, came in, and boy, did we think he was going to come down like his namesake mascot. (Notre Dame Fighting Irish reference there) He took one look at us, with an unsure look on his face, and then started cracking jokes. "Oh! I thought you were INTERPOL coming to get me after all these years!" He sat down and was more than open about his feelings towards the church. Of course he's had some interaction, but has never attended. However, he seemed to be pretty open to the idea, much more than his wife. Both of them, however, were incredibly friendly to us. As we walked out, Elder Almond said "We'll have to come out this way more often." I say yes to that!
In all, a great week. And a great area!
Have a great week, all!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
November 4, 2013
Missionary Slim is in the right place at the right time to help people feel the power of the Spirit (Week 91 in Pennsylvania, Week 2 in Wintersville, Ohio)
We've had a couple of really great, cool experiences this week. Tuesday, we had an appointment with a less active brother, Jason. He's a hip, hair-stylin' Mormon who either joined the church later in life, or fell out of the church pretty hard. But don't let his appearance fool you - his tattoos and earrings only adorn the outside warmhearted family man.
He's working on quitting smoking - he has been for a while. This past week, we decided to take his former bishop, who was released about a year ago, over to visit him. Jason has been trying for a long time to come back and to fix his life, but he just needs a few pushes every now and then to get him going in the right direction. Well, the bishop gave him that push. It was incredible to see this brother testify, a testimony and conviction so filled with love that all in the room could feel it. As the bishop encouraged and invited this brother to work towards priesthood advancement, my companion and I were silent. Then, my companion gave a strong invitation to follow a stop-smoking program. Jason accepted, and sure enough, the next day we got a text saying "Only one cigarette today!" By the time he came to church this Sunday, the first time in a while, I believe, he was holding on strong.
Did we do a lot? No, not really. It was all the Spirit. We just got Jason in the right place at the right time with the right people so the Spirit could be felt.
Another story: The next day, we had a dinner appointment with an active family who is notorious for having less-active members over at the same time. After dinner, we sat down and just started talking - about the Plan of Happiness, the temple, etc. We didn't have any specific plans, we didn't really even teach anything earth-shatteringly awesome. It was just talking. We brought up the death of the less-active sister's grandmother, and then bore simple testimony that her death was temporary - it wouldn't last forever. After the lesson, we got a text from the active brother who invited us over saying "Thanks for coming over - we really felt the spirit."
Finally, we've been teaching the Gospel Principles class during Sunday School, and our class has been packed both weeks! We've been having two less-active brothers, two recent converts, three investigators, a toddler, the Ward Mission Leader, and, of course, the missionaries. Well, this past week, we had a young woman randomly invite her boyfriend to come to church. After Fast and Testimony (which was great - it was centered on cat stories, and how people have learned the gospel from their cats), I asked the boyfriend if he liked it and if he was staying. He said yes to both, so we brought him in.
Come to find out, this young woman was a little nervous about him being by himself, so she came to the class. And, come to find out, she was a little nervous about being there 'by herself', so to speak, so she brought THE ENTIRE LAUREL GROUP! That class was seriously filled to capacity. It was incredible. We had a pretty good lesson, and tried to include everyone, but it did seem a little hectic with all the people, the toddler taking away everyone's attention, and the room temperature quickly rising.
After church, we went to the home of one of these young women who was in the class. Completely without prompting on our part, she said "Class was really good today. I really felt the spirit strongly." Wow. That felt really good to hear.
So, moral of the story -
Be in the right place...
At the right time...
With the right people...
Doing the right things...
And everything will generally work out.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
He's working on quitting smoking - he has been for a while. This past week, we decided to take his former bishop, who was released about a year ago, over to visit him. Jason has been trying for a long time to come back and to fix his life, but he just needs a few pushes every now and then to get him going in the right direction. Well, the bishop gave him that push. It was incredible to see this brother testify, a testimony and conviction so filled with love that all in the room could feel it. As the bishop encouraged and invited this brother to work towards priesthood advancement, my companion and I were silent. Then, my companion gave a strong invitation to follow a stop-smoking program. Jason accepted, and sure enough, the next day we got a text saying "Only one cigarette today!" By the time he came to church this Sunday, the first time in a while, I believe, he was holding on strong.
Did we do a lot? No, not really. It was all the Spirit. We just got Jason in the right place at the right time with the right people so the Spirit could be felt.
Another story: The next day, we had a dinner appointment with an active family who is notorious for having less-active members over at the same time. After dinner, we sat down and just started talking - about the Plan of Happiness, the temple, etc. We didn't have any specific plans, we didn't really even teach anything earth-shatteringly awesome. It was just talking. We brought up the death of the less-active sister's grandmother, and then bore simple testimony that her death was temporary - it wouldn't last forever. After the lesson, we got a text from the active brother who invited us over saying "Thanks for coming over - we really felt the spirit."
Finally, we've been teaching the Gospel Principles class during Sunday School, and our class has been packed both weeks! We've been having two less-active brothers, two recent converts, three investigators, a toddler, the Ward Mission Leader, and, of course, the missionaries. Well, this past week, we had a young woman randomly invite her boyfriend to come to church. After Fast and Testimony (which was great - it was centered on cat stories, and how people have learned the gospel from their cats), I asked the boyfriend if he liked it and if he was staying. He said yes to both, so we brought him in.
Come to find out, this young woman was a little nervous about him being by himself, so she came to the class. And, come to find out, she was a little nervous about being there 'by herself', so to speak, so she brought THE ENTIRE LAUREL GROUP! That class was seriously filled to capacity. It was incredible. We had a pretty good lesson, and tried to include everyone, but it did seem a little hectic with all the people, the toddler taking away everyone's attention, and the room temperature quickly rising.
After church, we went to the home of one of these young women who was in the class. Completely without prompting on our part, she said "Class was really good today. I really felt the spirit strongly." Wow. That felt really good to hear.
So, moral of the story -
Be in the right place...
At the right time...
With the right people...
Doing the right things...
And everything will generally work out.
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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