December 9, 2013

Missionary Slim puts his "Magic" black name badge to good use (Week 96 in Pennsylvania, Week 7 in Wintersville, Ohio)

Our week has been pretty exciting, with one or two amazing experiences here and there.

We went to visit a less-active brother. We've been over to his house many times, and have enjoyed his... interesting humor as we do service or try to teach a lesson. This time, though, we found his wife at home, something that isn't a usual thing. This was the first time that I met his wife.

She herself was a very friendly lady, very funny. The relationship between the two was an awful lot like Punch and Judy, but you could tell there was a deep love there. She was very involved in the church at one time, but due to work had slipped away.

As my companion talked to the husband, the wife started talking to me. We began by talking about the second coming and the world and such, but then our conversation shifted to more personal matters that I'm not at liberty to disclose. As I sat there listening, the Spirit was very strong and I knew precisely what to say to her. She described the situation she was in, and then informed me "I don't know why I'm telling you this - I haven't told anybody! Not even family!" I jokingly explained that there's something about our magic black name-badges that makes people feel comfortable trusting in us, even when they only met us a few moments ago.

I told her what the Spirit was saying to me, and she listened intently. It was almost as though you could feel the tension being relieved a bit, as she saw the glimmer of hope that my words offered her. She thanked us profusely for coming to visit, and I once again thanked my Heavenly Father for letting me be a part of that experience.

Later that night, we went out with a recently returned missionary to go and visit some people he thought would like to hear about the gospel. He brought us to see his second cousin, Paul, and his wife Melinda, two very good people who love God and want to do the right thing. Paul had a pretty bad past - his drinking addiction cost him his heath and his sight, due to diabetes that he developed. Since then, though, he's quit drinking and trying to be on the right path. We didn't have a lot of time to chat with them, but we did give them a pamphlet. "Melinda," I said, "I want you to read this out loud so Paul can hear it. And be sure to tell him about the pictures - I love the pictures!" They agreed. Hopefully you'll hear more about them in the future!

I'll close with one thought of Christmas. We went to the church last night to pick something up and found a family hard at work making some little presents for the Young Women - blocks with a Christmas saying on them. It's too good not to share:

Are you going to stick with the INN crowd, or be one of the STABLE few?

That was accompanied with a picture of the nativity. Think about it.

Have a great week too! It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

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