December 16, 2013

Missionary Slim reminds you to keep on keepin' on (Week 97 in Pennsylvania, Week 8 in Wintersville, Ohio)

It's been a slow week - with Christmas, the hustle and bustle, the busyness, the finals and tests in school, the cold and the snow, it's been slow.

One low-light. The Browns, the ginormous family that we've been teaching the gospel to, decided to quit investigating. The hard way. After numerous attempts to visit them, call them, and get in touch with them in general, Elder Almond and another missionary on exchange finally were able to talk with the dad on their porch. He opened up the door with two Book of Mormons in his hand, and extended them to us.

"Guys," he said, "I had a vision where I saw that I needed to stay with my church. This isn't right for us, so I'd appreciate it if you took them back."

This isn't the first time this has happened to missionaries; they knew what to do. They bore powerful testimony, told him that they knew that he didn't even try to read the book, and asked if they could talk to him about it more. He let them in from the cold, they sat down, and started talking. Long story short, he said they'd look into it more. We haven't been able to get in touch with them since.

If I had the wish of my heart, I would go back there at least one more time and add my testimony to those that were borne already, the testimony which millions of others have felt and acted on - that book is true, and is the word of God Himself. There is no doubt to me of that. It has changed my life, and it has changed the lives of countless others who I have taught. Every time I read from it, without fail, I feel the Spirit pour out into my soul. It's true.

We had another visit with the same less-active family that I mentioned last week. The wife works on Sundays, but is free on Fridays, so we stopped by to see if we could have a visit. They were both home, and after generously feeding us a bunch of tacos, we sat down and talked about the Gospel and the church. The ward Christmas party that evening came up, and we asked if they were going. They looked at each other and seemed like they felt it was possible they could go, but they weren't sure if they wanted to put in the effort to come. After a little bit of prodding, they agreed to give it a shot.

Sure enough, they were there. It was an awesome party too, but I was especially glad to see them and even more happy when I saw that the members were showering them with attention - it was great. It was like coming home after a long trip. That's what it's all about - That feeling that we get when we come home. You feel it at church; you feel it at the temple. I'm going to be feeling it literally in a few weeks. But all of it is just a fore-taste of that feeling we will have when we enter that Celestial Kingdom and embrace our Father. That will be a good day.

Until then, keep on keepin' on!
Love,

Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

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