March 18, 2013

Missionary Slim celebrates St. Patrick's day in the traditional Irish way, by visiting a bar. (Week 58 in Pennsylvania, Week 22 in Washington, PA)

This week has certainly been a week of weeks. I'll just jump right into things.

We've been working pretty hard on Dan the Man. Dan is a pretty great guy, looking for the true church and he's pretty much decided that he has found it. Which is great. The one problem was that he could not bring himself to come to church. Well, he finally did it last week, and came this past week too, which is pretty solid. So, we decided on Wednesday that we would talk to him about actually being baptized. The conversation was going really well - I wanted to be there for the baptism, and we were pretty sure that he would be totally ready for baptism by the very last Saturday of the transfer. Which just so happens to be this coming Saturday. So, pretty close. Well, it turns out that Dan wasn't feeling it. "Guys, I know I've come so far, but I don't think I'll be ready by then." He's nervous about being baptized and slipping into old habits, even though he's been doing great for so long. He also is a little nervous about taking upon him the name of Christ. But he told us that he'd be ready by next month. I was a little disappointed, but it didn't bother me too much - he is still going to be baptized. Well, we came to church on Sunday. Dan showed up. I was thrilled to see him. One of the first things he told me was he felt like he should get in touch with his friend from Salt Lake City who referred him to the church in the first place. As it turns out, she is flying to the east coast next weekend and happens to be able to make it to a baptism service, if it were to happen this weekend. He thought about it and decided that he could make it happen this coming weekend. I was totally amazed. Seriously, I was so happy. We set up the details for the baptism right then and there, and are planning on having it right after church on Sunday. I'm incredibly excited, if you can't tell. I'll be sure to put up pictures and such next week!

We had a very exciting Saturday. It being the day before St. Patrick's day, we decided we would celebrate in the traditional way. Brother Anderson, who's probably one of my favorite people I've met on my mission, was telling us about great places to eat and he told us "Rudnick's is pretty great too. It's way down there in Marianna and they give you burgers about this big." He held up his hands and everything to show the sheer massiveness of these burgers. So we get the general directions, and tell him that we would check it out next time we were in that area. Well, we happened to be nearby on Saturday after finishing an exchange, so all 6 missionaries in the area went over there. And guess what. Yep. It was a bar. Straight up: Hockey on the TVs, arcade games, rednecks with giant beards, saucy female bar tenders. And the Spirit obviously wasn't there. But the general consensus among us missionaries was "We're here - we're doing it!" So we sit down, order our hamburgers. We got a couple of good stares from the crowd. After a few minutes of waiting, we get our burgers, and sure enough:




It was big. Really big. So big that I ALMOST didn't finish it. But I did. And it was AMAAAZING! So. I went to a bar on the day before St. Patty's day.

And, as usual, the Lord decided he'd let us know about how he felt about that. We drove back up and were on our way to visit a member of the ward when my car started freaking out. On the dashboard, it put up a warning saying "TIRE PRESSURE LOW." We parked, hop out and try to find the offending tire. Elder Swanson detected a gentle hissing coming from one of them. The wheel had completely worn, right down to the steel mesh on the inside. As we were inspecting it, a call came from behind us. "Elders, I thought you were supposed to be finding converts, not inspecting wheel well!" And like an angel, Brother Kelso is there behind us. He comes over, gives our car a quick look-around, gives some pointers on what to do, makes fun on the guy who inspected our car as part of our Zone Conference earlier this week ("Man, whoever looked at this car is a blind son of a gun!") We've been hobbling around on that spare all weekend.

For those of you who know me really well, this is the SECOND time the Lord has decided to mess with my car to send me a message about how well I follow the Word of Wisdom. The last time he did it, I wrecked my car after being super jumpy and anxious after eating a coffee Twix earlier that day. Since I didn't ACTUALLY break the Word of Wisdom, but went to a bar, He was much more merciful and only popped the tire. You would think I would learn my lesson. 

As is always the case, the work continues. As a word of weekly wisdom, "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak... because in your life, you will have been all of these." ~George Washington Carver.

Take care, all!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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March 11, 2013

Missionary Slim is running a Bed and Breakfast? " Do you want ketchup with your hashbrowns? " (Week 57 in Pennsylvania, Week 21 in Washington, PA)

I got a call a few weeks ago from the assistants to the President. "Elder Anderson, what are you up to today?"
"Well, it's P-Day so I'm doing.... P-Day things."
"That's great. Could you drive up here to the mission home and pick up a missionary who needs a home for the next day?"
Due to our closeness to the mission home and the fact that we have three beds in our apartment, we were selected to take care of this missionary who's companion had to go home. So we went up, he hung around us for the whole day as we went from appointment to appointment. The next morning, President Topham came, picked up the missionary, and that was that.
Or was it?
This being the second time President has pulled a trick like this, and being a little bit tired of playing host to missionaries all the time, I decided to see if I could fix the situation. I called the Secretary in charge of missionary apartments. Being brand new in the mission, she did not realize that we had three beds in our apartment. Yet, needless to say, when she found out that President was using our  apartment as a bed-and-breakfast for displaced missionaries, she said "Oh. Well, I guess that means that the bed needs to stay right where it is!"
Foiled again!
With my fingers crossed that the bed would remain unused, we continued about our business. However, the phone rang again - It was the President. My companion answered - Good thing too, because I've come to find when the Mission President calls, it's usually not a good thing. The conversation went like this:
"Hello, President. I love you so much!" (Elder Swanson is awesome - he's such an example to me of pure charity.)
"Hello, Elder Swanson. We have another resident coming into the Washington Walk Hotel." (I kid you not, those were his exact words. Maybe I should get into the hotel business...)
And so with that, we got ANOTHER COMPANION!!!! YAY! His name is Elder Wright, and he will be with us till the transfer (which happens to be in two weeks, BTW). He was formerly serving in Uniontown Pennsylvania, but due to some unfortunate circumstances, needed a change of scenery. He's from Bluffdale, Utah, and has very recently come on the mission. In fact, we'll be finishing up his training for the rest of this transfer. Oh, and he's very tall... Like crazy tall... Like 6'8". Yeah. Tall. (He tells us that the three things he ALWAYS hears is "How tall are you?" "Do you play basketball?" and "I bet you get this a lot...")
So, yeah! That's the biggest change that I've had this week in my life. And trust me, it is a very big change to start living with a guy who is half-a-foot taller than you are.
And I should also mention that most of my poo-pooing and diabolical plans above was for comedic effect, and I actually do love and respect my Mission President - he's amazing. Granted, he's thrown so many curve balls at me that I can't even count it on my hands any more (I'm not even joking). But he really is inspired, and I'm glad to have any missionaries that he sends to stay at the Washington Walk Hotel. Elder Wright is an awesome missionary too.
 
This week, I've been sick. Not really sick, I've just had laryngitis. It's been really fun, actually. I've been doing impressions of smokers and actors and other such things. But it's made it really interesting to teach people. One day, we went tracting. We got to the door, and I got the distinct impression that we needed to sing a song. I'd heard of door approaches like that before, but I'd never done it before myself. Here's how it went.
"Hello?"
"Hi ma'am. We're the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have laryngitis, but we'd like to sing you a song. Would that be okay."
"Okay!" She was very excited.
Elder Swanson is a definite bass (you should hear him sing opera!) and Elder Wright is tone deaf, so needless to say, it was pretty interesting. We sang "Love at Home" and she almost was brought to tears. She didn't let us in, but she was touched.
We started Laurie on a stop smoking program, and as far as we know, she's doing great on it! She hasn't smoked yet. I've been really impressed with this program and how well it works, but I think a lot of it has to do with the people that we teach. Laurie is awesome. She loves reading her scriptures and saying prayers, and she'll even say them in front of us now. She pays tithing... She just can't come to church. And that part is kinda important.
 
We also had a solid lesson with Dan about church attendance. Guess who showed up to church this week? Yep. Dan. He made it finally, and had a fantastic time. Along with Dan were two other investigators, a husband and wife named Shane and Bobbie. Whereas Dan already has a testimony of this being the true church (he texts us all the time telling us about his spiritual experiences he has as he reads the Book of Mormon), Shane and Bobbie have never even heard about the church before. Shane was disillusioned by his own church and wants to see if there is more out there. Well, he got it. The talks in sacrament meeting were specifically focused on the Atonement, but one of them did mention a Mother in Heaven. I got a little nervous then, but no questions were asked. Then in the 3rd hour, the lesson was specifically on our eternal destiny, with one of the main points being "As Man is, God once was. As God is, man may become." Again, no questions. In fact, Elder Wright told me he noticed Shane crying towards the end of the lesson. I was relieved! 

So, yeah. That's that. The Church is true.
 
Remember, also, that "It isn't the load that we carry that breaks us; it is how we carry it." Ponder on that.
 
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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March 4, 2013

Missionary Slim is making Football analogy's? ( Go Steelers? ) (Week 56 in Pennsylvania, Week 20 in Washington, PA)

Missionary Slim is sick and tired of winter.

Not only me, but also just about every member of the ward out here in Washington. Over the pulpit, in Fast and Testimony meeting, one of the members said "You can't trust Phil nowadays." Since one of the ward members happens to be named Phil, it did take a little bit of an explanation before the congregation started calming down (Punxsutawney Phil, the notorious weather predicting groundhog!) Gratefully, the sun is actually starting to make an extended stay in the sky every day, but the cold is starting to get to me - and get into me!
 
Yes, after four months of fighting it, my body finally succumbed to the onslaught of infectious viral parasites eating away at the back of my throat and sinuses. Unfortunately, it was able to take advantage of Fast Sunday to gain a greater foothold over my immune system. Fortunately, now that I've downed about a gallon of fluids, I've started getting over it.

With that being said, I've had an average, ordinary week in the life of a missionary. Which is absolutely incredible and amazing compared to an average ordinary week of a normal person, such as a postal worker or car repair man. So I guess I can't complain.

We did have a couple of great visits with some families. The Southerns are doing very well (other than the fact that they were attacked by the diabolical forces of Influenza which kept them from coming to church). Becky and Mary Faith are still ridiculously excited to be baptized. We've actually set them both with a baptismal date (this summer, though, because Mary Faith won't be quite old enough until then, and Becky want's to be baptized around the same time.) We've started making plans for them to be married though, and if all goes well, will give them both a stop-smoking program this week. They're making good progress.

Brian's mom, Donna, has still been meeting with us. We've been getting bold with her as of late, and had a good lesson on faith, intent, and action this past week. After some good conversation, with me rather passionately encouraging her to find her answer, she gave a response: "I'm not saying that I don't think I will ever be a Mormon.... I just need some more time." As usual, the Spirit softly, but firmly, rebuked me telling me to be more patient. We did finish off the lesson with an invitation to come to sacrament meeting. Sure enough, Brian and Donna arrived, and Brian even got up and bore his testimony, very powerfully. "I know with all the surety of my heart that this church is true, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet." I was impressed and inspired.

Our visit with Dan went pretty good too. He announced that his work schedule is changing, and that for all intents and purposes he might be able to start coming to church! I was overjoyed. Thrilled. Ecstatic!

I'll close with a very simple story. We went out a finding less-active members. A name popped out at us, so we drove to the address, knocked on the door, and... nothing. I wrote a note, left it, and we turned to go back to our car just as another person was walking out of their home. Elder Swanson started up a conversation - nothing big, or important. Just getting to know. As it progressed, and we started talking about our calling and such, we found that this individual was Christian, believed in God, but wasn't going to church right now. "Well, how would you like to get into a good church?" She seemed pretty open, so we gave her a card, number, and church address. "I'll be checking this out!" she said, pointing to where it says "Mormon.org" on the card. I don't know if anything will come of that. I don't know if she'll be calling us in the next week, or if it will take months before she actually chooses to learn more. But I do know that I was in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the Lord puts us in places and situations for reasons that we may not expect. As long as we are doing what we are supposed to, we can expect to have experiences like this one. 

I once heard is compared to football. If the Lord is the quarterback, throwing the football of the Holy Ghost, we are the ones receiving it. In football, the plays are very carefully choreographed and practiced so each player is in the right place at the right time. If we aren't in the right place, the ball will just fall to the ground; if we aren't there at the right time, the ball will fumble or fall out of our hands. Most importantly, though, is making sure that we are doing the right thing. Just imagine if a pro football player did his play, and then stood there, doing nothing. He'd get whacked in the head! When we do what we are supposed to, then we can be sure that the Spirit will lead us and guide us in the way we need to go. Then when we are in those right places at the right times, us doing the right things will be noticed by others. Then we'll really make some good in the world.

Ironically, it also works better if you don't think about it or try too hard - you just do the right thing, and those experiences will happen. As Elder Bednar describes it, you just have to be "Good boys and good girls."

Wow. I can't believe I used a football analogy... I've been in Steeler's country for way too long.
Take care, all!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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February 25, 2013

Missionary Slim wonders, " Mama Mia, that's alotta Pasta! ", in his best mafia style voice. (Week 55 in Pennsylvania, Week 19 in Washington, PA)


I hope yinz aren't tired and bored of hearing all the food stories. 'Coz here's another one.

Monday, in honor of the break up of our wonderful companionship, I made spaghetti for my two soon-to-be-ex companions. It was delicious, with beef, onions, garlic, green peppers, lots of spices, and of course, cheese. It was to die for (at least, as far as spaghetti goes).

That evening, we were going to dinner with Dolores, a wonderful recent convert with a heart as big as the world. She enjoys church, being a lunch lady (and she loves her kids) and babysitting a little less-than one year old. Yep, she's a gem. Well, we get over there, and she has the entire table set. It looks wonderful. She was in the corner stirring something. And then, she brings it over.

Spaghetti. 

It was good spaghetti. Really good. But twice in one day? That was a little much.

Thursday, we had dinner with Lisa. Lisa is not a member, but she's been with the Mormons for ages. She's wonderful as well, and loves feeding the missionaries because "If I had one of my boys out there, I'd want somebody feeding them" and "I love to cook for whoever loves to eat, and I haven't met a Mormon yet who doesn't like to eat." (Also, "If I were to become a polygamist, I'd be the cooking wife") Anyway, she always feeds us something good. This time was no exception.

Spaghetti.

Granted, it was spaghetti with meatballs, sausage, and ground venison, but the pasta was pretty much the same as usual.

Friday, we had dinner with Sister Brown, a slightly eccentric member of the ward who lives about as far away from town as you can get. After a long drive, we come in to smell garlic roasting in the oven, and in a bowl on the counter...

Spaghetti.

Sunday we go over to Brother Britten's home, a VERY eccentric member of the ward who love to crochet (he's right now working on making temple altar cloths. His work is very fine) As usual, he had arrayed a very large (VERY large) assortment of goodies (chocolates, cakes, candies, cookies, nutter butters) surrounding the main dish, which was...

You guessed it.

Spaghetti.

Please..... No more. Not for another week or so.

We had a very exciting visit with Sean Southern and family. Becky, the mom, is really excited about joining the church, but their daughter, Mary Faith, is SUPER excited. We came over on Tuesday and she gave us a big card that read "THANK YOU FOR TEACHING ME ABOUT HEAVENLY FATHER AND BAPTISM!" And, if you couldn't tell, those were in big letters. It was adorable. It warmed my heart to the brim.

Oh, and speaking of which, I did get myself my new companion. His name is Elder Swanson. He's a native of good ol' Sin City, and has been on the mission for around 7.5 months. He's a dandy fellow, a right jolly old elf, a man of few words, and when spoken, they sound like a down pillow. 

That is to say, he's a soft-spoken individual, but generally very happy and content. I think we'll get along just fine.

We had a cool visit with an investigator named Aja. She's single, has a young daughter, and has had very little church in her life. So much so that she doesn't even know if there is a god, or if Jesus really did anything for her. She prayed for the first time a few weeks ago (which was an awesome thing to witness, how sincere and honest it was), and we just taught her about baptism this week. We invited her to be baptized, and her response was so good. She sat for a moment, got a little nervous, and said,

"When?"

She was a little scared because she still hasn't gotten an answer about the Book of Mormon or anything. She's just barely getting into the Gospel at all. Even still she exercised her faith and said that when she comes to find out that the things we teach are true, then she'll be baptized. That was about the best answer I could get.

One more thing:



Yep! You didn't even realize it, but I went all the way to Pleasant Grove and back this week! And I did it in a day!

"But wait," you ask, "Where are the mountains?"  "What  mountains? Pennsylvania doesn't have mountains." That's right, this past week I found myself in Pleasant Grove, PA, the ironically named town here in Washington Co. It's a dainty little village  with very few inhabitants. It doesn't even have a Purple Turtle! But as soon as I saw it on the map, I decided I needed to go there and make pilgrimage, and finally got the opportunity this week.

And for those of you still scratching your heads, wondering why I even care about Pleasant Grove, PA, my home town is also named Pleasant Grove, in Utah. As for the Purple Turtle, you'll have to figure that one out yourself!

Take care, and remember: "The hardest choices in life are best answered before the question is asked."

Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

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February 18, 2013

Missionary Slim celebrates Singles Awareness Day (Week 54 in Pennsylvania, Week 18 in Washington, PA)


Happy Singles Awareness Day, everybody!



That cupcake was given to me by Donna, Brian's mom. We came over on the 14th to teach a lesson. I've always had this intense desire to teach the law of chastity on Valentines day (because I'm an incredibly ironic person), and nearly got the chance last year, but plans changed and we taught tithing instead. Well, this year, we finally managed to do it! I was so happy.

It actually was a really spiritual lesson. We started by reading the family proclamation, which Brian and Donna both loved. Then we got into the nitty-gritty (Our bodies are temples, we are bought with a price, etc.) and then moved into temples and eternal families, which is the main reason Brian got baptized in the first place. Donna was a little skeptical of eternal families, but made a pact with me that when she gets to the other side, she'll be sure to let me know if there are eternal families or not. 

As promised, I have to include a little segment about Sister Stroop. Sister Stroop is a less-active member here in Washington. And she's a little bit on the crazy side. I accidentally mentioned to her about my blog, which she went crazy over ("Have you said anything about me?" "No, I haven't." "Well, you had better!") So here's her shout-out.

Sister Stroop  fits into a really interesting niche in the church. She's a super liberal feminist who is skeptical of God and religion in general. She's fascinated with politics and deep-doctrines (and loves to say "Outer Darkness" the way that Yoda would.) She really is a super sweet lady, though. She wants to learn and gain a testimony, she loves her family, she works as a care giver for children - she's just the bomb! 

Sister Southern has been getting on our case about her son and his family. They are all less-active, the mom, Becky, isn't a member. But they love the church, and their daughter, Mary Faith , is incredibly anxious to be baptized. Sis. Southern has been asking us to visit them for weeks, but the sheer distance makes it a little bit difficult. Eventually, we got the home teacher of that family to take us to visit with them. What a visit it was. Sean, Sis. Southern's son, started by going on about how life is getting tough, how the end of times seems to be getting closer, but as we brought the gospel into the conversation, the spirit began to fill the room. We started talking about the Book of Mormon, and eventually, Mary Faith announced yet again how she wants to be baptized. As a surprise to me, Becky chimed in the same way - she wants to be baptized too. All three of us were thrilled! It was such exciting news! Sean promised to get his family to church every week so he could possibly be ready to baptize his wife. And sure enough, they all showed up.

I was a little worried I wouldn't have any part of any of it though. Transfers are tomorrow. We got the call on Saturday and sure enough... I'm staying! I couldn't be more pleased! Both of my companions will be transferred though. I'm sad to see them go, but I'm ready for a change. This will probably be the longest I will be in an area for the rest of my mission. Good thing I love this area.

The gospel is certainly true. It changes us, transforms us, and makes us into who we need to be. I'm so grateful that I, like Mormon, can be "a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." (3 Nephi 5:13)

Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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February 11, 2013

Missionary Slim has a pregnant pause or maybe he has just adopted a new missionary (Week 53 in Pennsylvania, Week 17 in Washington, PA)


I had some news to announce at the baptism last week. Elder Colvin and I went up to our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Anderson, and told him "Brother Anderson... We're pregnant!" He about fell over laughing. We explained that the mission president called us earlier during the week to tell us that a missionary who had to go home for knee surgery is coming back, and since we had three beds, he is going to stay with us. So it's more of an adoption than anything. 

We picked up Elder Fairbourn, native of Logan Utah, Friday evening. Actually, he was more dropped off than anything. We were over at Brian and Katrina's house when the Assistants to the President showed up with the brand new elder. We got introduced and everything, and then got right into the lesson.

We've been working with Brian's mom, Donna, for a few weeks now. Ever since her son was baptized, she has been interested in learning more about the Gospel and church. We've been curious, though, for the past couple of weeks at how sincere she really was. After talking to Katrina earlier in the week, we decided we were going to really get down to brass tacks, be straight-up and blunt as possible without detracting from the spirit, and find out her real intentions. Sometimes you have to do that with investigators when they appear to not be going anywhere.

What we found was a big relief. Her answer was simple, but had a world of answers: "You know, it takes an old dog a long time to learn new tricks." When she said that, I knew she intended to stick with it. She just needed time to adjust and understand all the ins and outs of this Gospel. But, with time, she'll come around.

I did a lot of exchanges this week. First, I was with my Zone Leader, and then another missionary in my district came to my area. Exchanges are always interesting, because you get to see the personality and teaching style of missionaries you may never have worked with before. It's always good to get new insights into missionary work.

Oh, and you have crazy experiences with members of other wards. I was driven around all over Wheeling, West Virginia by a guy with only one arm and a lot of attitude. Let me tell you, it was harrowing and gave me yet another testimony of the power of prayer.

With the other missionary, Elder Henriksen, we had a lesson with Dan. Dan has been learning with us for nearly 12 weeks now, but hasn't come to church once - he works way too much. He's been trying to get work off, but has had no luck. Our lesson, which we planned to be on Tithing, ended up being about keeping away from the territory of the Devil and coming over to the Lord's side of the line. During the lesson, Dan kept making comments like "I really should delete my bookmarks to those websites I shouldn't be going to." or "I should get rid of my pirated stuff." We pointed out right away that the Spirit was telling him to do those things. I was impressed at how sensitive he was to that stuff.

Two days later, we got a call from him. He said "I was reading the Book of Mormon, and I have a question." He got to Nephi's dream about the promised land, and all the things that would happen here in the last days, and was confirming his theories. For example, the mother gentiles is Great Britain, the war was the Revolutionary war, stuff like that. He pinned down all of it, without error. I even asked him if he looked at a Book of Mormon commentary or something to get all those answers, which he didn't. Then he told us that he actually did delete those bad things on his computer and has even quit drinking beer. Wow. Talk about making changes. He's a stud.

Isaiah had a good week of missionary work. After a lot of pressure, he finally convinced his sister to come to church. She seemed pretty wary as she stepped into the chapel right before the sacrament, but as time went on, she seemed to soften up a bit. During Sunday School, she even commented "This is exactly what I needed to hear for this next week!" We stopped by later, and Isaiah said she wanted to keep on coming, except she wanted to go to the ward in Pittsburgh where she lives. We got her the info. Hopefully, she follows through. Isaiah is a super-star. He's got it rough, because he can't get baptized for at least a couple of months because of probation, and he's having a rough time quitting cigarettes because of the constant peer-pressure around him. He's trying his hardest, though, and to me, that makes all the difference in the world.

That's about it!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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February 4, 2013

Missionary Slim almost makes amends this week with a longer blog entry (Week 52 in Pennsylvania, Week 16 in Washington, PA)


I beg the pardon and forgiveness of everyone. Not writing for this blog last week was an unexplainable and inexcusable act, and I apologize, most sincerely. 

With that having been said, the past few weeks have been pretty excellent. Looking back, I can't believe how much has happened in these two, short weeks. I have a few interesting experiences that will highlight.

You know those random times when, for some reason, you are in the right place at the right time? Well, that happens quite a bit for me. I was on exchange with another missionary and we took it upon ourselves to knock every door of an apartment building. It was only three stories, so it actually wasn't as big a task as I make it out to be. And, as can be expected, we got just about the same response at every door. "Not interested." "We don't believe in God!" or "I'm already a member. Go away!" (Actually, she was really a member - she just really didn't want visitors) We continued until we got to the very last door. After the gentle knock, a voice came from within: "Come in." I looked at my temporary companion (he is one of the few missionaries who I actually look up to - he stands at a good 6'5" - he's a big boy!) shrugged and turned the knob. We cautiously walked in. A woman was listening to heartthrob country music in a recliner eating a bagel. Oh, and she was crying uncontrollably. She managed to subdue the tears and told us "Sorry, I would have gotten up to get the door, but my brother died two hours ago!" With that, she surged into another round of sobs. 

Having never had any of my relatives die (save my 101 year old great grandfather who I had met once before), I had no idea how to react or offer empathy. I just sat there, as she explained that her brother had just passed from a battle with cancer, how she only had one surviving brother who was ill with heart disease, and how she herself needed to eat the bagel because of her diabetes. We tried to offer comfort by sharing the Plan of Salvation, we said a prayer with her, but I don't know how much comfort we gave - she was in pretty bad shape. After spending some time with her, she told us thank you and we bid farewell. Since I wasn't in my area, I have no idea what became of that woman. 

Another interesting incident of a similar nature - we were driving around, trying to find someone to teach when we decided "Let's go see Sis. Southern." It seemed like a pretty good idea, so we drove over and knocked on the door. Lo and behold, Sis. Southern was sick - very sick. She has had a heart attack before (in church, even) and was having some relapse issues. We gave her a blessing - I anointed, and her son-in-law gave the blessing (it was funny, because her four year old grandson, his son, came over and put his hands on her head too. I'm pretty sure it didn't make a difference either, because...) Sure enough, when we came by two days later, she was fine and fit as a fiddle (banjo, actually - she comes from the deep south. Hence the last name.) I would say her recovery was pretty miraculous.

On that note, we visited another brother who had a bad dog bite on his legs recently, received a blessing by the hands of a member with my companion and I participating, and recieved word from the doctor that he was having a miraculous recovery. The man was walking within days, and without the use of  a walker or anything. I would say it's pretty miraculous.

We've  been teaching Laurie lately. She's a super sweet, mom-of-a-member who can't come to church but is paying tithing regardless. Well, we came by this past week with a nice, shiny copy of the Triple Combination which we gave to her. She loved it, and was so excited to read it. We started her off with Section 89 - the Word of Wisdom. Before we even got to verse 5, she was talking about how many times she's tried to quit smoking, how much her daughter and son-in-law hate her smoking, and how she wants to quit so badly. The VERY NIGHT BEFORE we came to teach her, she prayed for help to quit smoking. Sure enough, we arrive the next day to answer her prayers. We'll be giving her a comprehensive stop smoking program this week, and within two weeks, she will be a non-smoker. How's that for Heavenly Father answering prayer?

We were put on the hunt by our bishop - We got a new membership record for someone who lives at this address, but we don't have a phone number and I can't remember his name. Go to the address, find the member, and report back to me. Awesome. I love these kind of assignments. We got them all the time in Pittsburgh, and you could never guess who or what you would find.

We went to the address. Come to find, it was an apartment building with four apartments. Shoot... So we knock on the first door. A very nice woman came to the door, but wasn't the member and wasn't really interested in becoming one. She gave some good information on her neighbors - two had moved in recently. Nobody at the next door. The third door was a very interesting gentleman. He was quiet, with an unkempt beard and tousled hair. He was wearing what appeared to be two sweaters and pants that were not long enough and his fingernails needed trimming. Grocery bags, energy drinks, and clothes were strewn all over his apartment. The only furnishings we could find were a blue tarp with sheets, a computer and internet modem, and a refrigerator. He invited us in, but told us that he was not the member we were looking for. He says that he's travelling, and plans to leave the area soon, but was totally fine with us teaching him a lesson right then and there and setting up another appointment. He was very knowledgeable, and while staying pretty quiet the whole time, seemed to understand and was pretty interested. The whole time, though, I had to keep reminding myself "No matter how odd this man might be, he's still a Son of God." We'll see where this goes.

One more really big thing. I'll just show the picture:



Hannah, a little girl who we've been teaching for a little while, was baptized by her father just this past weekend. We started teaching her way back in October and she turned 9 since then. Her dad is a full-time State Trooper, which means that he is saving the world most Sunday mornings. Her mom is not a member of the church, but has been taught by missionaries for at least 10 years. She just hasn't made the choice to be baptized. Well, Hannah did make the choice. That was something which was commented on over and over again is how this choice was totally Hannah's and that she wasn't pressured or coerced in any way. She seemed really happy about it and really excited when she was confirmed yesterday. 

We've been talking about her mom for a while, and how we can help her mom choose to be baptized. This is probably the best thing that could have happened for this family. It's going to make a huge difference for them and bring them closer together in so many ways. 

Isn't that what the Gospel is all about? Bringing us together? It brings our families together, it brings our neighbors together, and most importantly, it brings us and God together. It serves to reconcile man to the maker, and can turn any sinner into a Saint. I love the quote by Elder Jospeh Wirthlin: "We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities." How true that is. I know that it is true. How? Because I have seen it in my own life and in the lives of those I serve with and around. This Gospel is so amazing.

As always, a humble follower of Christ,
Elder Alex Anderson

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