September 30, 2013
Missionary Slim encounters a new opportunity and an old one. Coincidence? I think not. (Week 86 in Pennsylvania, Week 10 in Dover, PA)
We were walking down the street. It was a pleasant
day; the sun was shining, and clouds glided by, creating shadows here
and there occasionally. A gentleman we had passed earlier when he was
tinkering with a lawn mower was now out walking his puppy. We decided to
say hi. Here's the gist of the conversation:
"Hey there!"
"Oh, hi guys. How are you doing? I was wondering when you were going to talk to me."
"Oh, have you talked to missionaries before?"
"No, but I've seen you guys and I know what you do. But
I've never talked to Mormons before. Hey, I'm not busy. If you guys
want, you can come by the house in about 15 minutes and we can sit down
and chat."
"....Sure!"
We went over and had a
great discussion. His name was Tom, and he made it clear that he just
wanted to get some information and was mostly interested in what made
our church unique. But he also said that he was going to seriously
investigate it. We introduced him to the Book of Mormon and he told us
"Well, good thing I like to read!" When we asked if he wanted to meet
with us again, he said "Give me a couple of weeks to get through this,
and then we can talk." That sounds fair to me!
Later that day, we stopped by the home of a former
investigator. Actually, it was a family. The had missionaries visit them
YEARS ago, like 5 or so, and it looked like they hadn't been touched in
about that long too. Oh, and they had two pages of notes attached -
these guys were investigating pretty heavily.
When we went over, we met Cody the adult son. He was
pretty awesome and open. "Oh, sure, guys. You can come back. I remember
when Sister Basian and Sister Frey used to come over." My jaw probably
dropped just a little bit when he said that. My thought was "You
remember the missionaries that taught you that long ago?"
We met his mom, Kim, when we came by the next day. She
explained that she was raised in her parents church, but had a lot of
questions and such. She said there were a lot of things that she liked
about her parents church, but a lot of things she didn't. I decided to
focus on the positive and asked "What do you like about your parent's
church?"
"Oh, well.... I guess just the familiarity. I mean,
it's what I always grew up with. I like how comfortable the worship
service is. I don't know." Hmm...
Come to find
out, she hasn't been attending any church for a while, and Cody has
actually been doubting the existence of God for some time. They haven't
been praying or reading the scriptures. "When the other missionaries
came by, they really helped me through a really hard time," she said,
also explaining that they were close to joining the church, but her mom
had a fit when she found out. They've been going through a rough time
presently, though. Then, after a pause, "Maybe that's why you guys came
over now."
They both listened intently as we talked about faith
and prayer and about how much their Heavenly Father loves them. That
small home was full of the warmth of the Spirit - it was awesome.
Following our visit, they were more than happy to have us come back and
keep teaching them. Also, they told us the names of several ward members
who they knew. We'll see where this goes.
So, the work continues. Alas, it will continue without
Elder Bowcut come the 8th. He got his visa to Australia and will be
leaving then. All I have to say about that is Godspeed!
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
September 23, 2013
Missionary Slim forgets that it was ' International talk like a Pirate Day ' last week (Week 85 in Pennsylvania, Week 9 in Dover, PA)
There's an awesome family that we've been able to
visit, the Gonzales'. And don't let the name fool you - they're
Filipino. The son is a security guard working nights and has a really
hard time getting to church because its right when he's supposed to be
sleeping. He hasn't come to church in several years. Well, we had a chat
with him and found out that he's really been thinking about serving a
mission. He's getting pretty old, around 25 years old or so, but he's
still technically eligible. All three of us were able to teach and
testify about how much the mission has meant for us and encourage him to
do everything in his power to make it a reality. Hopefully it happens.
We went to visit a guy that I mentioned a few weeks
ago. His name is Harvey, and he REALLY wanted to watch 17 Miracles with
his wife. Well, we got them a copy, they watched it, and then we went by
to visit this week. Actually, I went by myself with another member of
the church. It was pretty incredible what happened.
As it turns out, this member that I brought lives just two houses down
from Harvey's brother. They both were in construction and
transportation, both lived out in the mid-west and Wyoming areas and
loved it there. They clicked like two lego blocks!
I asked about how they liked 17 Miracles. They loved
it. It was so touching and so moving for them. They were incredibly
impressed, and it was plain that they felt the Spirit. We spent the
majority of our visit watching the Restoration, a film about the Prophet
Joseph Smith, and talking about it. They ended up telling us that they
felt very good about it, that it might be true, and then told us "You
know, since you guys have been coming by to visit us, we've been
thinking a lot about our church. It's been really hard to go there for
the past few months because our old pastor left. We've really been
thinking about visiting your church." That was awesome to hear.
We did visit them later that week and they told us that
they were planning on continuing to attend their church for the time
being, at least until they got a more permanent pastor (their current
pastor is only there for the time being while they find a replacement).
Still, they've been touched. It's only a matter of time before that
touch of the Spirit turns into a testimony which will become a full tree
of conversion.
So, the work continues! Until next week,
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
September 16, 2013
Missionary Slim has a week of many changes and adventures (Week 84 in Pennsylvania, Week 8 in Dover, PA)
It's been a really fun week. Seriously. Incredibly fun. Here's the rundown:
Monday
I went up to Harrisburg. Because Elder Ramos is training during this
new transfer, he needed to drive out to Pittsburgh to be part of the
trainer's meeting. I was going to be babysat by another elder in
Pittsburgh, Elder Brady.
We did work up there. He's in the walking area, so
we hoofed it on bikes, walked, talked to dozens of people. He himself is
waiting for a visa to Brazil, so he knows Portuguese, but not very much
Spanish, so I was able to speak to some of the Latinos on the streets
of Harrisburg. That was cool.
Tuesday
I continued working with Elder Brady and we were joined by another
misfit missionary waiting for a companion, Elder Staple. Again, we hit
the streets, visiting less-active members, chatting with people,
teaching the Gospel. Late that night, we met back up at the Harrisburg
chapel so I could meet up with Elder Ramos and the new companion, Elder
Bowcut.
Elder Bowcut is awesome, by the way. He's a Mandarin
speaker going to Sydney, Australia (my dream mission, by the way). He
was in the MTC for 11 weeks waiting for a visa before they finally gave
it up and shipped him here. As soon as his visa arrives, he'll be on a
plane headed out there. Until then, this Highland, Utah native will be
working with us. And boy, is it a pleasure to work with him. He's got
the lessons already down, he isn't shy at all, but is super humble. He
came pre-trained.
Wednesday,
we went to work and had one of the most successful days of missionary
work I've had in a long time. I blame that good, old fashioned MTC Fire
coming out with Elder Bowcut. We had a great lesson with a couple that
we've visited several times. They're older, and had a lot of Mormon
friends when they lived in Wyoming. Since coming back to PA, they've met
the missionaries here and there, but as far as I know, we're the first
ones that they've let in. He's really interested in pioneers and such
(come to think of it, I might have talked about them before... Oh well,
anyway). We came over to give him a copy of 17 Miracles and ended up
talking our way through the entire Restoration. Pretty nifty. We'll see
where this goes.
Thursday,
we chatted with a great guy named Jerry. He's not quite so interested,
but he does like the idea of a modern prophet. He's interesting though -
his neurosis in his feet has removed most of the feeling in them. When
we stopped by, he had a cast on. "What's that for?" we asked. "Oh, it's a
long story..." He then launched into a story about how his little
ankle-biter dogs did just that - to his toe! Gnawed it right to the bone
before he realized what happened. The only reason I tell that story is
because it isn't something you hear every day!
Friday,
we stopped by the home of Noel, an investigator who we taught a few
weeks ago. She opened the door and stepped out for what she thought
would be a 10 minute visit. Fortunately, she had time and was looking
for a distraction from her house cleaning because we ended up talking
for 45 minutes and gave her the whole run-down of the Restoration of the
Gospel. Best of all, she agreed with most of it! I was floored, which
you would expect wouldn't happen so much now that I've been out for a
long time, but it still happened.
Same goes with the mother of a less-active member
who we visited. She herself is a very cheerful, lovable lady, and a
devout Methodist, but she still listened intently as we explained the
loss of priesthood authority and the Book of Mormon. When we asked if
she would be baptized when she found out that these things are true, her
reply was a very positive "yes." Again, floored. In a good way.
Saturday
was spent doing service at various homes, the library, and attending
the birthday party of Brother Bill, whose wife, Dee, is seriously
contemplating baptism. Despite our lack of lessons, the day was still
productive.
And finally, Sunday.
After a week like this one, a good Sabbath was definitely needed. After
church, we had the pleasure of teaching Desiree, who we haven't seen
since her confirmation two weeks ago. Still, she was just as happy and
just as full of joy as she was then. That was a pleasure and a blessing
to be a part of.
We also visited Ferne, a great older lady who I've
mentioned before. Out of the blue, she started talking about the Lord's
law of health, which launched us into a discussion about the Word of
Wisdom. Now, this wonderful lady hasn't been able to come to church yet,
but regardless, she still had the faith to say yes when we invited her
to give up her only vice: coffee. She gave us a hard time about it too,
but in the end, she said she'd pray about it.
In all, a good week. The work really is moving.
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
September 9, 2013
Missionary Slim and his new-found mascot (Week 83 in Pennsylvania, Week 7 in Dover, PA)
Like our usual work, we've been finding, finding,
finding. Oh, and finding. Even with all of the awesome new investigators
that we got last week, we're still in the midst of an investigator
crisis. All of those people we were teaching who were close to baptism
did just that. So, we go and find.
We knocked on the door of a home and immediately
regretted it - football was on, and when football is on, you do NOT
interrupt it. A middle aged man came to the door and said "How can I
help you?" From my experience, people who say that aren't looking. As
usual, though, my snap-judgment wasn't entirely accurate.
"Hello," we said, "We're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ..."
"Oh, well I go to church already."
"Oh. Great! How has the Gospel blessed your life?"
"It's helped a lot. My father just passed away, and we just had to put down our dog..."
And
then the tears started coming. I was surprised. I mean, it's not
unusual to see a woman cry in front of you, but here was a grown man
bawling in front of us. He explained that over the past few years, he'd
lost an uncle, a brother, a grandfather, and now this. As we talked, he
softened up. He admitted that he didn't have answers to the questions
he's been asking, but did say that God has been helping him.
I told him "We want you to know that God has a plan for
you. Part of that plan includes families being together forever. I want
to promise you that you can see your father, grandfather... even you
dog again." He felt a little better after that and we got an appointment
to see him again next week.
We found a mascot!
We
were weeding at an elderly members home, and found this guy scurrying
around the garden. When he first zipped past, it scared me half to
death! (Although I'm sure he was much more frightened than I was).
After a short game of cat-and-mouse, we nabbed him to take the picture
you now see. He was a clever guy, hiding behind the webs of giant
spiders (seriously, they were huge, and there were many of them) and
making a bolt for the bushes. In the end, we got him. We only hung onto
him for a little while, though, and then left him in the tall brush of a
nearby field. Hopefully that cat we saw prowling around doesn't get
him. Either way, the woman of the house was more than happy to see him
gone.
I'll close with a short sermon. We just taught a class
yesterday to a number of members of the church about how to help
fellowship new and less-active members of the church. One thing which
came up over and over, again and again is how they NEED to have friends.
Not just one person here and there who visits once a month, but they
need to know that they are really cared about, that they are wanted at
church.
We gave an invitation, and I'll repeat it here. If you
see someone at church who you don't normally see, say hi to them. Talk
to them. Invite them to your house for supper. What will happen will
astound you. I'll leave you to find out what happens though. However,
I'll say this. Actually, I'll quote Elder Andersen (the apostle, not
myself) "You will never be closer to your Lord and Savior than when you
are sharing His gospel with others."
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
September 3, 2013
Missionary Slim finds out that giants really do exist and they are friendly! (Week 82 in Pennsylvania, Week 6 in Dover, PA)
This blog post is probably going to sound like a Shakespeare comedy or a daytime soap opera. Just sayin'.
Earlier
this week, we called Bolvina, the Mexican lady that we started teaching
last week. I'll give a rough paraphrase of what she said: "Oh, I talked
to my husband, and we're Catholic. We believe in the Bible. He doesn't
want to meet you guys... Bye!" Yeah, that's never fun.
Another investigator left a note on the door, which
very simply said "DO NOT KNOCK ON MY DOOR AGAIN. DO NOT COME NEAR MY
HOME AGAIN." Ooooookay. Great.
We had a member
tell us to knock on his neighbor's door, which we did. What ended up
happening was an hour and a half discussion (debate?) about various
points of doctrine. That is to say, a bible bash. Bruce R. McConkie is
quoted as saying "We NEVER Bible bash... but when we do, we win." Well,
we ended up talking about some of the very basic teachings of the Bible,
such as the resurrection, spirit world, etc. and he simply verbally
refuted our claims. Hmm... Either way, even though the Spirit was
present when we testified of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, he
didn't catch it. We did leave on good terms, though, but I certainly
wasn't proud of myself that we got in the bash to begin with.
And that was our week!
That is,
until the weekend. We felt strongly impressed to fast for Bolvina, in
the hopes that something would change and we could get in just one more
time to meet her husband. It felt really good, so we went over there
after church on Sunday
and knocked on her door. A man opened it and we asked if he was
Bolvina's husband. "No, I'm her brother." He invited us in and we sat
down and got to know him. We got into a lesson and had an opening
prayer. As soon as we said 'Amen', the door opened and in walked Bolvina
and a giant of a man. I wasn't worried per se, but I really hoped that
this all went well as he gripped my hand in a handshake. They both sat
down, and her husband, Benjamin, started firing away. "Who are you
guys?"
Now, before I go on, I do need to say that this entire
exchange was in Spanish. I picked up a little bit of it, and certainly
got the spirit behind it all, but my companion was the one doing the
talking.
My companion explained that we are missionaries, and
immediately fired back, asking him about his family, his background, his
history. Boom. From that moment, it was over. He realized that we
weren't fierce fanatics trying to get converts - we just wanted to be
their friends. He opened up, and listened intensely as we explained the
Plan of Salvation for them. When we got done, we talked a bit about
church and our Spanish Book of Mormon class, and he was thrilled. He
told us about his addiction to alcohol, and how he wants to be a better
father for his kids. Perfect. That's exactly what we are looking for.
Prayers are answered, for sure.
Later that day, we had another appointment with another
family. Seriously, two, nuclear families all in one day. When does that
happen? I'll probably talk about them a little bit more in the future.
Yesterday, for Labor day, we had a barbeque with a
part-member family, the same member who had us knock on his neighbor's
door. They got married just a few months ago, and the non-member wife
has been coming to church, and as far as we can tell, loves it. For some
reason, though, nobody has gotten a solid answer whether she wants to
be baptized or not. Well, as we were chatting, there was an almost
perfect blend of Spirit and tender mercies of the Lord which allowed the
topic to come up perfectly. We asked; she answered. Someone is going to
be baptized in the near future!
Oh, and they served us a peach pie. It was baked by their neighbors. :D
So, as usual, it seems everything seems to turn out alright in the end.
Have a grand week!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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