December 2, 2013
Missionary Slim Wishes you a very Happy Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Advent? Is Slim getting confused? (Week 95 in Pennsylvania, Week 6 in Wintersville, Ohio)
Happy Turkey Holocaust Day, everyone! And happy Hanukkah. And Advent. All that jazz.
We had a crazy week. We were walking around in downtown Stuebenville, you know, the place where everyone says "Don't go there at night!" And it was night. We hopped out of our car to visit a member when a guy walked up to us. "What's on your nametags?"
"Oh, we're missionaries."
"Oh, great! I've been looking for a church. You see, I have some different beliefs about different things, so I'm trying to find whatever fits."
He went off to talk about how he believes in reincarnation, magic, 'special abilities', etc. He said he had visions of the future, sold his soul, his girlfriend was a demon, and that he might even be the one and only prophet on the earth.
We talked for him for a bit, and tried to take him seriously - he was super dramatic about everything - but we told him about the true prophet on the earth, about the priesthood, and about repentance and forgiveness. We mentioned to him the prophecy (since I'm an official representative of the church, I'll have to classify it as 'Mormon Myth' till I can get a reference) of the Constitution hanging by a thread, and he went crazy. "I've been waiting for someone to say something like that!" He offered to have us join him on a quest to seek out some ancient alien artifacts, and then join him on a council of every religion which he was planning on forming to combat the wickedness in the world.
Yeah... That was a fun conversation.
We got thrown out of a house too! We went to visit a less-active member. We got into a pretty good discussion with him about his experiences in the church, and gave him a solid invite to come back. Right when we asked him, though, his room mate came out swearing up a storm. "You **** HYPOCRITE! GET OVER HERE, NOW! I WANT TO TALK TO YOU!" We said "Hey, Jim!" as friendly as possible, but our less active friend got up and went over. Jim talked to him animatedly for a few minutes, and then our friend came over to us. "You have to go now." We did, but not without giving him an invitation to the Christmas Party. We'll see if he manages to make it out.
Thanksgiving was a good day for us, as usual. Two dinners, completely filled with food by the days end, and good company with the church members that we visited. We were well taken care of.
In all, it was an exciting week.
Oh, one final note. We are teaching a great family, the Browns. They have 6 kids and no car and live 6 miles from the church. We realized early on that the ward would have to give us their commitment to take complete ownership of the fellowshipping of this family, because we missionaries can't even do anything to help them get to church. So, we asked the Ward Mission Leader to make it happen, and it happened. In Priesthood, they announced that this family needed a ride and a father and son both committed to pick them up and bring them... and do a team-up this coming week so we could introduce them. I'm pretty thrilled about that. Once they start coming to church, it'll be no time before they get baptized outright.
Thanks for all the prayers on my behalf. It really means a lot to me.
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
PS. I've been doing this blog for nearly two years, and still have no idea who's been reading or if it has been helpful for anyone. My parents have told me a couple of things, but I would love to hear it from the readers. It would be great if you readers just left a comment in one of the posts about why you read this blog, what you enjoy about it, and if it has helped you at all. It would really mean a lot to me! Thanks!
We had a crazy week. We were walking around in downtown Stuebenville, you know, the place where everyone says "Don't go there at night!" And it was night. We hopped out of our car to visit a member when a guy walked up to us. "What's on your nametags?"
"Oh, we're missionaries."
"Oh, great! I've been looking for a church. You see, I have some different beliefs about different things, so I'm trying to find whatever fits."
He went off to talk about how he believes in reincarnation, magic, 'special abilities', etc. He said he had visions of the future, sold his soul, his girlfriend was a demon, and that he might even be the one and only prophet on the earth.
We talked for him for a bit, and tried to take him seriously - he was super dramatic about everything - but we told him about the true prophet on the earth, about the priesthood, and about repentance and forgiveness. We mentioned to him the prophecy (since I'm an official representative of the church, I'll have to classify it as 'Mormon Myth' till I can get a reference) of the Constitution hanging by a thread, and he went crazy. "I've been waiting for someone to say something like that!" He offered to have us join him on a quest to seek out some ancient alien artifacts, and then join him on a council of every religion which he was planning on forming to combat the wickedness in the world.
Yeah... That was a fun conversation.
We got thrown out of a house too! We went to visit a less-active member. We got into a pretty good discussion with him about his experiences in the church, and gave him a solid invite to come back. Right when we asked him, though, his room mate came out swearing up a storm. "You **** HYPOCRITE! GET OVER HERE, NOW! I WANT TO TALK TO YOU!" We said "Hey, Jim!" as friendly as possible, but our less active friend got up and went over. Jim talked to him animatedly for a few minutes, and then our friend came over to us. "You have to go now." We did, but not without giving him an invitation to the Christmas Party. We'll see if he manages to make it out.
Thanksgiving was a good day for us, as usual. Two dinners, completely filled with food by the days end, and good company with the church members that we visited. We were well taken care of.
In all, it was an exciting week.
Oh, one final note. We are teaching a great family, the Browns. They have 6 kids and no car and live 6 miles from the church. We realized early on that the ward would have to give us their commitment to take complete ownership of the fellowshipping of this family, because we missionaries can't even do anything to help them get to church. So, we asked the Ward Mission Leader to make it happen, and it happened. In Priesthood, they announced that this family needed a ride and a father and son both committed to pick them up and bring them... and do a team-up this coming week so we could introduce them. I'm pretty thrilled about that. Once they start coming to church, it'll be no time before they get baptized outright.
Thanks for all the prayers on my behalf. It really means a lot to me.
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
PS. I've been doing this blog for nearly two years, and still have no idea who's been reading or if it has been helpful for anyone. My parents have told me a couple of things, but I would love to hear it from the readers. It would be great if you readers just left a comment in one of the posts about why you read this blog, what you enjoy about it, and if it has helped you at all. It would really mean a lot to me! Thanks!
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I've been reading your blog for about 6 months now. I served my mission in Pittsburgh over 30 years ago and was even in Wheeling, WV for 4 months. I loved the place and love to hear of your experiences in the same mission I was in. Keep up the great work you are doing. From Canada
ReplyDeleteDear Elder Anderson,
ReplyDeleteThis is Allyson. :) I just want you to know that your posts have often been an answered prayer in my life. Though I'm not as consistent as I wish to be, time and again I go to your blog and seem to read one after the other; I never can seem to get enough of the spirit that I feel every time I ready your blog. Please know that your words have made a difference. I often find myself sharing your experiences with my husband because of the insights you share. Many months ago you shared some things that Elder Bednar (I believe) shared with the missionaries about being a better ward missionary and reaching out the members in your ward. That has stuck with me ever since you shared that. You have always been such a wonderful friend to me, and I'm so grateful to hear that you are doing well. Best of wishes to you this week and in weeks to come. Only a few left! Make them count. :)
Your Friend,
Allyson