Guess
what? It snowed! After a long day of freezing rain and sleet, it
finally snowed on Saturday night. Of course, it was only a skiff, but I
sure was a happy camper. I miss puttin' on some boots and trudging
through a foot or more of the white stuff. But on the other hand, it was
pretty cool to see freezing rain. Everything was covered in ice the
next day. It was awesome because Sunday was a clear day so the sun was
shining and everything sparkled. As we would walk down the streets, I
would sometimes kick weeds or grab tree branches because they would
break off like it was nothing. Neat!
The
finger is doing well. It hasn't hurt at all recently and I'm looking
forward to getting a smaller splint or cast later this week when I go in
for a checkup. I've really been taken care of, in fact sometimes I'm
kind of embarrassed at how much people have taken care of me for just a
pinkie. I'm sure Elder Richards is tired of hearing me explain time and
time again what happened to my finger. He's such a great companion :)
He'll just patiently sit off the side and smile while people flock
around me at church and demand a detailed story. I always apologize
afterward to Elder Richards. "Sorry, Elder... I... they.... the
pinkie.... yeah...." I hope Elder Richards doesn't hate my guts. He
seems like the type of guy that could really be bugged by something but
just hold it in because he's too nice.
Well,
transfer calls are coming up this Saturday. As always, I'm a bit
nervous. Who knows what will happen! I have a feeling that I might
finally be done here in Joplin, but I've already said that 3 times
before. I could see Elder Richards and I staying together 1 more. Either
way, it will be hard to leave. There's a lot of great things happening
right now in our area. I'm motivated more than ever before, which is a
good thing. Elder Richards and I have been working so extremely hard
lately that I don't want to miss out on the fruits of our labors.
This
week we had some great success from tracting. We met this really nice
Native American family as we knocked doors near Erin and Ruben's place.
Haha it was so funny because as we walked up to the door, one of the
sons who is 18 woke up from a nap on the couch and saw us out the screen
door. He kind of flipped out and ran calling for his mom. Come to find
out later, he thought we were the FBI or something and he didn't know
what to do. Later, we assured him that we were just servants of the Lord
:) They reluctantly let us in, but after chatting for a bit and
realizing that we were nice guys they warmed up to us. Janetta (the mom)
told us a bit about her religious background and Sequoia (the
18-year-old son) stood off to the side and listened. We taught about the
Book of Mormon and a little bit of the Restoration. Feeling prompted, I
told them about the specific promises and blessings for the latter-day
Lamanite people. They thought that was pretty neat. Overall, the lesson
was one of the most perfect lessons I've ever taught. Man, there's no
better feeling than teaching a first lesson that goes that smoothly and
invites the Spirit so strongly. As we left, they agreed to read the Book
of Mormon and to pray about it. We plan on seeing them again this week.
We were also able to tract into a guy named Zachary
yesterday. Though he goes to Ignite Church (an exciting, new-age church
with a preacher who used to be a DJ), he expressed his interest after we
taught a little bit about the meaning of the Book of Mormon. He's a
very open-minded person and he also agreed to read a pray. It was
especially neat because we had Tucker (a priest in the ward getting
ready for his mission after he graduates) bear his testimony and help us
teach. Tucker is my pal :) He's totally ready to serve!
Other than that,
we have a bunch of potential investigators from tracting and we've had
some success in contacting part-member families. Bro. Everett is doing
well and we're going to help him quit smoking this week. Erin and Ruben
and the Coxes are really not progressing right now, but we're still
teaching all of them and we're determined. I know the Lord will help us
solve peoples' problems in our area.
Well,
my time is up. I love you all and I hope you're having as great of a
time as I am. Life is good! This Gospel is so true and I love it.
Love, Elder Atkin
No comments:
Post a Comment