Subject: | Otro semana en El Cliff |
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Date: | Mon, 16 Oct 2017 13:21:18 -0500 |
From: | Brett Hogg |
Hola Familia
A
good week here. Probably the biggest highlight was Thursday. We had a
guy from Salt Lake follow us/drive us around. He's a higher up guy at
the MTC (Missionary Training Center/Provo), and goes around visiting missions to see how they're doing and
to help give the Mission President feedback.
He followed a different set
of missionaries around every day for 4 days, and we were one of them!
He had a rental car, a 2017 Dodge Charger, that he got to drive us in
(we only have so many miles we can put on our car, so we take every
opportunity we can to get a ride. Also I would like a 2017 Charger when I
get home please). His name was Bro Nelson, he's 33 and joined the church
when he was a senior in high school, the only member of his family, hes
a really cool guy.
That was also the same day that we had interviews
with President Dalton. When we have interviews we also have District
Meeting, you just step out when its your turn, so that was good. He's not
supposed to really interfere and just kind of observe mostly, but wound
up teaching us a lot about how we can better take advantage of the
technology we have here in the mission. He told us that every mission in
the United States and Canada will be getting smartphones and Facebook
here eventually.
The Texas Dallas Mission, because it's the best, is
basically a pilot mission, meaning we got Facebook like a year and a
half ago, and Fort Worth is just getting it now. He also alluded to
something else happening in January for us and a couple other special
missions, not sure what exactly, but it has something to do with
advertising?
Anyway, he also took us to lunch. We went to Lockhearts BBQ. It was super good. When you order (you order by the 1/2 pound) they
pull a giant slab of brisket out of their big smoker, and slice it off
for you, and wrap it in paper. I also got habanero mac and cheese, which
I regretted.
We did eventually get him to a lesson. We had a lesson
with an awesome family, the mom is already a member, but the dad is not.
The dad has been taught in the past, but we've started teaching him
again, and the one son just turned eight. So we teach them both, even
though the eight year old technically isn't an investigator, its really
more for the dad. But the eight year old accepted to be baptized, the
dad said he'd like his son to go first and then we'll talk about a date
for him. So Thursday was a pretty good day.
On
Fridays we go do service at the Food Bank here usually, so we did that
with the other Elders here close. Afterwards we were hungry so we called
and asked how much unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks were, at the
Olive Garden here close. The answer was 7.49, so we went.
Then for a
dinner an older lady here in the ward took us out to a diner place, but
we were still full from lunch, but we ate anyway, and it was really good
(I had chicken fried steak). So by this time we are so full we want to
die, let alone do missionary work. But we pressed forward, nothing
wavering, in the service of our God.
(Haha - a quote from a scripture in the Book of Mormon - 2 Nephi 31:20)
We had some names from the bishop
we had to stop by, so we started going by them and not much was
happening, until we stopped by this one member, who we hadn't really met
before. I had shaken his hand at church once but that was about it. Well
we knocked on his house and his wife answered! We assumed he was a
single guy because he always came by himself. And she answered in
spanish! We assumed she would be english because he comes to the english
ward.
But anyway, they invited us in and we started talking to them and they were super friendly. The wife didn't really know anything about the church, they had married when he was inactive, and they had gone a couple times in the last 15 years but that's about it. She was super cool and wasn't really into Catholicism (which is a huge barrier for hispanics usually), started going baptist, but really just wants her family to all be on the same page spiritually. Elder Rodriguez was able to share his conversion story (he grew up going Catholic, but after his parents divorced he started going baptist with his mom), and they connected on that. Anyway, they said they would come to church and that we could come back and teach her more. They didn't make it out to church, but we're super stoked about them.
But anyway, they invited us in and we started talking to them and they were super friendly. The wife didn't really know anything about the church, they had married when he was inactive, and they had gone a couple times in the last 15 years but that's about it. She was super cool and wasn't really into Catholicism (which is a huge barrier for hispanics usually), started going baptist, but really just wants her family to all be on the same page spiritually. Elder Rodriguez was able to share his conversion story (he grew up going Catholic, but after his parents divorced he started going baptist with his mom), and they connected on that. Anyway, they said they would come to church and that we could come back and teach her more. They didn't make it out to church, but we're super stoked about them.
Then
on Saturday we helped out at Ceder Hill Country Day on the Hill. A
little festival the city of Ceder Hill does every year. The stake had
got a booth to show off family history/familysearch.org, and they asked all the missionaries to help. That was fun, there was a parade, and just cool fair things.
Then
Sunday/Yesterday. After church we stopped by a couple Book of Mormon
referrals (which are more rare). They were both really cool. They both
said they work looking for something that's missing, filling a void. One
guy hesitantly told us he was dealing with anxiety and depression stuff
and so that was cool to see him seek God, to help him out. Bright
futures here in The Cliff.
Con Amor,
Elder Hogg
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