Week 59: Menudo Is Not The Move
We had a jam packed week! Here are some random things that happened:
● We were tracting some houses and this guy named Ryan tried to bash with us. He kept telling us that we believe that we earn our salvation and it made me kinda mad. He didn't want to listen to us even when we stumped him. I gave him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet with our number on it if he wanted to actually sit down with us and learn more. He hasn't contacted us yet though so I don't think he's open to it haha.
● We were out street contacting one night and these kids called over to us and asked if we were looking for their dad. We were like "uhh yeah I guess we are?" haha. We walked over and they said their dad wasn't home and asked if we could give them pictures of Jesus. So we gave them some Jesus cards and a pamphlet. They were so happy and asked for extras haha. It was adorable! Seriously made my night. I want to love Jesus like those little kids.
● Later that night we walked up to some people outside their house and asked if we could talk to them. They said "oh no", grabbed all their stuff, and walked inside really quickly. Honestly it made me laugh. I don't know why some people are so scared of us haha.
● We've had a few people change their minds about meeting with us recently because their pastor told them not to, their friends told them not to, or because they think we're the antichrist. One guy in particular, named Ralph, told us he wanted to meet under a tree in a random parking lot (not sure why haha) and we had a 2+ hour lesson with him. He told us that he used to be a cocaine adddict and got hit by a train. Somehow he survived even though his body was mangled and he gives all the credit to God. He was super into what we were teaching and then the next day he texted us and said he talked to some people and thinks we're the antichrist so he would no longer be meeting with us. We told him that would go against everything we believe in and asked if we could meet again to answer his questions. He said we could call him the next day to set something up but now he's not answering us. I'm trying to not be too sad about it but that honestly crushed me. First of all I don't like being called the antichrist and second he was so prepared for the gospel! Please pray for Ralph!
● Someone we're teaching named Javier always has friends over that are drinking beer and the other week one of them asked me to repeat something in Spanish and he automatically assumed I was Mexican because of how I said it I guess?? Then the other day he said something in Spanish and he looked at me and was like "yeah, I know you know how to speak Spanish!". Ummm sir I literally don't but okay hahaha.
● We started meeting with someone named Tanya (I might have mentioned her before but I can't remember) and she told us her and her kids want to be baptized! We first need to see what her commitment level is like and if she has a testimony so I'll let y'all know how that goes.
● We met with Victoria and Russell again and Victoria told us that one of her friends recently left the church to become an ecosexual witch... I'm not really sure what that is but I just thought that was pretty interesting hahaha. Ya learn somethin new everyday.
● Elder Christensen and I got some menudo from Ketsaly's mom and we were kinda scared to try it. For those of you who don't know, menudo is a Mexican soup with intestine and pig feet in it (usually). Honestly it didn't taste that gross but the texture was no bueno. Would not recommend. (Pictures below)
● We had quite a few experiences this week being in just the right place at just the right time to meet people. For one of them we were walking back to our car to go home for the night and a guy was backing in a trailer to his driveway and he was blocking the whole road so we had to wait until he was done. When he got out he started talking to us and we ended up helping him load the trailer. We found out he's actually a member of the church and hasn't been active for years. He said we could come by sometime to share a message with him and his family (who aren't members I'm pretty sure). I definitely don't believe that was a coincidence. God puts people in our path for a reason!
This week I was talking with my companion about how frustrated I was with people and I was honestly being very inconsiderate. But luckily the Spirit corrected me and I humbled myself. I realized it's not my place to judge or be frustrated with people when they aren't cooperating with me like I thing they should or when they're not at the level or commitment I think they should be at. Sometimes I also judge people because I think they're capable of doing more than they are. I look at their life from my biased viewpoint and that's not really fair is it! Everyone starts at different points in their life and were all on different parts of the journey with different experiences and weaknesses.
When thinking of this I remembered a talk by Elder Gilbert from general conference that talks exactly about this! He said, "In the Lord’s timing, it is not where we start but where we are headed that matters most. To demonstrate this principle, I will draw on some basic math. It starts with the formula for a line. The intercept, for our purposes, is the beginning of our line. The intercept can have either a high or a low starting point. The slope of the line can then be positively or negatively inclined. We all have different intercepts in life—we start in different places with different life endowments. Some are born with high intercepts, full of opportunity. Others face beginning circumstances that are challenging and seem unfair. We then progress along a slope of personal progress. Our future will be determined far less by our starting point and much more by our slope. Jesus Christ sees divine potential no matter where we start. He saw it in the beggar, the sinner, and the infirm. He saw it in the fisherman, the tax collector, and even the zealot. No matter where we start, Christ considers what we do with what we are given. While the world focuses on our intercept, God focuses on our slope. In the Lord’s calculus, He will do everything He can to help us turn our slopes toward heaven."
Here's a link to the talk if you'd like to listen to it!
Love y'all!
- Elder Christensen
Pictures
☆ Chinto's has fire breakfast tacos!!
☆ Our little friend we found in the church
☆ Menudo!!
☆ The district!
☆ Laughlin Air Force Base
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