WOW!!! This has probably been one of the more successful weeks of my mission!! The Lord has truly been blessing us!!! But lets start at the beginning...
Last Pday we went to the Ghetto Rec Center again, this time there was a bunch of people smokin weed so I kinda felt like I got a second hand high from that, but it was a character building experience!! After Pday we had an appointment with a part member family but the appointment fell through. So we were suddenly flooded with a bunch of time and didn't know where to spend it! So, of course, we sought the Lords counsel. We ended up going to a particular street, finding one really cool lady that was willing to let us (strangers) in at 8pm because it was cold. And we also helped a couple ladies move in a truck load of furniture. It just shows that God is willing and ready to help us find those people that are ready if we really seek His counsel over our own.
On Tuesday we did a Church tour with Isaiah to help him be more comfortable with the building, people, culture, etc. We had Nathan Seawell and Mason there to help us teach. It actually went really well because he ended up coming to Church yesterday. So, moral of the story is, if you are having trouble with bringing people to Church, do a Chapel tour! It has worked more times than I would like to count!!
Wednesday was pretty sweet!! We had a lesson with a lady that we had found previously who's name was Ellen. We brought Bro Mills with us....it turned into an 'aight' lesson. It was hard to help her stay focused on the Gospel instead of Ancient Aliens...LOL
"But wait, there's more..." We got a referral for a free Bible that lived over in the Ghetto part of Carrollton! It actually went really well because the family that requested the Bible actually invited us in and we got to teach them for a bit. Usually when we get a request for something they don't let us come in and they don't let us say anything either, all they want is what they requested (which is cool too). But they said that we could continue to meet with them and tell them more about the Church! YEET!!
That night we met with Mason and Catrina!! This was the first time that Catrina didn't have any questions or concerns, but instead just wanted to learn and grow closer to Jesus Christ!! Cool lesson!!
On Thursday we were supposed to meet with a guy named Ian but he slept in and forgot about us!! But while we were waiting we got a text from Mason saying that sometime that day he would like to meet in person and discuss something!! So we went to Chick-Fil-A on campus and talked for a bit! At first it was casual but when we asked why he wanted to meet up he said that he put a lot of thought and prayer into his decision to be Baptized and felt like it was his time now. I almost couldn't help myself from jumping out of my chair!! I had the biggest smile on my face throughout the day!! Later that night we got a text from him saying that he would have work off this upcoming Saturday (December 1st) and wanted to be baptized then!! We told him that we liked his enthusiasm but that we needed to prepare and plan, and get the ZL's for the interview and all that jazz! He seemed fine with pushing it back to this Saturday the 8th!!! We are all very excited!!!!!!
Friday we had New Missionary Training for all the greenies in the morning to afternoon!! It was basically everything that we had previously learned at Zone Conference and nothing that the greenies should actually know about!! So I kinda felt like it was a big waste, but oh well! It's in the past now!!
We did have a lot of Success right when we got back from that meeting!! We met with a kid named Josh before he ships off back to Nigeria!! Hopefully I will be able to see him when he comes back next semester!! We had a second lesson that day but she never showed up, we had a teamup and everything!! So we decided since our teamup is shipping out for her mission in about a month we would go do some contacting on Campus. IT WAS SOOOO EFFECTIVE!!! We met a lot of really great people!!
This is turning into a really long email so I will try to fly through the rest of the week for all yalls!!
Saturday we were biking in the pouring rain for a while. But because God is good he stopped it for the last few hours of the day even though it said that it would rain hard all day long! That same night we went Caroling and found some good success! No return appointments or anything, but just a lot of really happy families!!
Now, we are finally at Sunday!! Mason, Catrina, and Isaiah came to Church!! As I have looked back at the rest of my mission I am pretty sure that is the most people I have had at Church in one day!! Now I know all yall South America Missionaries must be laughing pretty hard at that, but hey, I was sooooo happy!!!
We had a meeting during Church with Mason and Catrina to get everything ready for the Baptism! He asked me to perform the Baptism and Elder Isaksen to perform the Confirmation of the Holy Ghost!! This will be the first time that one of the people that I personally have found and taught has asked me to baptize them, so that was definitely a special experience that I will never forget!!
Sunday night we went to a Baptist Church and had a real good time!! It was definitely different but awesome nonetheless!! Basically the whole Church welcomed us even when they knew who we were!! We felt really like these people wanted us to be here...I wish that people that we bring to Church always felt the same way!! (Mic drop) lol
Something that I have realized over the last few weeks is that numbers don't mean a thing!! Of course they are important so we can have measurable goals and plans for finding, teaching and baptizing! But having high numbers doesn't necessarily count you on the roll of 'Successful Missionary.' Instead Success is measured by your commitment to find, teach and Baptize (quoted from the Apostles in PMG). Success is determined by your commitment to be an 'ALL IN' Consecrated Missionary!!
Even this week we have rolled high numbers in the books, but in the end it doesn't mean jack squat!! What really matters is how committed you are to following the Savior!! That includes but is not limited to...sharing His Gospel with those you come in contact with (hint: it doesn't mean you have to slap a Book of Mormon in everyone's face). Seeing others as they may become. Ministering to others, not because of assignment, but because of pure Charity. And the list can go on and on and on!!
Anywho, I have become quite the 'Ranter' or 'Venter' or whatever you wanna call it!!
Love yall
Elder Northrup
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