Fog

Good evening,

Hope everyone has had a good week! Our week was crazy, but lots of fun! 

Monday we had a funeral for Sister Pine who has been the RSP for 25 years. It was sad, but also I felt a little bad for not being too sad, cause I never met the lady haha--but it was still good. Had a lunch with the family and friends at the church afterwards, and got to talk to lots of cool members from other parts of the mission! It meant our pday basically had 3 hours taken out from it, but if there's food then I'm always satisfied. Had some good burritos, pasta, salad, cakes, and chips and salsa. We spent the evening biking around Magnolia and talked with over 20 different people who were outside standing around h+!aha--also found a lady named Lois who's interested with the Gospel! Unfortunately for some, mid-lesson her little son came out and wapped her with a toy. She politely told us to excuse her, and then grabbed a big wracking stick and went inside after him to take care of some business. We decided our lesson was at an end and departed.

Tuesday was really stormy and rainy, which was super fun! In the morning we had extremely LOUD thunder come immediately after lightning. I'd be surprised if it didnt strike and annihilate some nearby houses haha--We did some service at the Thrift store, and got to test many interesting contraptions including a foot spa. In the afternoon we had a lesson with Myeisha about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and she told US she wants to be baptized! So we put her on date for July 1st! Since then there have been complications with her family, so who knows if it will happen that day, but still really cool. Because it was super stormy in the evening we decided to use the car, and spent the evening listening to piano pieces in between stops. We got to teach James the Restoration, and this time he wasn't stoned out of his mind so that was a big plus! We also talked to Lee, who calls us "his guys" and likes to talk with us about the peculiarities of life. We also got to go up to Waldo and taught and found a guy named Xavier! And this time he wasn't smoking weed :)

On Wednesday we had park-your-car day, so we biked all morning and afternoon. We started by walking the dogs at the sshelter. The more I walk dogs, the more I see their incompetence and inadequacies. Some cannot even manage to walk in a straight line, much less hold a dignified posture and demeanor. I am very disappointed with these animals that mankind claim are the greatest pets! Not only do they not have the mental capacity to handle the nuances of everyday living, but even the mundane is a chore to these so-called majestic creatures. If every dog I walked was to be merged into one mega-dog, I believe it would only get less sophisticated. In addition to the above complaints, some dogs try and chomp what us clearly not food, such as shoes and human flesh.

Okay that's enough of that, I just needed to get my frustrations with dogs out on paper. If you own a dog no offense to you is intended, only to your dog. 

In the morning when we planned we had felt inspired to go over to the college campus to talk to people. I am normally resistant to this kind of ineffective activity, but we decided it would be best to listen to the spirit. So we biked up to the campus in the afternoon, and the closer we got the more our doubts grew. Not only was it close to dinner time, and we would soon have to leave, but it had just rained, and it was far past the time when classes usually get our. But we biked up there anyway. We felt like we should go to the right side of the campus near the lake, and on the way we saw a girl sitting by herself on a park bench by the lake. We went up to her and talked to her. We shared a scripture about prayer, and she started crying and said that was just what she had needed. She'd been having a super hard day, and then she said she knew God had sent us to comfort her! We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon, and she was excited to start reading it. Also got her info so we can talk more. 

In the evening we taught a lady named Neena, and she said she wants to come to church. After that we went out with Royce and had a couple more lessons including one with Lee! Royce and Lee connected really well, and have had similar job problems so Royce shared how God had helped him. It was a super good lesson and Lee confirmed he'd be at church Sunday. After going out with Royce we drove down to Bossier City in preparation for Zone Conference. 

Thursday we woke up early and drove to Longview for Zone Conference, and it was really good! Super sad though too, it will be the Seitz' last one. After the main meeting I went and talked with the mission Presidency counselors and their wives for a while which was really fun! They were all so excited for me, so they gave tons of advice and ideas which were super helpful. Especially President Fisher, he has taught me a lot in my time hanging out with me. And President Nielsen claimed I was an imposter because of the difference in spelling, but HE is the imposter not me. Got to talk with Elder Rainey again too which was fun! 

That evening we drove back to Bossier City, and went on exchanges and double worked the Brownlee area! We had a member dinner at a nice house which was a refreshing change, it felt way more peaceful than literally every house in Magnolia. Then Elder Freeman and I walked around a neighborhood and street contacted. We talked to lots of people too! Wasnt a very effective use of time, but it was a good time to talk. Elder Freeman is a really nice guy, and has a good determination to work. We met a guy who used to be in the KKK but has since realized the errors of his ways and become a Christian! That evening we slept at their place, and they have a keyboard so I got to play the "piano" a bit. If you can call it that.

On Friday we woke up to the power being out, and apparently their power just got restored on Sunday! Luckily ours was fine, a giant storm came through but must have missed Magnolia. We drove back, and then went to a baptism for an 8-year-old in our branch! I got to conduct, and it went pretty well! The baptism went smoothly, and afterwards I met with President Stratton and Brother Lowther to talk about how to do some things such as how to use LCR. I also went through my office and got rid of stack after stack of useless papers that somebody just couldn't BEAR to throw out. Ah yes we might use the letter from someone who removed their records from the church in 2014 sometime! We went out with Brother Marchan that evening in Waldo, and visited lots of people! We had a lesson with Xavier, and Brother Marchan gave some really good advice based on his experience praying about and reading the Book of Mormon! We also found a couple new people to teach in Magnolia.

Saturday we walked the dogs again, and did some biking, and calls to invite people to church! They give us free drinks at Burger King which is always nice! Had another good lesson with Lee as well, and created some agendas. 

On Sunday we went to the church early to set up, and looked out the window and saw a giant storm moving in! It was super dark, and hit us right as I was going in to my meeting. Due to the storm a few people missed church but we still had a decent turnout. I got to conduct which was fun, and then after church on the way to Sunday School Tyre was helping push a TV into the room for class! Apparently he waited out the storm, and then biked over to church late for Sunday School! After church I had a temple recommend interview, a Patriarchal blessing interview, and called a new relief society president! We also announced that the time of church will be changing to 11 so that people have more time to arrive for church, and everyone loves it except for one couple haha--she's been here 50 years and it's probably been 9 am all that time so of course she's resistant to change. Threatening to go to the Texarkana ward and so forth haha--don't know what her deal is, all they do is sit at home and do nothing every day, what does she care?

-Abe