November 19, 2018 -- The LDS are Hard Core
Lovely Humans!!!
This week has been one for the books! The story I am about to tell you includes donuts, a power-outage, a cemetery, and a blow-dart gun. So buckle up!!!
The subject line of my email relates to just about everything I am going to talk about, but it specifically comes from a conversation that we had with one of the older ladies at the Genealogical Society that we volunteer at. Jean was a little hesitant to have us there at first because she didn't want us to try to convert her or any of the people that come into the store. When we first met, we assured her that we were just there to help with Family History. Since then, we have gotten progressively closer with her, and it has gotten to the point that every time we go in she asks us one of her "Mormon questions". Basically something she has always wondered about our church, but has been too afraid to ask. It has been the cause for a lot of laughter, from her asking if we are allowed to date the Elders that we work with, to wanting to understand why we are so interested in Family History. We are basically teaching her the Restoration without doing the actual lessons, and that has been a really cool experience. This week she wanted to know all about our missions and how they are different from mission trips that other churches do. She was shocked when we told her that we don't get to go home until they are over, and that we don't talk to our families except twice a year. The concept of only emailing once a week was also crazy to her. She knows that I've been out a while, and so she turned to me and said, in a very shocked voice, "So, you haven't hugged your Mama in a year and a half?" I confirmed the statement, and then she exclaimed, "The LDS are hardcore!" We laughed about it, but it really got me thinking- we kind of are, aren't we? What other church places this kind of responsibility and pressure on it's children? Because really, we are all children. And why would we go, unless it was true? I pondered that basically all week, which leads to the part of the story about donuts.
In my very first area, one of the members of my branch presidency told me that on his mission, they did a cool finding activity that really stuck with people. You would invite people to come down to the church, and bring enough donuts so that each person could have two. The people would sit in a circle. They would be offered a donut, and if they accepted it, a missionary in the circle had to do five push ups for it. If they denied the donut, the missionary still has to do the push ups. The trick is to have a lot of people in the circle, and you go around the circle twice. By the end of the activity, the missionary doing the push ups is basically unable to use their arms anymore because of how tired they are. You then explain that the Savior suffered for all of us, regardless of if we accept his offering or not. If we don't share the Gospel, (if we don't offer people a donut) than the Savior suffered in vain. You then invite the people in the circle to share their knowledge of the Savior with someone else. It is a really cool activity, and I have wanted to do it since the day that I heard about it. I knew that I would not be able to physically do the push ups though, and the opportunity to do the activity never arose. This week, it finally happened! We were invited to help the Enterprise Elders do a Youth Night in the Enterprise Ward, (the congregation right next to us), and we decided to do the Donut Activity. Elder Dickinson was the one that did the push ups, and it was an incredibly sacred experience. By the end of the activity, he could barely lift his arms. He was in a lot of pain, and the Spirit was so strong in the room. You could tell, as the kids watched him, that they might be understanding (if only a little bit) what the Savior did for them. They all took the challenge to share the Gospel with their friends, and I am indescribably grateful for Elder Dickinson, who was willing to sacrifice so much to teach them about the Savior. Why would Elder Dickinson have done that, if it wasn't true?
On Thursday we drove home after a long day to find that our power was out. I am not sure if this is a rule in other missions, but in ours you aren't allowed to stay in an apartment with no power. So we had to drive to stay the night with the Dothan Sisters, Sister Payne and Sister Lindsay. Sister Payne is actually my college roommate's little sister! So I met her before my mission and every time I see her I have to stop myself from calling her by her first name. It was a surprise to us all that we were there for the night, but it was incredibly fun to be with them and to talk with them. At some point while we were there, they asked me about the advice I would give missionaries that are just staring out, since they are both relatively new. We also talked about the scary and hard things that have happened to me on my mission, and how the Lord was able to push me through. How could I have done that, unless the Gospel was true?
The next morning we went for a walk through a cemetery. If you know me at all, you know I love Cemeteries. I love walking past the headstones and imagining that couple or familiy being sealed together, and how much happiness they will have when that day comes. Walking through the Dothan graveyard, it hit me again- how could I do anything, even live life, unless this was true? There are so many things about me that wouldn't be without the knowledge that I have. If I didn't know that families can be together forever, I definitely wouldn't love graveyards as much as I do.
Life is hard, and you know what? The LDS ARE hardcore. You want to know why? It's because the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have wasted 18 months of my life away from my family and friends and the life that I used to have to get doors slammed in my face by angry strangers. If this wasn't true, I would have packed up and caught a plane a long long time ago. If you are looking for proof of the divinity of Christ, of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, let me be your proof. I promise you, every email you have read from me would never have happened without the strengthening influence of our Savior, Jesus Christ- and He never would have strengthened me, unless this was true. I can feel it in my heart and in my bones. Christ loves us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's Church. There is no denying it. It has to be true.
For those of you who are wondering when the blow-dart gun was going to come up, a member that was helping us move gave me one this week. I am totally going to bring it home, and I'm psyched about it. That doesn't really have anything to do with my "Hardcore" realization this week, but I figured it went well with the theme of this email. Plus it is really awesome that I got a blow-dart gun on my mission!
So, that's it for this week friends. One more left... and I am going to make this the best week of my whole mission. I only have 10 days left to serve God as a full-time missionary, and you better believe I am going to make the best of it. I have to! Because this is true. Have a great week, talk to you soon! And don't forget to read the Book of Mormon!
This week has been one for the books! The story I am about to tell you includes donuts, a power-outage, a cemetery, and a blow-dart gun. So buckle up!!!
The subject line of my email relates to just about everything I am going to talk about, but it specifically comes from a conversation that we had with one of the older ladies at the Genealogical Society that we volunteer at. Jean was a little hesitant to have us there at first because she didn't want us to try to convert her or any of the people that come into the store. When we first met, we assured her that we were just there to help with Family History. Since then, we have gotten progressively closer with her, and it has gotten to the point that every time we go in she asks us one of her "Mormon questions". Basically something she has always wondered about our church, but has been too afraid to ask. It has been the cause for a lot of laughter, from her asking if we are allowed to date the Elders that we work with, to wanting to understand why we are so interested in Family History. We are basically teaching her the Restoration without doing the actual lessons, and that has been a really cool experience. This week she wanted to know all about our missions and how they are different from mission trips that other churches do. She was shocked when we told her that we don't get to go home until they are over, and that we don't talk to our families except twice a year. The concept of only emailing once a week was also crazy to her. She knows that I've been out a while, and so she turned to me and said, in a very shocked voice, "So, you haven't hugged your Mama in a year and a half?" I confirmed the statement, and then she exclaimed, "The LDS are hardcore!" We laughed about it, but it really got me thinking- we kind of are, aren't we? What other church places this kind of responsibility and pressure on it's children? Because really, we are all children. And why would we go, unless it was true? I pondered that basically all week, which leads to the part of the story about donuts.
In my very first area, one of the members of my branch presidency told me that on his mission, they did a cool finding activity that really stuck with people. You would invite people to come down to the church, and bring enough donuts so that each person could have two. The people would sit in a circle. They would be offered a donut, and if they accepted it, a missionary in the circle had to do five push ups for it. If they denied the donut, the missionary still has to do the push ups. The trick is to have a lot of people in the circle, and you go around the circle twice. By the end of the activity, the missionary doing the push ups is basically unable to use their arms anymore because of how tired they are. You then explain that the Savior suffered for all of us, regardless of if we accept his offering or not. If we don't share the Gospel, (if we don't offer people a donut) than the Savior suffered in vain. You then invite the people in the circle to share their knowledge of the Savior with someone else. It is a really cool activity, and I have wanted to do it since the day that I heard about it. I knew that I would not be able to physically do the push ups though, and the opportunity to do the activity never arose. This week, it finally happened! We were invited to help the Enterprise Elders do a Youth Night in the Enterprise Ward, (the congregation right next to us), and we decided to do the Donut Activity. Elder Dickinson was the one that did the push ups, and it was an incredibly sacred experience. By the end of the activity, he could barely lift his arms. He was in a lot of pain, and the Spirit was so strong in the room. You could tell, as the kids watched him, that they might be understanding (if only a little bit) what the Savior did for them. They all took the challenge to share the Gospel with their friends, and I am indescribably grateful for Elder Dickinson, who was willing to sacrifice so much to teach them about the Savior. Why would Elder Dickinson have done that, if it wasn't true?
On Thursday we drove home after a long day to find that our power was out. I am not sure if this is a rule in other missions, but in ours you aren't allowed to stay in an apartment with no power. So we had to drive to stay the night with the Dothan Sisters, Sister Payne and Sister Lindsay. Sister Payne is actually my college roommate's little sister! So I met her before my mission and every time I see her I have to stop myself from calling her by her first name. It was a surprise to us all that we were there for the night, but it was incredibly fun to be with them and to talk with them. At some point while we were there, they asked me about the advice I would give missionaries that are just staring out, since they are both relatively new. We also talked about the scary and hard things that have happened to me on my mission, and how the Lord was able to push me through. How could I have done that, unless the Gospel was true?
The next morning we went for a walk through a cemetery. If you know me at all, you know I love Cemeteries. I love walking past the headstones and imagining that couple or familiy being sealed together, and how much happiness they will have when that day comes. Walking through the Dothan graveyard, it hit me again- how could I do anything, even live life, unless this was true? There are so many things about me that wouldn't be without the knowledge that I have. If I didn't know that families can be together forever, I definitely wouldn't love graveyards as much as I do.
Life is hard, and you know what? The LDS ARE hardcore. You want to know why? It's because the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have wasted 18 months of my life away from my family and friends and the life that I used to have to get doors slammed in my face by angry strangers. If this wasn't true, I would have packed up and caught a plane a long long time ago. If you are looking for proof of the divinity of Christ, of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, let me be your proof. I promise you, every email you have read from me would never have happened without the strengthening influence of our Savior, Jesus Christ- and He never would have strengthened me, unless this was true. I can feel it in my heart and in my bones. Christ loves us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's Church. There is no denying it. It has to be true.
For those of you who are wondering when the blow-dart gun was going to come up, a member that was helping us move gave me one this week. I am totally going to bring it home, and I'm psyched about it. That doesn't really have anything to do with my "Hardcore" realization this week, but I figured it went well with the theme of this email. Plus it is really awesome that I got a blow-dart gun on my mission!
So, that's it for this week friends. One more left... and I am going to make this the best week of my whole mission. I only have 10 days left to serve God as a full-time missionary, and you better believe I am going to make the best of it. I have to! Because this is true. Have a great week, talk to you soon! And don't forget to read the Book of Mormon!
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