Another glorious preparation day with some much needed 18 holes of golf. ok, so we probably didn't need it but it makes total sense why the general authorities golf so much. We had our elders quorum president who owns the place come out with us on the last 3 and it was a joke to watch him put it 300 yards down the fairway and then Elder Upchurch and I launch it straight to the trees about 2 yards or so it may have seemed. It is getting way hot and humid here and I am starting to use the sunscreen for the first time. I think I' ve gotten used to it pretty fast though and it isn't bothering me as much as my Provo companion. Maybe it's the reason Lake Powell conditioned me so much.
I couldn't help but think about how missionary work is a lot like the sports we play. In this case of golf I noticed that as the people played through us we kind of got discouraged. Every so often we totally crank that ball a couple hundred yards straight down the middle, why not now? Its kind of like how here in Nac we are teaching a lot but the baptisms seem to not be coming in like they should and discouragement sets in. Anyway enough gold analogies. I swear I am not that obsessed.
Our week went really well again this week but our entire district has been suffering big time from lack of sleep, heat and sickness. Our baptism that was supposed to go down yesterday didn't because she does not want to get married at all. Really discouraging but we us missionaries tend to forget that people have their agency and even with strong witnesses they wont do one thing here or one thing there which prevents progression. That is something huge as a missionary that has been profound. Sometimes the days come when you are either worn out physically or emotionally or both and it just doesn't seem like working is going to do much good. Then kicks in the thought that either you are out here because it is all true or not. So why waste time, missionary work is all true!
We had a way cool experience last night when our dinner was a ways away so we asked a non-member to take us out with him since he was going anyway. It was the dad of the family of 6 that we are teaching and we think it really broke some ice on the way out there. Of course with my obsession with smoking (the food kind) he gave me some sweet ideas for the smoker that we're going to build in 14 months. (I have to do something to keep me happy in that depressive state.)
Well I have shared with you are top investigators already and the rest of the week was very interesting. We had the youth out with us this week that helped a lot with the teaching. I think they are getting pretty excited now. "Hey, do you want me to take this one?" Referring to doors we start knocking on. Pretty sweet sense I didn't get that chance in Utah. I am living my teenage years through them all over again.
We had a pretty cool experience tracting where we knocked a door but no one answered so as we walked away she came to the door and as we were talking she simply cut me off and said "alright, come on in." We couldn't though because of the rules so we taught her on her doorstep and the Spirit really took over, she practically quoted the Book of Mormon a couple times and was touched as she read some of the scriptures from it. We gave her one that was signed inside of it with one of the young women's testimonies which seemed to be perfect. We look forward to going back and following up.
Well make sure y'all take some double dips in that lake for me. I will survive for a summer!
Love Elder Metcalf
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Somehow we managed to pull off another great week without more then a few solid appointments. We have been using a deadly weapon which has been getting us into doors while we tract and teaching wonderful and not so wonderful people. The secret weapon being of course the Youth.
Ha
Were having a lot of fun. We take these teenagers to either the extremely rich or poverty stricken areas depending on what would be most beneficial at that time. Little do they expect when we knock a door then I turn around and look at them and say "alright, your turn." The best part is that it may be a simple question or line and then we get in the door. It has been awesome. They sure really put me to shame considering the first time I worked with missionaries is when I became one. It has been way cool though because I think Elder Upchurch and I may laugh too much and they see how much fun it is to be out in the field.
We have been teaching some interesting people lately that have been unexpectedly good. We have been going back to return appointments with somewhat of a so-so attitude but they let us right in and desire to read the Book of Mormon. We ran out on Wednesday but lucky for us zone conference was that week and we ordered 40 more which was a surprise that they gave us them since were only allowed 25. The young women on Sunday were awesome too because they got a bunch of their own missionary editions then signed them all personally for us to give out which makes our total potential to give out in 6 weeks about 50-60. The books are like bricks of gold to me and with all these material blessings that they are letting us have we plan on nourishing our part of the vineyard constantly. So far it has been a lot of fun.
The mom of the kids that wants to be baptized is struggling pretty bad on getting married. Apparently we made her a little mad with the challenge last week but gratefully she let us come over. When we got there the conversation quickly turned into a testimony session on the Atonement. We think there are some things or hurt in the past that has been secreted that she is looking forward to getting rid of but is having a hard time letting go. (don't we all...)
We had interviews this week as well. My attitude and personality has changed a lot. I must admit that in Frisco I didn't seem to be enjoying working as a missionary but as I finally motivated myself in Nac to go out and work hard, I have found a totally different person. Never have I been this consistently happy. Something I may have mentioned before is my belief that missions don't change people, the Atonement does. The best missionaries and the ones that are most deeply affected by their 2 years of service are the missionaries who dedicate themselves to helping others come unto Christ thus feeling the power of the Atonement constantly. Whether its in a contact that rejects you or a baptism, if I can go out and at least put forth some effort then I win because I feel like I allow myself to have the Spirit work through me and be sanctified by the cleansing power of Christ while helping someone feel the same. Yesterday in church I felt the Spirit constantly, nearly put me to tears. As some missionaries may say, I will agree with them, I wish I would have figured this out sooner!
In our interview President Smith gave me some key help with some of our investigators that we are having trouble to progress and let me know that Elder Upchurch and I are probably the most easy-going companionship in the mission. (hopefully that is a good thing.) I asked President if it were possible that he could leave me and Elder Upchurch together longer and his answer was that "his mom wouldn't let us."
Zone conference was good, for some reason they called on me at random to give a talk. A bit nerve racking if you ask me. The spirit gave me about everything though. They have all the departing missionaries at zone conference give their testimonies and it was a bit shocking how many are going home. Apparently from what we've heard a third of the mission will be going home which means a third of the mission will be brand new by the end of the summer.
We are having a lot of potential in one of the cities outside of Nac, known as Chireno so we have been down there a couple times a week. We have a lady that wants to get baptized that has been to church 4 times in a the past month and another guy who is married to a returning member that is stoked on the whole families are forever idea. Way exciting.
Were still working with a family of 6 who is having trouble meeting with us because of their summer schedule but little doubt that they will all be baptized by the summer.
Although I may be a bit depressed and discouraged with so much incredible success and so little baptisms, we are having a great deal of fun. I simply have to work harder.
Elder Metcalf
Nac-a-potential-for-a-lot-of-baptisms
Ha
Were having a lot of fun. We take these teenagers to either the extremely rich or poverty stricken areas depending on what would be most beneficial at that time. Little do they expect when we knock a door then I turn around and look at them and say "alright, your turn." The best part is that it may be a simple question or line and then we get in the door. It has been awesome. They sure really put me to shame considering the first time I worked with missionaries is when I became one. It has been way cool though because I think Elder Upchurch and I may laugh too much and they see how much fun it is to be out in the field.
We have been teaching some interesting people lately that have been unexpectedly good. We have been going back to return appointments with somewhat of a so-so attitude but they let us right in and desire to read the Book of Mormon. We ran out on Wednesday but lucky for us zone conference was that week and we ordered 40 more which was a surprise that they gave us them since were only allowed 25. The young women on Sunday were awesome too because they got a bunch of their own missionary editions then signed them all personally for us to give out which makes our total potential to give out in 6 weeks about 50-60. The books are like bricks of gold to me and with all these material blessings that they are letting us have we plan on nourishing our part of the vineyard constantly. So far it has been a lot of fun.
The mom of the kids that wants to be baptized is struggling pretty bad on getting married. Apparently we made her a little mad with the challenge last week but gratefully she let us come over. When we got there the conversation quickly turned into a testimony session on the Atonement. We think there are some things or hurt in the past that has been secreted that she is looking forward to getting rid of but is having a hard time letting go. (don't we all...)
We had interviews this week as well. My attitude and personality has changed a lot. I must admit that in Frisco I didn't seem to be enjoying working as a missionary but as I finally motivated myself in Nac to go out and work hard, I have found a totally different person. Never have I been this consistently happy. Something I may have mentioned before is my belief that missions don't change people, the Atonement does. The best missionaries and the ones that are most deeply affected by their 2 years of service are the missionaries who dedicate themselves to helping others come unto Christ thus feeling the power of the Atonement constantly. Whether its in a contact that rejects you or a baptism, if I can go out and at least put forth some effort then I win because I feel like I allow myself to have the Spirit work through me and be sanctified by the cleansing power of Christ while helping someone feel the same. Yesterday in church I felt the Spirit constantly, nearly put me to tears. As some missionaries may say, I will agree with them, I wish I would have figured this out sooner!
In our interview President Smith gave me some key help with some of our investigators that we are having trouble to progress and let me know that Elder Upchurch and I are probably the most easy-going companionship in the mission. (hopefully that is a good thing.) I asked President if it were possible that he could leave me and Elder Upchurch together longer and his answer was that "his mom wouldn't let us."
Zone conference was good, for some reason they called on me at random to give a talk. A bit nerve racking if you ask me. The spirit gave me about everything though. They have all the departing missionaries at zone conference give their testimonies and it was a bit shocking how many are going home. Apparently from what we've heard a third of the mission will be going home which means a third of the mission will be brand new by the end of the summer.
We are having a lot of potential in one of the cities outside of Nac, known as Chireno so we have been down there a couple times a week. We have a lady that wants to get baptized that has been to church 4 times in a the past month and another guy who is married to a returning member that is stoked on the whole families are forever idea. Way exciting.
Were still working with a family of 6 who is having trouble meeting with us because of their summer schedule but little doubt that they will all be baptized by the summer.
Although I may be a bit depressed and discouraged with so much incredible success and so little baptisms, we are having a great deal of fun. I simply have to work harder.
Elder Metcalf
Nac-a-potential-for-a-lot-of-
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
It's been another week that suddenly came up with a lot of new opportunities and ended with the highest teaching we have ever done in a week. I don't think I have ever had this much fun in my life. I am not sure what President thought when he thought of putting Elder Upchurch and me together since we are probably the biggest goofball companionship in the mission. Well maybe just because we are having too much fun out in Nac-a-baptize.
We had a zone leader come down on exchanges with us and there were times that I was laughing so hard, I started wiping away tears from my eyes. One time it even crept into one of our lessons that we had tracted out. We were teaching this lady and it was a decent lesson, good unity, power questions, testifying, etc until Elder Upchurch asked "What happens to the people when the authority of God is not on the earth?" Her response set me off laughing way too much, "They go to hell!" Then the worst part was that Elder Upchurch couldn't teach because he started to laugh but lucky for us we had a level headed zone leader that was able to take over.
We started going through nightly planning with a lot of question marks over our heads. For example "Who on earth is Cobe? I have him scheduled at 3 tomorrow." to which my companion responds with "No idea." It wasn't until about 11:00pm at night thatl it finally clicked to where he lives and what we taught him. Lucky for us the Spirit occasionally gets past our questions.
It is really interesting how much fun finding has become. Not too mention our confidence is nearly rock solid. We have been getting in more doors in one week then 4 months in my old area. There is something about a strengthened testimony that basically has me expecting to get into doors. Several times in the past 2 weeks the very first door we knock on, we get in to. It almost seems like the Spirit is saying "it's about time Metcalf! I've been waiting to use you for months now."
We had a lesson last night with a way cool family of 6 that we were for sure about walking away (with the help of the Spirit) with baptismal dates. We planned a lot for the lesson that we were teaching and still had some butterflies going into the lesson. A few things stood up against the spirit though, the hot sun, humidity, distractions like dogs jumping into trash cans, etc so when the baptismal commitment rolled around it wasn't really solidified and although we are more then sure they will be baptized we cant officially say they are committed. The good news is that their best friends is one of the councilors in the Bishopric. Elder Upchurch was a bit bummed out since the date we committed them will be the last weekend of his mission and he wont be able to be there.
The biggest and best event last week though was the lesson with Jody (mom of kid's that were baptized) We watched Elder Holland's talk about the Book of Mormon and she said she was floored on how firm his conviction was. We started talking about 'goals' and she knew exactly what we were aiming for, the baptismal commitment. She said something along the lines of "I know what you are doing, is it the baptismal thing? ...I've actually been thinking about it a lot lately." "Will you be baptized on June 20th?" Elder Runyan (we were on splits) then read a baptismal scripture then handed Jodi Ether 12:6 to read at which point she immediately started to cry. Anxiety and confusion completely left the room when she accepted the 20th as her date. It was funny this morning too when we were on our way to golf we stopped at the gas station she worked at and she made sure that the 20th was still ok.
Glory.
Records continue to be broken, I look at each new week and its like a mountain of what seems like challenges. It is way stinkin' sad that a third of this thrill ride is almost over. Good heavens, its like I have learned maybe one one hundredth of what I am supposed to. How the heck am I going to meet my goals? In other words "Lord, how is it done?"
I must say how much I love Nac. There is something quite relaxing about having to dust off my shoes every morning and understanding the accents around here. I am quite happy being banished from the rest of the mission as well, it's almost like we're left here alone with some sickles and expected to harvest a quarter million acres.
Now if I could just figure out how to get more investigators to Church...
Love Elder Metcalf
We had a zone leader come down on exchanges with us and there were times that I was laughing so hard, I started wiping away tears from my eyes. One time it even crept into one of our lessons that we had tracted out. We were teaching this lady and it was a decent lesson, good unity, power questions, testifying, etc until Elder Upchurch asked "What happens to the people when the authority of God is not on the earth?" Her response set me off laughing way too much, "They go to hell!" Then the worst part was that Elder Upchurch couldn't teach because he started to laugh but lucky for us we had a level headed zone leader that was able to take over.
We started going through nightly planning with a lot of question marks over our heads. For example "Who on earth is Cobe? I have him scheduled at 3 tomorrow." to which my companion responds with "No idea." It wasn't until about 11:00pm at night thatl it finally clicked to where he lives and what we taught him. Lucky for us the Spirit occasionally gets past our questions.
It is really interesting how much fun finding has become. Not too mention our confidence is nearly rock solid. We have been getting in more doors in one week then 4 months in my old area. There is something about a strengthened testimony that basically has me expecting to get into doors. Several times in the past 2 weeks the very first door we knock on, we get in to. It almost seems like the Spirit is saying "it's about time Metcalf! I've been waiting to use you for months now."
We had a lesson last night with a way cool family of 6 that we were for sure about walking away (with the help of the Spirit) with baptismal dates. We planned a lot for the lesson that we were teaching and still had some butterflies going into the lesson. A few things stood up against the spirit though, the hot sun, humidity, distractions like dogs jumping into trash cans, etc so when the baptismal commitment rolled around it wasn't really solidified and although we are more then sure they will be baptized we cant officially say they are committed. The good news is that their best friends is one of the councilors in the Bishopric. Elder Upchurch was a bit bummed out since the date we committed them will be the last weekend of his mission and he wont be able to be there.
The biggest and best event last week though was the lesson with Jody (mom of kid's that were baptized) We watched Elder Holland's talk about the Book of Mormon and she said she was floored on how firm his conviction was. We started talking about 'goals' and she knew exactly what we were aiming for, the baptismal commitment. She said something along the lines of "I know what you are doing, is it the baptismal thing? ...I've actually been thinking about it a lot lately." "Will you be baptized on June 20th?" Elder Runyan (we were on splits) then read a baptismal scripture then handed Jodi Ether 12:6 to read at which point she immediately started to cry. Anxiety and confusion completely left the room when she accepted the 20th as her date. It was funny this morning too when we were on our way to golf we stopped at the gas station she worked at and she made sure that the 20th was still ok.
Glory.
Records continue to be broken, I look at each new week and its like a mountain of what seems like challenges. It is way stinkin' sad that a third of this thrill ride is almost over. Good heavens, its like I have learned maybe one one hundredth of what I am supposed to. How the heck am I going to meet my goals? In other words "Lord, how is it done?"
I must say how much I love Nac. There is something quite relaxing about having to dust off my shoes every morning and understanding the accents around here. I am quite happy being banished from the rest of the mission as well, it's almost like we're left here alone with some sickles and expected to harvest a quarter million acres.
Now if I could just figure out how to get more investigators to Church...
Love Elder Metcalf
Fun Fun
Our teaching has been sky-high and my new companion and I are having lots of fun. Miracles are penetrating just about everyday of the week, it's incredible.
I would have to say the biggest miracle of the week was the splits I was on up in Longview. Since I was getting a new car and a new companion they just had me spend the night up there and help teach. We went over to a simple return appointment that was tracted out. Something that doesn't seem very special and happens daily. However as we came into this man's home the Spirit was strong even in normal conversation before we actually started teaching. When the opening prayer was said and the Restoration lesson began, a whole new light entered into the room and as Brian the new investigator said "I feel as light as a feather." I have never felt the Spirit that strong teaching an investigator before. I felt immediate love for Brian and it was very bitter sweet to know that he wanted to be taught and baptized but I wouldn't be the missionary to help. He was so prepared and his heart incredibly softened. He absolutely loved the first principle that 'God is our loving Heavenly Father' and mentioned how it wouldn't surprise him if Jesus Christ visited other civilizations. I walked out of that lesson shouting a silent prayer in thanks to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to be part of that experience. Awesome.
The next day I got a new car and it came with my new companion, Elder Upchurch from the foreign land of Provo. Funny thing is that I only have him for 5 more weeks then he is dying, so he'll be the first companion that I have killed off in the mission. It pretty much seals the deal that I will be in Nac for a long long time which is much preferred by me. We have some great new people that we're staring at with white glasses on. We had an awesome Sunday. When we woke up that morning we had 9 LTMP's and settled on the fact that it was good enough for how much potential this area has. So after Church we grabbed a teacher and a YSA, split up and went tracting. The first door that Jordan and I knocked on let us in and we started teaching. Not too bad although ultimately he wanted us out of the house when we got to authority. We switched streets and the first guy we talked to there let us teach him for a while and invited us to visit him again. The next door we knocked that we got an answer, let us in as well although once we got in, the father of the family wasn't too thrilled since he was a baptist preacher. His wife, on the other hand, was happy to see Jordan since he used to be one of her students. We taught then he promptly sent us on our way. The next house we knocked, we got in to and started teaching but got the response "we've already looked up your religion." That didnt phase Jordan who invited them to Church after words and they agreed.
Elder Upchurch had similar success with Ben and taught 3 lessons in homes. What the heck? Just like that we were able to invite 7 families to come unto Christ while the Lord blessed us with 7 LTMP's in less than 2 hours. Ben had to leave but we still had Jordan with us and we taught one of our investigators and set up a Church tour later in the week. We didn't have a dinner so Jordan made a call to his dad and stated that "we're feeding the missionaries tonight and inviting our non-member friends. The missionaries need more lessons." When he said that Elder Upchurch and I just started laughing. It was awesome.
Well they fed us some good food and their non-member friends came over. It just so happens that they are a family of 6 (the youngest being 8) and we both felt prompted to teach the Restoration. During dinner the mother explained how she has tried several churches and is not happy with them. When we taught the Restoration they requested the Book of Mormon for their entire family. Interesting how we just happened to have 6 copies of the Book of Mormon on us. The mom then explained that her kids want to be baptized in "that church." We left that experience laughing because I don't think we realized what had happened. We ended up in one day with 9 LTMP's and 9 new investigators (something I never came close to in an entire week in Frisco).
Yesterday was ridiculous. I think the fact that we started off the day at iHop at 7am (right next door to us) and it wasn't preparation day (prep day was changed to Tuesday this week) threw us for a loop. Our normal schedules our bodies seem to have gotten used to weren't too thrilled. We got a call from the office requesting us to move our apartment so we searched around for a new place for a bit then decided to tract the richest neighborhood in east Texas. You're talking 20,000 square foot mansion homes. It was awesome. The first lady we talked to was Muslim and gave us some water. She was super nice when rejecting us. The next lady wasn't too thrilled to see us so in parting, I asked her for a broom so I could knock off the wasp nest in her front entry way. She declined. (lots of laughter). At the next house, there was a lady taking care of some flowers. We started to talk to her and then the rain came... So she promptly invited us in to her home!
We walked in and there was about 7 people in there and we all introduced one another and found out they have family members that are members as well as some close friends in the ward. Mind you this is the most expensive home I have ever stepped foot in and I think Elder Upchurch and I were a bit in shock with the fact that we were actually in a mega rich guy's house. We both basically ruined everything when they asked if we would like a ride back to our car and we said "yes." She gave us some grapes and we walked out to the garage (3 BMW's, Red Porche, etc) then he took us back to the new Malibu. See ya!
Instant laughter.
We plan on getting back there real quick with a thank you card or something so we can salvage the perfect opportunity we may have missed in not teaching. It is an interesting thought though, with my contacting and my teaching being completely restructured we seem to be having more success and I was a bit taken back by the fact that we actually got into the richest home on the block... I will expect to get into every home we knock from now on.
Because it was memorial day we picked up Jordan and got a jump start on our week. Nac has now become the promised land of the mission as Elder Upchurch has claimed.
I have to admit though that no matter how much I put into teaching or finding or baptizing or whatever I cant help but feel that I am being taught the bigger lesson. Example being last night when we went out to Chireno and visited a less active man who let us right into his home. I'll never forget how much he simply loved his wife (passed away last October.) He told us a story about how the doctors explained that the treatments were too harsh and to live the rest of her life in peace. They took a trip out East and he bought her a brand new diamond ring. To her surprise she responded by saying "you shouldn't have bought this knowing that I will be dying soon!" His reply was "Honey, I would give everything in the world just to see you smile once more." She passed away 2 weeks later. He was baptized about 2 years ago (age 70) so we set up an appointment to come back with our plan being the subject of the Temple.
After which he said "well my son is a Jehovah's witness, I'll invite him over because I still have hope for him."
Miracle after Miracle. (lots of laughs too)
Love Elder Metcalf
I would have to say the biggest miracle of the week was the splits I was on up in Longview. Since I was getting a new car and a new companion they just had me spend the night up there and help teach. We went over to a simple return appointment that was tracted out. Something that doesn't seem very special and happens daily. However as we came into this man's home the Spirit was strong even in normal conversation before we actually started teaching. When the opening prayer was said and the Restoration lesson began, a whole new light entered into the room and as Brian the new investigator said "I feel as light as a feather." I have never felt the Spirit that strong teaching an investigator before. I felt immediate love for Brian and it was very bitter sweet to know that he wanted to be taught and baptized but I wouldn't be the missionary to help. He was so prepared and his heart incredibly softened. He absolutely loved the first principle that 'God is our loving Heavenly Father' and mentioned how it wouldn't surprise him if Jesus Christ visited other civilizations. I walked out of that lesson shouting a silent prayer in thanks to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to be part of that experience. Awesome.
The next day I got a new car and it came with my new companion, Elder Upchurch from the foreign land of Provo. Funny thing is that I only have him for 5 more weeks then he is dying, so he'll be the first companion that I have killed off in the mission. It pretty much seals the deal that I will be in Nac for a long long time which is much preferred by me. We have some great new people that we're staring at with white glasses on. We had an awesome Sunday. When we woke up that morning we had 9 LTMP's and settled on the fact that it was good enough for how much potential this area has. So after Church we grabbed a teacher and a YSA, split up and went tracting. The first door that Jordan and I knocked on let us in and we started teaching. Not too bad although ultimately he wanted us out of the house when we got to authority. We switched streets and the first guy we talked to there let us teach him for a while and invited us to visit him again. The next door we knocked that we got an answer, let us in as well although once we got in, the father of the family wasn't too thrilled since he was a baptist preacher. His wife, on the other hand, was happy to see Jordan since he used to be one of her students. We taught then he promptly sent us on our way. The next house we knocked, we got in to and started teaching but got the response "we've already looked up your religion." That didnt phase Jordan who invited them to Church after words and they agreed.
Elder Upchurch had similar success with Ben and taught 3 lessons in homes. What the heck? Just like that we were able to invite 7 families to come unto Christ while the Lord blessed us with 7 LTMP's in less than 2 hours. Ben had to leave but we still had Jordan with us and we taught one of our investigators and set up a Church tour later in the week. We didn't have a dinner so Jordan made a call to his dad and stated that "we're feeding the missionaries tonight and inviting our non-member friends. The missionaries need more lessons." When he said that Elder Upchurch and I just started laughing. It was awesome.
Well they fed us some good food and their non-member friends came over. It just so happens that they are a family of 6 (the youngest being 8) and we both felt prompted to teach the Restoration. During dinner the mother explained how she has tried several churches and is not happy with them. When we taught the Restoration they requested the Book of Mormon for their entire family. Interesting how we just happened to have 6 copies of the Book of Mormon on us. The mom then explained that her kids want to be baptized in "that church." We left that experience laughing because I don't think we realized what had happened. We ended up in one day with 9 LTMP's and 9 new investigators (something I never came close to in an entire week in Frisco).
Yesterday was ridiculous. I think the fact that we started off the day at iHop at 7am (right next door to us) and it wasn't preparation day (prep day was changed to Tuesday this week) threw us for a loop. Our normal schedules our bodies seem to have gotten used to weren't too thrilled. We got a call from the office requesting us to move our apartment so we searched around for a new place for a bit then decided to tract the richest neighborhood in east Texas. You're talking 20,000 square foot mansion homes. It was awesome. The first lady we talked to was Muslim and gave us some water. She was super nice when rejecting us. The next lady wasn't too thrilled to see us so in parting, I asked her for a broom so I could knock off the wasp nest in her front entry way. She declined. (lots of laughter). At the next house, there was a lady taking care of some flowers. We started to talk to her and then the rain came... So she promptly invited us in to her home!
We walked in and there was about 7 people in there and we all introduced one another and found out they have family members that are members as well as some close friends in the ward. Mind you this is the most expensive home I have ever stepped foot in and I think Elder Upchurch and I were a bit in shock with the fact that we were actually in a mega rich guy's house. We both basically ruined everything when they asked if we would like a ride back to our car and we said "yes." She gave us some grapes and we walked out to the garage (3 BMW's, Red Porche, etc) then he took us back to the new Malibu. See ya!
Instant laughter.
We plan on getting back there real quick with a thank you card or something so we can salvage the perfect opportunity we may have missed in not teaching. It is an interesting thought though, with my contacting and my teaching being completely restructured we seem to be having more success and I was a bit taken back by the fact that we actually got into the richest home on the block... I will expect to get into every home we knock from now on.
Because it was memorial day we picked up Jordan and got a jump start on our week. Nac has now become the promised land of the mission as Elder Upchurch has claimed.
I have to admit though that no matter how much I put into teaching or finding or baptizing or whatever I cant help but feel that I am being taught the bigger lesson. Example being last night when we went out to Chireno and visited a less active man who let us right into his home. I'll never forget how much he simply loved his wife (passed away last October.) He told us a story about how the doctors explained that the treatments were too harsh and to live the rest of her life in peace. They took a trip out East and he bought her a brand new diamond ring. To her surprise she responded by saying "you shouldn't have bought this knowing that I will be dying soon!" His reply was "Honey, I would give everything in the world just to see you smile once more." She passed away 2 weeks later. He was baptized about 2 years ago (age 70) so we set up an appointment to come back with our plan being the subject of the Temple.
After which he said "well my son is a Jehovah's witness, I'll invite him over because I still have hope for him."
Miracle after Miracle. (lots of laughs too)
Love Elder Metcalf
We taught an incredible week, better than last week I would say and then the whole world came crashing down yet again on Sunday when not a single one of our investigators showed up to Church. Heartbreaking. A good member friend came up to me and pulled up Moroni 9:6 on his iPhone and sent me on my way.
We are tackling some interesting situations here, our top investigators are smoking and living together unmarried. Apparently that is typical East Texas. The one we have been teaching for a awhile has finally let us in on this concern and has kicked the habit for the past week now. We call her everyday and she is still going strong. It was awesome that night we went over there.
I put Elder Braford in charge of the week and all the teaching plans so he was teaching the entire lesson with this family and it was really cool because it gave me a chance to really muster up the little faith that I had, to pray my little heart out in my mind that the Spirit would touch their lives. It was also very unique because Elder Braford was doing all the talking. It gave me a chance to read the body language and discern any trouble. She said she has always had trouble accepting Joseph Smith but that didn't sit right with us. Finally the underlying concern of smoking was divulged by the Spirit and the lesson was then taken over with the Word of wisdom. We went through the steps of preach my gospel and gave her a blessing after which she said she was peaceful. It sure was fun to send her kids to go get me all the tea and cigarettes so we could throw them away. She says a new light has entered into her life.
We had exchanges on Thursday and one of the Spanish elders came with me. After we grabbed some pizza we had some time to go out and find. I prayed specifically for someone by the 5th door and then we went knocking. No luck on contacts 1-4 but they were full of a lot of laughs. "Hey we're missionaries, can we come in?" "No" "What do you do for work?" "I'm an electrician" "How would you like to super charge your faith in Christ?" "No thanks" Then we got to the 5th door of knocking and I don't think anyone answered or they weren't interested at all. At that time I begin to think that I am lacking the faith. However we had to go anyway and as we were about to leave a lady walked out of her house and I made a contact with her. "May we come over and share a Gospel message?" "Yes" "Which apartment do you live in? This door that you are by?" "Yes, apartment #5." At that point I am sure Heavenly Father had a smile on his face. We taught her the next day and she was extremely golden. Has been praying for the right Church, likes the structure of the Catholic church but believes that it is missing something, etc etc... We walked out of that lesson laughing in awe.
But lightening struck and we got a phone call Sunday right before sacrament that she had family that told her to "stay away from that church..." ...Have I ever told y'all how much I HATE ANTI! We will go back on Tuesday hopefully to salvage anything we can. Please pray.
We have been experiencing many miracles, we didn't get into any doors alone until Thursday because we had too many return appointments (most fell through) so we said a prayer and it was a jump out of the comfort zone that often yielded much success.
However without anyone in Church this week, all the lessons were basically in vain. Nearly killed me off on Sunday so I prayed for comfort and a former investigator family randomly walked in having never ever come to church before. Wow. The Lord provides.
Well I get a new companion and a new car tomorrow so I am a bit excited but I have to leave my area for a while considering were out in Nac-a-nowhere to go find these new items. Kind of crazy how literally it is to have the Lord trust us with a part of the vineyard.
Its pretty cool to look at how the growth has taken over whenever I go out and do something even at times when I have no idea what to do or its the first time. The Lord provides. Its a fact that the worst sleep I have ever got in my life is out here serving but I have more energy and fun each day and am supported through every affliction when I am doing His work. Awesome.
Love you all
Elder Metcalf
We are tackling some interesting situations here, our top investigators are smoking and living together unmarried. Apparently that is typical East Texas. The one we have been teaching for a awhile has finally let us in on this concern and has kicked the habit for the past week now. We call her everyday and she is still going strong. It was awesome that night we went over there.
I put Elder Braford in charge of the week and all the teaching plans so he was teaching the entire lesson with this family and it was really cool because it gave me a chance to really muster up the little faith that I had, to pray my little heart out in my mind that the Spirit would touch their lives. It was also very unique because Elder Braford was doing all the talking. It gave me a chance to read the body language and discern any trouble. She said she has always had trouble accepting Joseph Smith but that didn't sit right with us. Finally the underlying concern of smoking was divulged by the Spirit and the lesson was then taken over with the Word of wisdom. We went through the steps of preach my gospel and gave her a blessing after which she said she was peaceful. It sure was fun to send her kids to go get me all the tea and cigarettes so we could throw them away. She says a new light has entered into her life.
We had exchanges on Thursday and one of the Spanish elders came with me. After we grabbed some pizza we had some time to go out and find. I prayed specifically for someone by the 5th door and then we went knocking. No luck on contacts 1-4 but they were full of a lot of laughs. "Hey we're missionaries, can we come in?" "No" "What do you do for work?" "I'm an electrician" "How would you like to super charge your faith in Christ?" "No thanks" Then we got to the 5th door of knocking and I don't think anyone answered or they weren't interested at all. At that time I begin to think that I am lacking the faith. However we had to go anyway and as we were about to leave a lady walked out of her house and I made a contact with her. "May we come over and share a Gospel message?" "Yes" "Which apartment do you live in? This door that you are by?" "Yes, apartment #5." At that point I am sure Heavenly Father had a smile on his face. We taught her the next day and she was extremely golden. Has been praying for the right Church, likes the structure of the Catholic church but believes that it is missing something, etc etc... We walked out of that lesson laughing in awe.
But lightening struck and we got a phone call Sunday right before sacrament that she had family that told her to "stay away from that church..." ...Have I ever told y'all how much I HATE ANTI! We will go back on Tuesday hopefully to salvage anything we can. Please pray.
We have been experiencing many miracles, we didn't get into any doors alone until Thursday because we had too many return appointments (most fell through) so we said a prayer and it was a jump out of the comfort zone that often yielded much success.
However without anyone in Church this week, all the lessons were basically in vain. Nearly killed me off on Sunday so I prayed for comfort and a former investigator family randomly walked in having never ever come to church before. Wow. The Lord provides.
Well I get a new companion and a new car tomorrow so I am a bit excited but I have to leave my area for a while considering were out in Nac-a-nowhere to go find these new items. Kind of crazy how literally it is to have the Lord trust us with a part of the vineyard.
Its pretty cool to look at how the growth has taken over whenever I go out and do something even at times when I have no idea what to do or its the first time. The Lord provides. Its a fact that the worst sleep I have ever got in my life is out here serving but I have more energy and fun each day and am supported through every affliction when I am doing His work. Awesome.
Love you all
Elder Metcalf
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