It was a great week last week, but this week was
even better! I am getting a lot more sleep than before and now I feel back to
normal. I forgot what it feels like to be rested (haha). I have been getting up
early to work out and it has been awesome! We have one final spraying for the
bed bugs next Monday and they should be gone for good. I haven’t seen any or
had any bites. Elder McInerny hasn’t been so lucky (He doesn’t have covers on
his bed like I do). Other than that the apartment is only 6 months old so it is
in good condition. The shower is cold. Not ice cold, but not quite lukewarm
either. We have asked them several times to fix it, but whatever they are doing
hasn't worked.
In my
last email I mentioned that we didn't have any investigators to teach when I
arrived. Well this week that all changed. On Monday we got a referral for
someone that wanted a bible. We took the bible to the address and it turned out
to be a family of 4 people from Ghana. We sat down with them and talked for
awhile. Turns out that one of them had searched on Google for a bible and our
add was the first one on the list! We taught them and we are going back there
to teach them tonight. They really loved us and are excited for us to come
back! They mentioned that they want to make us fufu which is a Ghanaian food.
That should be exciting!
On Friday we were
tracting in a new apartment complex in our area. We chose a building that had
the most cars in front of it (because the complex is only partially full) and
started on the top floor. On the last door we knocked on the bottom floor we
met Ana. She is a mother of two small kids in elementary school. She is from
Mexico, but has lived in the states since she was 8 years old. We started
talking with her about the gospel and she started getting emotional. To
be honest I don't really remember what we talked about, so it must have been
the spirit! She very quickly accepted our invitation to learn more and to come
to church. She came to church yesterday and loved it! She told us that for her
work they want to her to start working on Sunday, but she is going to tell them
no because she wants to "come to church and hear the word of God".
She met a lot of members of our ward at church which is always really good. We
have dinner and a lesson with her at a member’s house on Wednesday. She is
married and told us she would invite her husband to the lesson and to church.
We are very excited to teach her! Our ward mission leader was in awe over how
great she is!
Who Wants to be a Millionaire? question |
Saturday night at 8:45
the Chinese missionaries that cover Manassas called us with a referral. It was
for a guy named Larry that lived at one of their investigator’s houses. They
had talked with him briefly and he was interested in learning more. We called
him immediately and he also quickly accepted our invitation to come to church.
Usually in a situation like this they NEVER come to church, but he actually
showed up! Miracle. Larry is an African-American man in his 60's. Honestly he
looks 40, so everyone was floored when he said he was born in 1950 (haha). He
played sports in high school and said he did some professional boxing for a
little while. We had a lesson with him at our bishop’s house last night. This
guy has more real intent then anyone I have ever seen! He is an honest seeker
of truth and is willing to do whatever God tells him to do! He assured us that
he will read the Book of Mormon, pray, and be baptized if he receives an
answer. He is going to China on vacation for two weeks, so he will have plenty
of time to read. There is a sad ending to this story... We looked up his
address after the lesson. Turns out he probably lives in the other Manassas
ward boundaries... :(. We will probably have to pass him off when he gets back
in town, but it was an amazing experience nonetheless.
There are several other
people that we met that have potential, but those are the most significant
finds of the week. On Saturday morning we had a whole mission conference at our
stake center. Elder Hallstrom and Elder Perkins of the seventy were there to
speak to us. They were in town for something else and had a spare two hours, so
they wanted to speak with us. It was very nice not being in charge of setting
up the whole meeting. It makes it a lot easier to learn and get something out
of the meeting. The main topic that was addressed by Elder Perkins was how to
help people gain faith that don't have any faith. That was a question that came
up during the week for me, so it was an answer to my question!
I love it here in
Manassas and I am having a blast with my new responsibilities! Thank you for
your constant support and encouragement!
Elder Braden Miles
Washington DC South
Mission
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