Friday, January 23, 2015

January 19, 2015 Awesome Week!

Dear Fam,

This week was awesome!! We've got a new investigator! His name is Barry. He's got a lot of questions about the Bible and all that. He's also a schizophrenic who hears voices and talks with them! That's because he was a drug addict but he's gone 5 years drugs free!! And he also quit smoking a year ago! So I met him on an exchange with one of the Zone Leaders on Tuesday. We were doing an AUF and we chapped into him! He let us in and we talked a bit and he invited us back! So the next evening, Wednesday, me and Elder Wells went by and taught him the first lesson. Because of his schizophrenia, whenever he feels a strong emotion (usually nervous) he just bursts out laughing. He did that multiple times when we told him about the Sacred Grove and the First Vision. He kept apologizing though! He honestly didn't mean it, and personally I believe that he was feeling the Spirit, and he didn't know how to react to it. Anyways, we left him with a Book of Mormon, committed him to read the Introduction, and said we'd meet him again on Friday, two days later. However, I was on ANOTHER exchange with Elder Livingston (awesome guy, he's in my MTC group!), so he's yet to have a lesson with the same elders twice! Anyways, we taught him the first half of the Plan of Salvation. This time he only laughed once, so that was good. I drew him this diagram of the plan, and Elder Livingston was explaining the Spirit World, and somehow we got talking more about Baptism and the Gospel of Jesus Christ Lesson. So Elder Livingston, out of the blue and without having planned on it at all, asked him THE question: "Will you follow the example of your Savior, Jesus Christ, and be baptized by one holding His proper Priesthood Authority?" And his reply was immediate: "Yeah, definitely! When do you want me to be baptized?" He started asking about when and where the church was and what he has to do and he was so enthusiastic! Oh, and he'd actually read from the Introduction Page to 1 Nephi 2! Including the Testimonies!! So yeah, he's a boss! So yeah, that was my week! So awesome!!! :D

Elder Livingston and I were out waiting for the bus to arrive, and we started belting out Let it Go at the top of our lungs! Btw, is Frozen as big in America as it is here in Britain? It's been over a year, and I'm still seeing Frozen stuff everywhere!! Crazy! 

And, as you probably noticed from the pictures I sent on Saturday, it's been snowing like crazy! I just checked the forecast for this coming week. No snow, but every day will be at or below freezing!! So pray for us to stay warm! It snowed three days this past week. It was really beautiful! Until you go out chapping, that is... Luckily, Elder Christianson and I had the car when it was snowing the hardest. Elder Christianson is one of the Zone Leaders. He was the one that was with me when we found Barry. But yeah, what a great week!! 

We painted Gale's house on Thursday. We were able to get to know Rieley better. He showed us his new game. It's the new Call of Duty, Advanced Warfare. Doubt you've heard much about it ha ha but yeah, that was a good visit. 

Unfortunately, there was a black mark on the end of the week. Last night Maureen dropped us. She said she was going to stay with her church. Didn't really give us a reason, but yeah. Elder Wells is particularly bummed. I'm bummed too, but it's very different for a missionary who's been working on an investigator compared with a missionary who's only known her for a few weeks. So keep praying for her! Hopefully one day she'll remember how she felt when she was at church. 

But beyond that, this week has been amazing for the Bates Family!! What an awesome experience for Dad! I keep saying it, and I'll say it again: I wish so much that I was there!! To meet an Apostle! Amazing. Anyways, I wish you all the best!! Good Luck out there!! Love you lots!!! :)

Elder Bates

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