Dear family,
This week was a very eventful week. Because it was the first
week after transfers, and I am serving as an office elder, we moved a bit of
furniture from place to place throughout the mission. It's cool because we
drive a Chevy Silverado truck. We picked up some bed frames, box springs, and
mattresses from the storage unit and drove them to Enumclaw, which is a
teeny-tiny little town directly south of Maple Valley. It's still in the Maple
Valley stake. It's country out there. Lots of pastures and farms. We took the
remaining ones to some sisters in Puyallup because they are now in a trio
companionship and they needed an extra bed. Then we took a mattress to my old
companion Elder Samuels. He is serving in the Benson Hill ward in Renton. We
went to go pick up a pair of bed frames from some members in Federal Way. It
was beautiful. They live next to the Puget Sound. It was breathtaking. When you
get to the ocean, it feels so open and calm. I hope I get to serve in Federal
Way someday.
This week, a member that is returning to activity introduced
her friend to us. She is a friend from work. The member's name is Sister “V”.
Sister “V” just asked her friend, “S W”, if she wanted to take missionary
lessons, and she said yes! She lives in Renton, but we'll still teach her
because her friend lives in our ward. We taught her twice already. We had the
first lesson in a member's home (The “W”s), and the other at the stake center.
The whole ”W” family and Sister “V” were there for the second lesson. We softly
committed her for baptism on January 16th, but she wants to study more before
she commits to a solid date. The adversary is working hard on her. Before we
had our second lesson, her car got stuck in a ditch, so we had to go to the
place she got stuck and push her car out. Thankfully we were able to do so
successfully. Take that Satan. She came to a baptismal service on Saturday but
she couldn't come to church because her roommate's car was parked behind her's
and they couldn't find the keys! Satan strikes again. Thankfully, we have a
lesson set up with her for Tuesday at 8 at the “W”s home.
We tracted into a lady, where we taught a brief restoration
lesson on her doorstep. Her name is “S E”. She opened up to us, which she said
was surprising because she normally has social anxiety. She ended up telling
her whole life story! She's from Tennessee. When she was younger, she was told
she couldn't have any children, and it broke her heart. She eventually ended up
accepting the fact that she wouldn't have any kids. She and her husband lived
the good life for quite a while, until they found out she was pregnant.
Unfortunately, her baby miscarried and she stopped believing in God. After
several experiences however, she regained her faith in God. Then she had two
more kids after that. Two little girls. It was actually one of her daughters
that opened the door. She told us that if it wasn't for that, she probably
would have not answered the door. We prayed with her and then set a return
appointment for Saturday. I guess we'll see how it goes. God works in so many
mysterious ways!
There are a lot of people that get dissuaded from meeting
with us, because there is a lot of opposition. Family, friends, co-workers, anti-literature,
etc. What should we do to prepare potential and current investigators for
opposition? That is one obstacle that we are trying to overcome.
The members here are rockstars at sharing the gospel! We are
preparing quite a few families to invite their friends to meet with us. Some
are neighbors, so it will be in our ward. We met with a member family, the “P”s
and talked about a neighbor. His name is “J W”. Sister “P” told us that he'd
hit rock bottom after trying to end his life. He was life-flighted to the
hospital. They started talking and he feels like something is missing in his
life. He is looking for a church. She said that he would be the last person
they'd invite to meet us because before his suicide attempt, he was a mean,
gruff guy. He even yelled at neighbors for driving on his curb. But now, he's
really soft spoken. She told him that we believe in living prophets that guide
us, and in a plan of salvation. She bore her testimony that we came from
heaven. He was fascinated by that. He said, "Really? I always believed
that we came from heaven. And I always wondered about why God has prophets in
the Bible and they aren't here anymore."I'm really excited to work in this ward. I love you all and I can't wait to talk on Christmas!
Love,
Elder Herbert