We've had a good week. It's gone by so fast. This week showed me just how close some people are to progression in the gospel. Our Elder's Quorum President lives in the same apartment building as one of the ward's Korean recent converts, Jason. He hasn't been to church in a little while, but with stake conference happening last weekend, the ward had a goal to prepare him to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood on Sunday. We had dinner with the Elder's Quorum President last Sunday. After dinner, we went up to his apartment to drop off some leftovers for him. He was happy to see us and set a time to meet with us during the week so we could teach him about the priesthood. He didn't feel very ready to receive the priesthood at our lesson, but over the course of it, he began to realize that we don't need to be perfect to receive the priesthood, in fact, exercising and serving within the priesthood are a way in which we come closer to being like Jesus Christ. So, he accepted to receive the priesthood on Sunday. The night before his interview, we got a call from the Elder's Quorum President. He wanted to remind Jason about his interview, but didn't want to make Jason feel like he didn't trust him to come to his interview. Then, he experienced his own inspiration. He had the idea come that he should offer to give him a ride to the church for his interview. He called Jason up, and confirmed that he would be there. So, on Sunday, Jason received the priesthood. What I learn from this is the power of a focused ward and ward council. Elder Rencher and I hardly did anything. We went to his place with the Elder's Quorum President on Sunday night and taught one lesson. The time was right, the ward was involved, and a miracle occurred.
We had dinner with one of the families in the ward last night and we taught about role-playing invitations for invitation Sunday. The lesson itself went really well, and the family committed to role-play for the people they planned to invite. What made this lesson so remarkable is that the spirit was so strong when the family was practicing for themselves. We pointed that out, and it made the lesson so much better. We teach our investigators how to recognize the spirit, and I think it's just as important to show our members that they are feeling it as well.
Something happened this week that could be viewed as a negative, but it showed me that the most important parts of missionary work are not always apparent at first glance. This week, as we were taking the train, we got a text from Jordan, our investigator with a baptismal date. Long story short, we won't be able to continue teaching him. It came as a surprise and brought up a few questions, such as "Did we teach properly? Do we have faith? Was there anything we should have done differently?" We could have spent all day blaming ourselves for it and figuring out what was wrong with us, but the overwhelming feeling we had was that we had done what we could, and he chose to stop investigating because it was his choice to do so. Realizing that, the pain that I felt from getting dropped wasn't the pain of regret. It was the pain of someone not accepting the gospel. It still hurts, but it does make you feel grateful that you have the gospel and that you have accepted it, even if someone else has chosen not to. That gratitude then becomes a source of great joy.
Love,
Elder Clark
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| French Toast on a Friday night! |
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| Last week, I got a tie from Korea. It's got metal woven into it and rhinestones. It sparkles in the light! |
. 반짝반짝!!!
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