Preparing for a Miracle

Hey everyone!

This has been by far the best week yet in California City!

Before I get to last week, I gotta say- we tried to go visit the desert tortoise reserve this morning, and all we saw was a snake. That's not a tortoise.

On Tuesday we met a real cool lady named Kesha. She was pushing her son in a stroller and he was all "hey policeman!" not quite, buddy. Turns out she'd talked to missionaries five years ago in Lancaster, and would love to talk to us again. We also were driving along later in the day and got stopped by a pack of dogs. It was strange. We'd move and one would bite at our tires. It left tooth marks in the paint. So yeah, we were accosted, but had a car to defend ourselves. I just didn't want to run them over, y'know?

So, Wednesday. It started out kinda blaaah, you know those blaaah days where you're just like "blaaah"? But we were still trying to do stuff. We got to go talk to DuBois (the bomb guy we met from a miracle last week) and he tells us that not only has he been reading the Book of Mormon, his whole family has been reading it together! Every day! His brothers have to read for school every night, and take notes and learn about the setting, so not only are they reading it, but they're trying to understand it. Whaaaat. Best news ever, oh my gosh! Not to say I'm pessimistic, but I'm not used to it being that easy to get people to read! Things were hectic when we talked to him, but he said he really wanted to be able to sit down with us and talk about what he got out of it. #miracles

Thursday was planning. Really, it's not so bad. Even when things don't end up working out, I'm always glad we planned so we know what we would have done, and God often blesses us for it.

Friday we had district meeting and a whole bunch of appointments in the afternoon! But almost all of them fell through. It happens sometimes, but I wish things would just go more smoothly. At least the one appointment that was kept was pretty alright, we got to read the Book of Mormon with some less-active members. Bad news, too- we were going to meet with DuBois, but he had to take his girlfriend to the hospital, she got really sick. Hopefully she recovers okay.

Saturday we walked around a ton and got to talk to cool people. Unfortunately, no one was too interested. A member did buy us lunch though, so we were still blessed. While we were there, we met an investigator from out in Boron who asked us about when church was, so maybe we got to help them get someone to church. Also had the trunk-or-treat that night! It reminded me a lot of home, but not in a trunky way, just a pleasant one.

Sunday was a little hectic. Because of a misunderstanding and some bad luck, Nicole didn't end up making it to church today, and we were late. It's frustrating, but all day we talked about gratitude and forgiveness, so and enduring through trials, so I guess that's that! I felt much better after church, I just hope we can convince people this coming week that they'll feel the same!

I've been thinking about Peter a lot this past week. Maybe it's just having been studying in the New Testament, maybe not. He's been my favorite prophet for a good long while now, and I've always gotten a lot of comfort from his transformation from an impulsive fisherman to a powerful leader. I've also related some to his feelings when he denied knowing the Savior. I make mistakes too! And have wept bitterly at times over them. Something interesting about that I noticed this week though, is that Peter, just hours before his emphatic denials, drew his sword in the face of an armed mob. It was just him, the Savior, and several other Apostles there in the garden, facing what would seem to be certain doom, and Peter rushed in and chopped off someone's ear. That is not fear! Well, maybe a little, but that seems like bold action to me. Why the denial, then? If he was willing to fight a mob, then why deny the Savior to a much smaller, less threatening group?

I don't really have an answer to that, but maybe his thoughts just got to him. Like when he walked on the water, he let the waves and wind, his own internal doubts and fears, stop him from continuing. But the  Lord still saw His potential, and the fact that he had started strong, and Peter still continued to grow. It makes me feel better for being up to the task only some of the time, being bold at one moment and timid the next. God knew we'd all make mistakes, that's what repentance is for. He knew we wouldn't be perfect all at once, that's why we have this probationary state. I'm really grateful for these gifts, because even when I'm inadequate I know that God is definitely more than powerful enough, and we weren't sent into this life to fail, but to grow.

Thanks for all your support! I hope you have a great week!
Elder Adams