It's been the best week ever. Full of life, the way it's meant to be lived.
We knocked on a lot of doors this week. Sweated some (the sun is really hot, even if the weather has been nice.) Talked to a bunch of people. Some of them were kinda interested. It feels good to testify to them and promise blessings, even if they don't accept right away.
We were expecting a really good week at church today. Like a REALLY good week. Gina was out of town this week, so we couldn't meet with her, but she was planning on being back by Sunday so she could come to church. The part-member family we're teaching on base was planning on coming. Members from our ward AND from other wards were going to bring friends to our ward. We met one less-active earlier this week whose first words to us were "Ah right, I do need to come back to church, don't I?" We were going to meet with another less-actiive girl earlier in the week, but the appointment fell through, but then we saw her while we were walking around on Saturday and she told us she'd be at church. Also, the member whose car got stolen was planning on getting a new one this week and bringing her non-member brother who likes our church a lot.
No one came. Gah!
It was frustrating! We put in a lot of work this week in helping people get to church, and none of them came! I'll admit, I was stewing a little bit. I felt about as deflated as a balloon from a birthday party that ended up behind a couch for three weeks, you know what it looks like. But our high priests group leader gave a really good talk in sacrament meeting about how trials are a part of life, and if we just look at them as part of life then we will be able to endure and even enjoy them. Now we've got a busy week ahead of us, following up with all these people! It's just the way that life is that some of them couldn't come and the rest chose not too, but there was a time granted unto men to repent. Not just one week, but a whole lifetime.
Another important thing we learned from this was about our motivations. Talking about it after church, Elder Simpson and I were frustrated the most not because we were embarrassed that people didn't come, or that our numbers wouldn't look as good, but that these people weren't going to get the spiritual boost and renewal from coming to church and partaking of the sacrament. There are such cool blessings, and if they don't come they don't get them! We're really excited to be able to work to help all our investigators and members that we're working with obtain some of the wonderful things God has in store for them.
One scripture I really liked this week is from Jacob 5.22: "And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit."
We're in a desolate little bit of the world here! And there wasn't too much going on for a long time, but there were really good missionaries here and they worked hard, so now the Muroc district vineyard is starting to bring forth some pretty sick fruit. We might not have had as good of a Sunday, but the other missionaries here had awesome weeks, so we're excited for them and excited for what's going to be happening in our area.
Also, Gina might still be getting baptized in late February or early March! She said that if it's too long to wait for her boyfriend to be able to travel here to baptize her, she just wants to be baptized by someone else. Either way, we're excited :)
Thanks for all your support!
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