On Cloud 9

2/25/13: If I can remember I'll ask the Prez about the temple blog. I thought the pic you sent when it was on stilts was pretty darn cool. There is a young family from Provo in our Branch who I call my Home Town Homies that showed me a similar pic after I got yours.

You looked so good and happy in Hawaii! Hope you're still happy in freezing cold Utah! (sarcasm included)

 

Well, all is awesomely well here. No drop from cloud 9 yet! We've been working super hard and the blessings from Heaven are flowing in! For a quick example, we received 4 new, legit investigators last week! That may not seem like much, but it is for here! And that branch seems to just be awesome in support and referrals which was something I thought they were terrible about before. I guess it just took good, hard working missionaries and a change of my heart for me to realize how awesome they really are.

And you wanna know the truest, most amazing blessing we recieved from the Lord?-- A gentleman from Cameroon walked into Sacrament meeting yesterday and sat in the back. A total stranger I've never seen before. Right after the prayer the Branch President hopped up and went right over to talk to him. He then handed him over to us and that is when it got good. He came to the next class with us and in that one-on-one class with us and the branch mission leader, we were able to teach him the restoration and answer a bunch of questions he had. The spirit was SO strong! The whole day it was. Anyway, he seemed to agree to everything we said.

He said he wanted to find a church to raise his two kids (2 and 4 years old) in and the way he found out about us is awesome. He said that he is living in Little Rock but his girlfriend lives down here with their kids and they've been trying to work their relationship out for a couple years. So as he had been down here with her he noticed a book on her table. He asked about it and she said how some church boys gave it to her. He asked if she had read it, she said no and knew nothing about it. Well he kinda left it at that but upon his next return, he had been thinking about the book and noticed it still sitting there. This happened again and on the third time he finally opened it and read bits and pieces. He decided he needed to check us out.

I remember his girlfriend. We attempted to visit her many times but she didn't want to let two men in seeing as there had been some bad things goin on in Arkadelphia, like the murders and everything. I don't blame her. But we left her a Book of Mormon and she said that some day she'd come and check us out but didn't want anyone over. I didn't think that she'd ever come. Remember, this was like 3 months ago, probably within the first weeks I got here.
Well this guy, Fabrice is his name, googled us to learn more. He said how he realized it probably wasn't the best source but he read about us on Wikipedia. (I've read wikipedia's page on us. It's not bad.) He said he liked our sense of community and focus on family.

I don't know what else to put except for, it was just an incredible lesson filled with the spirit. He also came to priesthood and participated like three different times! And he'll be there next week.

I'm stoked. This really was a blessing from God. He was prepared and that was exactly what I was praying for.

This last week was just PACKED full of so many opportunities to teach and be taught. I'm so thankful to be out here right now. This is missionary work and i'm lovin it. ba da ba da da! (McDonalds jingle- get it?) The Lord is just raining down blessings and oppertunities and I'm glad we're doing the things we're doin to receive them.

-Elder Bubba