Week 53: Like Manna From Heaven

November 13, 2023

Week 53: Like Manna From Heaven

Hey y'all! Sorry for no real email last week. Our p-day got moved to Wednesday because of our temple trip and the day was super busy. I had an email half drafted but completely ran out of time so I'll cover the most important part of it and move on ha.

The best part of last week was probably when we got two of the greatest referrals a missionary could ask for fall into our laps. First off is Brylend. He's been taught by missionaries for a minute now and they finally passed him off to us because he's YSA aged. He LOVES the Gospel and the church, fits in super well with the members, and is probably one of the most elect people I've met. When we had our pass off lesson with the other missionaries, we taught the last couple principles he had left to learn! We still have a couple more things to work on with him, but his baptism is scheduled for December 2nd and we're all so excited for him. Should be a VERY well attended one too! He makes fast friends with just about everyone he meets :)

Our other friend is named Ben and he's been taught for a little over a year but his circumstances finally allowed him to start attending church! He is on date for the 25th and we still have a bit more to teach him, but he is so prepared and SO excited to get baptized! He is very much a people person and the sweetest thing to see was that when he introduces himself to people at church, he bears his testimony and tells his story. I wish we all did that! He will be a really great addition to the church. (He also dresses like an absolute stud cowboy for church and honestly I'm super jealous)

Random part of the week was when we had to get an oil change and tire rotation at a Nissan dealership and ended up having to waste the better part of two hours there. One can only doodle on a card and be assaulted by the sounds of The Price is Right in the background for so long before they start to lose it. We also kind of looked like employees because of the white shirts and ties so we got asked questions a couple times. Overall just a strange experience...

We had a good handful of lessons this week! A couple were with new members which pretty good overall. Two of them are working on going to the temple which we're super excited for them to get to do.

We obviously had our pass off lessons with Ben and Brylend but we got to meet with them again these last couple days which was really great. Ben has some more normal principles to be taught so we have it all planned out to fit the time frame! It's so fun teaching him because of how receptive he is. The church just feels right to him. He's progressing super well!

With Brylend we're more focused on keeping his momentum going and answering his questions. This Sunday we leaned heavy into reading the Book of Mormon because he's been reading the Old Testament and that's been kinda crazy for him. If you've read it you'll know why it might cause some...concerns? Yeah. Old Testament is kinda weird. But fortunately the lesson helped answer some of his questions and put his mind at ease.

We also had a lesson with a guy from Birmingham England named Joe. The name kind of surprised me lol. Seems like a very American name. He isn't really someone we expect to keep teaching, but we had a pretty nice lesson talking about some of life's big questions (like why do bad things happen to good people, why is there evil in the world, etc.) Overall pretty good, but he doesn't really seem interested in progressing at the moment. I just wanted to write about it because he had an accent and that's interesting, I guess.

We finally had a good basketball night! We've been trying to have basketball on Saturday nights with our friends and some members for like two months now and we FINALLY got the building and people showed up. Every other time it seems like everyone is either busy or all the buildings are booked. But this week we had a 5 on 5 and it was really fun. I'm so trash at basketball but I participated and scored a couple points!

I got to conduct my first baptismal interview this week! The sisters have been teaching a guy named Armand and he got baptized this Saturday! I got to do the interview Thursday the 2nd and it was super cool. Getting to hear the testimony of a new convert is one of my favorite things and Armand is a tank.

Along the same line of thought, Elder Larkins pointed out something about the prayers that new converts give. They're so personal! I feel like many of us life-long members fall into some patterns and habits with our prayers. They almost become like those vain and repetitious prayers we are warned about giving! Because we say the same thing so frequently and the words almost lose their value. It's something I'm trying to be more conscious and thoughtful about, especially when it comes to addressing my Heavenly Father and using the name of Jesus Christ. I've heard far too many prayers where I can hardly understand what they say when they open and close their prayers.

Don't be like that :)

Well, I hope y'all have a super awesome week! Things in the YSA and a little crazy right now, but I'm doing well. My companions are great, the work is moving forward, and God is good! I'm going to go get a haircut now. A few hairs.

Love y'all!

Elder DeWitt