Week 54 - Mission Stories

Last week Elder Blotter asked his Dad to share a few mission stories. I’m including this little excerpt in here for context and for posterity sake :)

You wanted to hear some of my mission stories…??…. Ha that’s funny. Each week you write and say…oh same old stuff this week. Nothing exciting….! Well guess what. Most missions are just like that. So here goes. I remember my first month in the field. We were In a suburb of Montreal on the island. It was mostly french, but there were some mixed areas. We would concentrate the mornings and afternoons in French parts and the evenings in the English parts. I remember that first day, my companion would give the first few approaches and then he said this one is yours. It’s funny that after thousands of approaches that I remember that “fear” on those first few. Needless to say, we got lots of rejections. Mostly the French Canadians are Roman Catholic. Their standard response was I was born catholic, raised catholic and I will die catholic. So we would try to engage them….but do you actually believe the catholic teachings? Usually they had lots of problems with that stuff. But it never mattered. It was like they were stuck in the mud and didn’t care a hoot. You could point it out but they wouldn’t care. Cause religion really wasn’t part of their lives. I think that is the hardest thing. To get them to even have an interest in any religion. The English people were much more willing to listen to us. We averaged one first discussion in the day and one in the evening. Any more was a real reach. I remember sitting down each week and thinking about goals….so Elder how many baptisms this week… Zero. How many …..you get the idea. I always found it difficult to set goals that were totally dependent on the free agency of others. But I knew each day, the Lord could count on me to search, and if he was willing to show us where to work, we would listen and follow. If he was preparing someone, we would be worthy hardworking Elders, and he could count on us. Sometimes I think that’s all that matters. You read the great stories of Ammon and the sons, but the main focus is on the success…not the days sitting naked in prison. Or the rejection the cities that reject and throw the missionaries out. It’s all part of a great whole. Some fishers catch lots and some catch few.

Whatever, not just same old same old. even like knocking doors for like 12 hours a day I'm sure you saw like weird stuff in the street, cause like the little amount of time I'm in the street i see the craziest stuff. hahaha

AND yes I totes understand the living and dying a Roman Catholic problem, and its not like they actually believe in being catholic, its just that they don't really care or like give importance enough to religion to do their part as investigators. hahaha less active roman catholics don't believe anything in or about their religion only that they are to be catholics when they die. 

AND idk didn't do a lot this week, taught this 15 year old girl who wants to get baptized so bad everyday this week, she's gonna get baptized 14 of feb, and Alberto and pedro are going to get baptized this Saturday the 7th, its just going to be super stressful getting them, Alberto and Cecilia, married before their baptism on Saturday, cause she works from nine to nine every week day.  So, Saturday is gonna be busy.

idk had a good week I'm learning to speak less and listen more.

So - I honestly don't have a lot to talk about this week we have been teaching an inv. that lives at the opposite side of the area that i didn't really spend that much time in and we have practically passed the entire week over there so that was interesting. 

We have two baptisms planned for this Saturday and another planned for the next Saturday and I ran out of time.  Because we had a zone meeting, then we played sports and so i didn't have a lot of email time, ill write you a better email next week...... sorry

love you tons. i liked the quote...... grace is great theres a talk called his grace is sufficient by Bruce C Hafen, I think thats his name  great talk also about the same thing.

I read one of the letters that Geoff posted as my blog..... i didn't even sound like my voice, like he thoroughly was changing  lots of stuff.

AND i don't have changes I'm going to put in like at least 7 and a half months in my area,..... sweet. actually I'm super glad to stay with my comp, my area not so sure but I'm really loving my investigators which rocks.

we're getting a bunch of new goals as a mission and a redirection.

bye!

love ya,

Elder Blotter