Hello all!
I will start with a phone call we had last Monday around 9:00 just getting home for the evening when the Sister in our ward called.
Them: "Hi Elders"
Us "Hello, how are you"
Them: "So...we are coming tomorrow morning at 8:00...and we are taking your car to Richmond to give to another area."
Us "Oh..."
So just like that we didn't have a car! We since have learned more, obtained bikes from very kind members of the ward. However it as a very different week due to the largeness and geography of our area.
With the transition, as well as actually getting bikes, the week has been slower than most, there is one event that sticks out to me. We met a woman named Maame, she is from Ghana, and has heard many many weird and false things about our church, however she is really interested and wants to know which church is true. The next week we stopped by, she had read the Book of Mormon each night, and was a good ways into it. Then she flew to Canada for her mom who was sick, then we recently got back in contact with her. This week when we stopped by we met her husband, Johnny, who twenty or so years ago met with Sister Missionaries, read the Book of Mormon, went to church, and hasn't drank coffee since! It was really surprising, but also really cool. However, he is an Elder in his church in Africa, so that is more of a struggle. Later in the week we gave Maame a call, and we set up a church tour this Tuesday with her, so needless to say I am both grateful and excited for that.
Back to the bike situation, the story that I probably learned most was it was Saturday, we wanted to try to get to some of the farther parts of our area. The way our area is, there is a road(Route 1) which is the main highway, and the residential areas all connect to Route 1, but not to each other, so we have to take Route 1 to get to anywhere. However, Route 1 isn't bike friendly, there is very little shoulder, and so, the only way we felt safe is walking our bikes on the side of the road, walking through small brush and dirt, ditches, and trying to not be hit by cars. We almost got to where we wanted to go, however the side of the road got impassable, so we turned around and decided to go to a different neighborhood. It had been about an hour since we left the apartment when we turned around to go to the other neighborhood. Then Elder Davis's tire starts leaking air...and the Spanish Elder recently passed us, so we were able to call them and get a ride. Regardless, through the whole experience of walking for a long time on the side of a major highway, just to turn back and get where we started. It reminded me of two Mormon messages which you may have seen "The Will of God" as well as "Good Things to Come". It was an up close and personal experience with that. I learned many lessons taught in those two videos, however this letter is already quite long so I won't go into more detail. However everyone should watch those two videos! They teach very important lessons. Then when you watch them, you can think of me instead of the people in the video ;) It has been a different experience though.
I do know the Lord teaches us through our experiences, for good or for bad. The trick is being Humble and teachable. You can have joy in life as our focus is on Christ. That is one of the purposes of us being here!(2 Nephi 2:25, "Happiness is the object and being of our existence"-Joseph Smith).
Focus on Christ, find joy, learn from experiences for easy or hard. Then seek correction to learn more.
Sorry if the letter is long. However, another cool thing the day I explained with the bikes that was the day we called Maame and found she had continued reading the Book of Mormon and set up a church tour. Another lesson as taught in Ether 12:6.
Love
Elder Smith
Us "Hello, how are you"
Them: "So...we are coming tomorrow morning at 8:00...and we are taking your car to Richmond to give to another area."
Us "Oh..."
So just like that we didn't have a car! We since have learned more, obtained bikes from very kind members of the ward. However it as a very different week due to the largeness and geography of our area.
With the transition, as well as actually getting bikes, the week has been slower than most, there is one event that sticks out to me. We met a woman named Maame, she is from Ghana, and has heard many many weird and false things about our church, however she is really interested and wants to know which church is true. The next week we stopped by, she had read the Book of Mormon each night, and was a good ways into it. Then she flew to Canada for her mom who was sick, then we recently got back in contact with her. This week when we stopped by we met her husband, Johnny, who twenty or so years ago met with Sister Missionaries, read the Book of Mormon, went to church, and hasn't drank coffee since! It was really surprising, but also really cool. However, he is an Elder in his church in Africa, so that is more of a struggle. Later in the week we gave Maame a call, and we set up a church tour this Tuesday with her, so needless to say I am both grateful and excited for that.
Back to the bike situation, the story that I probably learned most was it was Saturday, we wanted to try to get to some of the farther parts of our area. The way our area is, there is a road(Route 1) which is the main highway, and the residential areas all connect to Route 1, but not to each other, so we have to take Route 1 to get to anywhere. However, Route 1 isn't bike friendly, there is very little shoulder, and so, the only way we felt safe is walking our bikes on the side of the road, walking through small brush and dirt, ditches, and trying to not be hit by cars. We almost got to where we wanted to go, however the side of the road got impassable, so we turned around and decided to go to a different neighborhood. It had been about an hour since we left the apartment when we turned around to go to the other neighborhood. Then Elder Davis's tire starts leaking air...and the Spanish Elder recently passed us, so we were able to call them and get a ride. Regardless, through the whole experience of walking for a long time on the side of a major highway, just to turn back and get where we started. It reminded me of two Mormon messages which you may have seen "The Will of God" as well as "Good Things to Come". It was an up close and personal experience with that. I learned many lessons taught in those two videos, however this letter is already quite long so I won't go into more detail. However everyone should watch those two videos! They teach very important lessons. Then when you watch them, you can think of me instead of the people in the video ;) It has been a different experience though.
I do know the Lord teaches us through our experiences, for good or for bad. The trick is being Humble and teachable. You can have joy in life as our focus is on Christ. That is one of the purposes of us being here!(2 Nephi 2:25, "Happiness is the object and being of our existence"-Joseph Smith).
Focus on Christ, find joy, learn from experiences for easy or hard. Then seek correction to learn more.
Sorry if the letter is long. However, another cool thing the day I explained with the bikes that was the day we called Maame and found she had continued reading the Book of Mormon and set up a church tour. Another lesson as taught in Ether 12:6.
Love
Elder Smith
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