Starting Low, Ending High

Hiya!

Tuesday of this week was trash. We were out on the streets for hours and had no success. We stopped by people and tracted with no success as well. Later that day, we had a lesson and the person we were gonna teach left as we started, and then that evening we drove up to youth only to find it was all canceled. I was so frustrated, I forced myself to smile for the car journey back home until I was in pain. I felt better though, lol.

The next day, we went up to Merthyr for exchanges, and I ended up joining Elder Evans for some service. This crazy lady needed her lawn "mowed."

So we arrived and came to the back garden, and the grass is literally over my head. There are massive weeds growing several feet high and random children's toys thrown everywhere. All we had was a Strimmer (for which we had to buy the string).

I went up to the lady we were doing it for and asked:

"This grass looks a bit tall for a strimmer. Do you have a machete?"

She said she did not, and so I asked:

"Do you have a big strong pole or something? Perhaps we can just whack this down first."

She had nothing, so I did some looking and found an old shovel. That did the trick. So one of us strimmed, and the other just ATTACKED with a shovel. We used about 20 feet of Strimmer string to get less than HALF of the back garden chopped down. I also had a stinging sensation on my hands from the repeated exposure to the stinging needles that were growing in the garden.

All the while, the woman just went in and out of the house to watch us. What a situation.

At District Council the next day, we learned about street contacting and made the goal to never say "no worries" if someone wasn't listening because this is something to worry about. This message is crucial to joy and salvation. So we started saying:

"Another time though."

Or

"God loves you."

This changed my mindset because every interaction was a teaching opportunity. It made a difference the next day because we met...

WENDY!!!

On the streets, we stopped a lady who I never would have guessed was properly interested. She shared that faith is relative, and she believes in God and that everything will be alright. While validating her point, I added further that Jesus had a church, to which she disagreed. When we explained in 10 seconds how that was so, she agreed, and then we asked, "So where is it today?"

She said she had no clue, and then we declared that this was the church with apostles and continuing scripture. We gave her a passalong and invited her to learn more.

2 hours later, she officially refers herself through the website and explains that for 16 YEARS she has been looking for a church after her Anglican Priest told her to find a church after moving. She says she feels this is the one and wants to meet. Her husband is intrigued as well. We are so excited!

This weekend was our Stake Conference, and Elder Mark A. Dundon of the 70 came to the meetings. The teachings were so good, and it was great to be a part of.

The things that I will remember are:

There is a HUGE focus on getting people to serve missions right now. That is what everyone was talking about.

Make an effort to minister to the one.

Some dating and marriage advice as well.

After the meeting, I met my unknown relative from Burton-on-Trent, Iaun Berry (or Elder Berry). He is a missionary serving in the British pageant as none other than Dan Jones! How cool!

To top off the week with a cherry on top, we returned back home and visited a referral, and just as we got to the door, he arrived home from walking his dog. The guy has been taught in the past but had to stop being taught because of opposition from his girlfriend. Well, now she is gone, and he wants to be taught and baptized so he can go to the temple and be sealed with his deceased Mum. How beautiful. How sincere. That is why I want to be in the church too.

And then we went out to a family in Pembrokeshire and taught some kids who also were prevented from being baptized because of family. They are now approved for baptism, and they are on date for the second week of August.

AND our friend Nom still desires baptism, and she got a house, and now her family from Zimbabwe is coming over this week, who is ALSO interested.

This week started off low but ended on a high with several more people to teach and baptisms surely on the horizon.

Elder Berry