wow i didn't know that Morgan was out for so long! he left right after Tyler wood then! i didn't know that. super weird to see him home! and when is that hippy chandler going to put his papers in!!!!??? (make sure he sees that i said that! he'll laugh!) haha but anyway...training is going well...sorta. its a lot harder than i thought it would be. i thought i could use the lessons i learned from my other comps and use that as useful techniques and so far it hasn't really benefited me. i thought i had a lot of patience but i know now that the lord is chastening me for thinking that. i know that the lord does things for reason and i don't know what the reason was for putting me with two missionaries that went home early. it has been hard for me as well because when i was with elder Folsom we spent a lot of time getting him ready to go home and so we spent a lot of time at home and it is hard for me to get up and go out! i know that that sound so bad but i am really trying so super hard to follow the example of my new missionary and let his enthusiasm rub off on me a little bit and have the strength to go and do the work. haha here is his enthusiasm level. today we took the bus to come email and when we do that you would think that is a perfect opportunity to talk with someone. well while i was sitting on the bus my comp jumps up and goes and sits by this African man and starts talking about the gospel and why he is here in Iowa and he gave that man our phone number. then when that guy got off the bus my comp turned around and started talking with this girl that was sitting next to me and she gave us her number and i was like...astonished at how not embarrassed he was. haha i really wish i can get some of his enthusiasm in me and we can both start this companionship off great!.
well like i said this week has been hard but i wouldn't change it. so our investigator who was supposed to be a dry Mormon told his parents that he was going to be baptised and they really kinda freaked out about it and they started sending him all this anti stuff and the main thing was about the native American DNA that scientists have taken and done test to and that stuff which i think is a bunch of hocus pocus! so now he is not a Mormon yet because of that. he was supposed to be baptized yesterday at 12:30. didn't happen. oh well. we have tons of professors in our ward who are scientists and one of them happens to be our bishop and he just talked with him last night and then texted us and said that things were looking hopeful! so i am super excited again for Ryan and we also have another investigator who is really progressing nicely and i really hope she can stay the course towards the waters of baptism. any ways that's what i went through this week. really tough week for us and our investigator.
oh so the pictures are of me and elder curtis and then the one of my neck is just proof of how i don't learn when i try to iron my shirt while it's still on me. so dumb!! ha but now that i look at it it's pretty funny!
well that's about it for now! i love and miss you all and can't wait to hear from you again!!! until next time!
love
Elder Jens Smith
Elder Excell, Elder Curtis, Jens, Elder Howard
Elder Howard trained Elder Excell who trained Jens who is currently training Elder Curtis.
Silly Elder Smith ... fyi - don't try to iron your shirt on the carpet either; it will melt.
ReplyDeleteReading your comment about scientist, it reminded me of a great book I just finished "The Mormon Scientist - the life and faith of Henry Eyring" - (President Henry B. Erying's Dad). The Eyring Science Building at BYU was named after him. He was a great example of how Science and Religion can work well together. God created everything. Everything has order to it - that is how He works (wisdom and order). Truth is of God. If something in Science is true, then it is of God. Scientists many times make speculations (that is not the truth), and through testing and observation, the truth will be made known - that their speculation is true or false. Some individuals who are so anti-Mormon/truth, will grasp onto any speculation and call it truth - and those who do not have a firm foundation of who God and Jesus Christ are will be easily led away by flattering words (gosh, that sounds familiar ... in the Book of Mormon!!! We just read a story last night as a family in Alma chapter 11 !!! Zeezrom was giving Amulek the 3rd degree ... what a great sermon Amulek gave on the Plan of Salvation!). It is neat how the Book of Mormon gives clear examples of similar things we deal with today.
Also, I love these two quotes in the book about Henry Eyring (pg 215)
"Obedience to Gospel principles can make a man master of himself, and thus of his own destiny; there is no greater freedom than that. Nothing of importance is ever accomplished by man except by obedience to correct principles. Obedience is the price of freedom." Henry goes on to quote Joseph Smith, "I want to recall a remark which the Prophet Joseph Smith made and which people sometimes forget: every blessing you get in this life is predicated on some law. If you want some particular blessing, the Lord has arranged this very exact world so that you get the blessing only if you work for it."
Thanks for working so hard ... your service as a missionary are blessing not only the investigators, but also your family and friends.