Week 17 - TGIM

You know you're a missionary when your'e looking forward to Mondays... haha. Such a great opportunity to step back, take a breather, and prepare for the next week!

I'm glad Megan and Rachel are settled in. Good lock to both of them!! And everyone else starting school for that matter...

Ah! I'm so bummed I'm missing Shawn's talk... I'll have to make it for his  homecoming..........

Prices are moving into our ward? Sweet! That'll be so much fun!

I had heard that Michael got his call to Tacoma, but I didn't hear october. That's so sweet!

 

Training is exciting and trying, but definitely so worth it. Greenies when they come in are so gung ho and number crunching that they often get hard on themselves (I know I did) when they don't get the "numbers" that they were expecting. Once I understood the incredible work I was doing with PEOPLE, things got put into perspective, and I became much more content. The thing about it is just setting an example and giving compliments whenever possible, which isn't hard with Elder Cannon.

Mom asked what happened to N. He went on vacation the first two weeks of August, so we didn't get to see him for a bit, and when he got back it was two days before his baptism, and we just didn't have the time to prepare him sufficiently. We're still meeting with him, and things are going very well. He ended up not going to Richmond for school, so he's staying here to hang with us :D haha. I totally love the guy. I've known him for how long? and he's one of my dearest friends. It's incredible how the gospel just brings people together. It's like that between missionaries too. There's just an immediate comraderie. It's amazing. So, we're still meeting with N, still helping grow his testimony, and we're all hoping to meet his mom soon and set another date. The other day, apparently, he was having a rough day, and just opened the book of mormon!! There aren't many thigns to hear as a missionary better than that, that he went there for comfort and solace.

 D is soaking everything up. We love meeting with her and love seeing her grow.

We met a couple new people this week too! Namely: S - who we met riding along. We stopped at a crosswalk, got off and walked our bikes next to him for a bit. We talked to him, exchanged numbers and left. He called back yesterday!! Just to talk, but Elder Cannon set up a day to meet with him, and we're excited to get to know him more. He lives in a different area, so we're going to  introduce him to the Leesburg elders, but he's an awesome guy. Then there's Lewis - He showed up at church yesterday with his brother. We've been meeting with the priest's quorum periodically, helping them go through PMG, and Lewis was there. we told him what PMG was, how it's a guide for missionaries, and he goes: "Sweet! I gotta get to know this! I want to serve a mission someday! I just need to get baptized first..."

Saturday, we had planned to do a few hours of tracting, and just as we were heading out, it started sprinkling. It was supposed to rain pretty hard, but this was hours early, and we didn't have our rain gear. So, we went to the church to get trash bags to put our stuff in our backpacks in to waterproof it, and when we got there, the church was packed!! We weren't sure why until we saw the hearst... we went inside, planning to slip in, go unnoticed, not disturb anything, and get waterproofed as we had planned, but when we walked in the ward, we saw many people from the Belmont Ridge ward. After talking to Bishop Lewis and Brother Cahoon, we found that it was one of the ward member's wife who had died. She had never been a member of the church, but came often and had many friends. Apparently a blood clot lodged in her brain and she just went. The doctor said she was probably gone before she hit the floor. It was so sudden. We were invited to stay and help, so we did, feeling like it was the right thing to do. After the service, we helped serve a meal for family and friends, many of which had little to no knowledge of the church. We tried to be friendly and supportive, and many people there began asking questions, to us and to other members there. It turned into a huge missionary opportunity! One woman even said she was going home to go look up our church because she wanted to know more! It's amazing. The BEST missionary work we can do, we don't even need to be missionaries to do! Just be YOU. Leading and teaching by example is the best way to do it. Nate even said that the other day. He said: "You know, you guys probably worry sometimes that I'm just doing this because of Sarah, but i was actually seriously considering it before I even met her. I just had some LDS friends, and I wanted what they had. They seemed so happy." Another thing to remember is sometimes it's our part to reap, and sometimes it's our part to sow. I may never find out what happens to the people we served, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet them and leave an impact. Btw, heads up to my friend T. Clark! The lady who's looking up the church? Yeah, she's a Nu Yawker!

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I just got a text from D. Something just came up, and she's leaving town for 3 weeks.... Bummer :( She said she can teleconference though, so I'll write President Riggs and ask him about that....

Now for my missionary thought for the day. I've had many opportunities this week to play the piano for investigators, members and others. It's been a huge blessing to me because I love it, but I started to notice a pattern. As I play,  when I turn around after playing  I  see wet eyes. It got me wondering: am I really that bad? haha. no, not really, but I started wondering why  music has that effect on people. Then I figured it out. Looking down memory lane, I remember many times playing the piano and finding one of my parents sitting or standing behind me when I finish in similar condition - wet eyes. My parents typically have wet eyes when they're really happy or feeling the spirit. That's when it hit me. Music is one of the strongest conduits for the spirit. I remember playing the piano for N, then being able to set him on date later that evening. I remember hearing music penetrate messages more strongly to me than words could countless times during "the Savior of the World." Music truly drives the spirit home. That's why i love playing the piano so much: I feel the spirit when I play. What a wonderful blessing to be able to share that with others!

Have a great week! Enjoy school (I don't have any) haha.

-Elder Hodgson