WHOOO!!! This was a crazy week!!! So
much happened! I'll start with the Nat's game real quick. So, Friday was that
fateful day where we attended the Nats game! It was crazy, but fun!
We left in the late afternoon, and
drove to the metro station in VIENNA!!! My old tromping grounds! It was so much
fun! We drove the new sisters from our area to the metro, and from there we
hopped on and hit the town! We took the metro in, switched lines, ended up at
the ballpark, and walked from there! We made it with plenty of time to chat,
see friends, meet new ones and still make it for the game! Right as we walked
up, Elder Kyle Fletcher showed up!
It was fun to see him just right from the
start! After that, we started running into EVERYBODY!!! from all over the
mission! It's been a while since the whole mission was in one place at one time!
It was sweet getting to see everyone and getting to chat and catch up.
President and his family were there, as well as the President from the D.C.
North mission. Funny story from the ride there. So, we got off the metro, and
right at the top of the escalator, there were some guys trying to sell hats.
So, one of them starts talking to Elder G, and the other one starts
talking to me and the sisters. He starts with "Hey, I don't want to take
too much of your time. I know you're here with your wives and all, but..."
and left us as we departed with "just want you to know, the three of you
make a beautiful couple..." umm.... ok... haha Speaking of Elder G, it was his
first baseball game, so he was like a Canadian kid in a ballpark! oh, wait...
haha After the game, he kept just running up to groups of
missionaries and screaming: "NATS WIN!!! NATS WIN!!! I LOVE
BASEBALL!!!"
Anyways, it was a ton of fun. We had a blast, traveled
safely and returned home LATE! We got back to the Metro (we rode with us and 4
sisters so it wasn't a "date") and two of the sisters we came with
had a ride that had just gotten on the metro... So, we sat in the metro station
for 45 minutes waiting for them to get back... Pretty crazy. We were WIPED on
Saturday, but we got out and worked (only a little-bit zombie style) and had a
great time!
Last night our stake had a "why
I believe" fireside that Senator Orrin Hatch spoke at. It was way cool. we
got to sing in the choir and everything! It was very cool to see a politician
just speak about his beliefs and why they're his.
The rest of the week is a blur...
We've been working really hard lately with whatever time we have. We decided,
and President agreed, that as much as we were doing for the zone, what would
help them the most would be to set up our area as an example area for them all.
So, we set some BHAGs (pronounced "bee-hag") (acronym in the mission
for "Big Hairy Audacious Goal") and got to work! And miracles have
been happening! The biggest of which is that we stay awake! haha I keep
thinking of a scripture from Doctrine and Covenants section 123:
"Therefore, that we
should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things
of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from
heaven—These should then be attended to with great earnestness."
We have been wasting and
wearing out our lives this week and it feels SOOOO GOOD!!! Somehow, the Lord
helps us find the energy to continue on. It's amazing!
We have four main people we are working with right now that are all preparing for baptism. The first is L.
He is the man who used to attend the rLDS church, but is now looking into
uniting himself with us. He is a very sweet old man who lost his wife a few
years ago and is looking for answers. I love working with him because he is
just so down to earth and honest. He's a great friend and I LOVE meeting with
him and helping him to come closer to Christ.
Next is M, who is
currently homeless, and makes a living doing yard work for people on a ct in our
area. He often is found near the same house, so we usually find him that way.
He had been so prepared to hear the gospel. During one of our lessons, we asked
him what he felt our purpose was in meeting with him, and he flat out replied:
"you're angels, who have been sent to bring me back to Christ." It
has been very humbling meeting with him and helping him to understand why and
how to come back to Christ.
Finally, we have
V and M, who are sisters. We were knocking on their door as they
pulled up and asked who we were. We began talking to them and they were very
open to meeting with us. We sent the sister missionaries to meet them and now
we're working together to teach them and they feel the Spirit strongly which will help guide them.
Mom asked about our apartment:
My apartment has 5 missionaries in
it right now. Elder G and I, and one of the Spanish trios, Elder C, Elder O and
Elder R. Elder G is my comp. Elder C is from Uruguay. He moved to the states
when he was 12 to live with his sister, and was baptized around age 15. He was
called English speaking, but then was switched to Spanish because, well, he
knows it so well. He came to Manassas right when I did, so he and I have been
roommates for almost 6 months! Elder O is from Sandy, Utah, and goes home in
November with Elder C. They both might stick together until they go home. When
I was at BYU I home-taught a girl that was writing Elder Oliverson, so that's
kind of funny seeing that connection there. Elder R is from Utah as well, and
is waiting for a visa to Argentina. Hopefully it takes a while to get here
because he's awesome :)
We live in a gated apartment
complex, which means no parking pass required, thank goodness! It's a nice
complex, but our apartment itself was damaged pretty badly by previous
missionaries. But hey, it's home. It's a nice two-bedroom place, and we
definitely got the deal. The rooms and closets are about the same size, but our
bathtub is big enough to run laps in! It's HUGE! And we have these nice,
carpeted bathrooms and stuff. Ah. It's wonderful. haha We're right by a train
station (a track that's been going through Manassas for at least a hundred
years) and we're right down the road from Signal Hill, which is way cool!
There's lots of civil war earthworks within
our area!
Overall, it's a great place. I love
it!
Well, anyways, my time is short, but
I love you all and hope you have a great week!!!
Love, -Elder Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment