Hey y’all what’s good in the hood? This week was an
improvement from the last one. Slowly but surely we are starting to see the
missionary work in Oakcrest take off again after the hurricane.
Where to begin? On Monday we went to visit a potential investigator, but she wasn’t home so we decided to knock on a few doors in the
area. We were let in by a woman from Honduras named
Marisol who lived next door. As we talked to her we found out that she met with missionaries 4
years ago closer to the city. She explained to us how she watched the Joseph
Smith DVD with her 2 year old daughter and liked it a lot. She loved the peace
she felt at church and the church’s emphasis on families. Her family went
consistently for about 6 months before deciding to discontinue investigating
the church. When I asked her if she ever thought of getting baptized, she said
not really because her family was already baptized into another Christian
Church. But with a few more questions we found out that she hadn’t read much of
the Book of Mormon. So we were able to emphasis the importance of reading it
and praying to God to know of its truthfulness, which she said she’s never done
before.
Anyway, after we left Marisol’s house, we felt prompted to
stop by a less active family's home in the same trailer park. When we knocked on the
door, they opened it and the whole family just stared at us, looking shocked
that we showed up. A woman I’d never seen before whispered something to the mother of the family about us giving her (the woman) a blessing. The she explained that the night before, she and her husband were coming home to their apartment when they were robbed by someone with
a gun. The person shot her in the leg and then her husband. Her husband ended
up passing away on the way to the hospital.
She had asked her friend only
minutes earlier before we arrived if she would contact a member of the church
to come give her a blessing. She asked if her friend had contacted us. We said
no, but she instantly understood that the Lord had sent us there to minister to her
specifically and to give her a blessing. We were able to do it and she said she
felt peace enter her heart after we were done. She met with the bishop and
expressed the desire she had to get her life in order, return to church, and do
her husband’s temple work in a year. That was a faith building experience about
the role we have as servants in the Lord’s kingdom. We are called to lift up
the hands that hang down.
Later in the week on Saturday morning, we received a call to help at the home of a Hispanic family close to our apartment
whose house had flooded big time. The mucking had already been completed about
a month ago, so we helped repair their house again. We put in flooring,
insulation, and sheet rock. It was so fulfilling to see the family’s faces as
we helped them repair their home so they could have somewhere to live again.
They were so appreciative and even asked us where the local church building
was. They plan on coming this week so we are going to stop by today and see if
we can get to know them.
To cap the week off, on Sunday we had our “Why I Believe” fireside up in College Station. It’s probably my favorite event that
the mission puts on. Hearing the testimonies of new converts who are so
enthusiastic about the things they’ve learned and the blessings they’ve gained
never gets old.
Anyway, that’s all from here. Sorry for no pictures this week. I’ll try harder next
week.
Elder Barrus
THM
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