May 22, 2017
Hey, Everyone! :)
So, nothing super out of the ordinary happened this week. It was just another fantastic week of good ol' missionary work! However, the weather just could not make up its mind. For two or three days straight it was over 90 degrees and SUPER humid and the next it was below 60 and raining a ton! Gotta love working in all types of weather, though!
I absolutely love being able to be part of this divine work. It is really neat to be able to see how Heavenly Father works to put us in the right place at the right time. Take yesterday for example:
Elder Imlay and I had a lesson scheduled for 7:00 Sunday night. We show up at their house, and it turned out that the man we were supposed to teach was called into work and forgot to let us know. His wife was the only other one home, so we just rescheduled with her and went on our way. We found ourselves with no one to visit, so we said a prayer and felt that we should go knocking in Forrest Hills (where Spiderman's house is). We got out of the subway station an randomly decided to choose a direction to start walking. We ended up finding our way into a SUPER rich area of Queens, and decided that this is the street we were going to start knocking. After knocking about 5 unanswered doors, a man leaving his house told us that we are wasting our time in a 100% Jewish neighborhood (hence the reason that Elder Imlay has so loving given Kew Gardens the nickname of "Jew Gardens"). Despite his warning, we knocked his next-door neighbor's house. They actually answered, and as soon as they did the man we were just talking to yelled at them telling them to close the door and stop talking to us. This was just a little frustrating, so Elder Imlay and I said a prayer and felt that we should leave. We noticed that there was a man who used to meet with the missionaries about a year ago living really close by. We walked to his apartment building and the man at the front desk called up to his room for us. Once again, we were rejected and had to leave. It was about time that we needed to head home, so we started making our way back to the subway station. I tried my best to start a conversation with everyone we passed, but it was dark and no one was willing to talk with us. When we were about a block from the station, we passed by a grocery store where a man walked out and started walking right next to me. I asked him how his day went and he responded "You know, I used to be Mormon once." WHAT?!? His name is Frank Madina. He was raised Mormon, but never went back to church after he left his parent's home at age 17. Frank asked us if he could have a Book of Mormon and if we could come to his house with him and have a chat. Of course, we went to his apartment and talked with him! Over the years (his is in his 50s), Frank has started practicing small fragments of all sorts of religions! He practices parts of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, etc. He asked us if we could give him a Book of Mormon and if we could come back to his house for dinner some time and continue coming back weekly! Frank's records aren't here in Queens, so we will have to have Bishop request them. I quickly found that I absolutely love Frank and his quirkiness, and I can't wait to keep working with him to hopefully get him to the temple and back to being an active member of the Church! :)
I can only hope and pray that I am actually able to make a difference out here in NY, but I can definitely testify that the Lord (through all the people I have met) has already made a HUGE difference in me! I am learning and growing so much as a person and as a child of my Heavenly Father. I know that He loves me and that He is molding and shaping me to become the valiant servant He needs me to be in this life and forever. There is no place I would rather be right now that where I am serving the Lord with all I got! This work is hard, but it is worth it. I have learned how to truly put all my trust in the Lord. I am not perfect at that yet, but Heavenly Father is definitely working hard on me! The Plan of Salvation is REAL. Jesus Christ really DID atone for our sins and really DOES know exactly how we feel all the time, because He has felt it himself. I love Him with all my heart and can testify that He really does walk with us as we choose to walk with Him. I am so grateful for my Savior and the difference He has made in my life.
I love you all, and I wish you all the best in the coming week!
Elder Snell
A "Plethora" of Pictures
1) This is Leo Hewitt! He just turned 8 and is about to be baptized soon. His mom asked if missionaries would teach him before he was baptized, so this was our last lesson with him. Yes, it was at a restaurant. Yes, his mom was there, too :) Yes, he is a GENIUS, and probably knows more about the gospel than I do. And Yes, he is the greatest!!!
2) Here is the "average" door here in Queens. 8 doorbells! Hahahaha usually there are just 3-4 :)
No comments:
Post a Comment