OK so this last week, was really tough, we had so many appointments fall through, and when you are trying to help your new companion know the area and the people in the area and they all cancel appointments, you get pretty frustrated. but its more sad then frustration, because we have a message that will help these people, but nobody wants to listen...
So Monday night, we were invited to a Barbecue, where we celebrated a graduation for a member, and some non-members were there, so we were able to share our beliefs with them, but it didn't produce any harvest any fruit that we could pick at that moment. we then went to exchange in Arlington and so we had a 40 min drive to there apartment, and then a 40 minute drive home all because of traffic.....i was exhausted, so i decided to let Elder Meservey drive, for he was wide awake for some reason.
Tuesday was a nightmare. we had every moment of the day planned out, and we had cita [appointment] after cita after cita after cita after cita cancel on us and it was a nightmare. when we show up they aren't there, and when we called in the morning, they didn't answer....una PESADIA so we drove around contacting members in our branch who are in the less-active/ inactive list, but still no results for nobody was home.....it was such a drag, literally the worst exchange i have had in terms of what happened. I did Learn though how to be happy when everything is sad and to smile even though there are Frowns everywhere. we at one point decided to stop the car and walk down a street to visit some more members and tract a little, and as we were walking some guy climbed out his window driving by and yelled "Go Back Where You Came From!"....which didn't help us feel any better that day, but it was funny because there was a Cop behind us parked, and when that guy did that, he wasn't wearing a seat belt....hehe...so the Cop got him.
It is nice to know that there is some kind of justice and when stuff happens like that.
Wednesday we had some member appts that were fun, we taught Lehi's Dream and focused on how we as members can take away this darkness from the world., we taught some other lessons as well and it was a better day.
Thursday we weekly planned and got some solid stuff planned and it was really quite great, because we got to enter the house of Theresa Santiago, but really bad as well, because we only actually got to talk tot her Husband who informed us that the week before she started smoking again...NOOOOOO!!!!!, and so that was the reason of why she was hiding from us. so now we are working towards August 9th as the end date for this smoking problem is August 9, 6 weeks, and in this time I challenged her to read the BOM in English, as that is is her first language, and i will be reading it in Spanish in the same time...it is going to be tough, but i think i can do it.
Friday we had DM, a lunch with a member, a Spanish lesson we taught to an English member who is leaning Spanish, we went to the retirement home and played hangman, and then we also went to dinner with the Branch President, and had an Auxiliary interview and we also had a chance to see Theresa Santiago so we talked about how we have to go all out now, and about Cortez, and how they his army kept on trying to overtake this island, but they kept on being defeated and sailed home, and how we need to sail there, and burn these ships, and then fight fight fight with all our might and then we will overcome this island. it was pretty great.
Saturday.....ugh exhausting day mentally. we had no other choice but to reorganize the area book and start form scratch and create a list of everything that needed to be done in the area to get it into its prime. so we did that for a few hours, and cleaned up the online area book as well, and it is almost done. we also taught our new investigator, Beatriz, part of the restoration, and talked about why God lets bad things happen to good people. Also, we stopped by Maria And Sergios's Home and we are trying to help get a divorce now, but we are waiting for him to take time to work on it...it is great. We will divorce, marry and baptize and all will be splendidly well.
Sunday was the classic here, except we had a meeting with our branch missionaries and went over their calling and how we can help them magnify it. Often as missionaries we aim to receive the help of the branch/Ward missionaries, but in reality they feel as if we are only there to require them to help us. This is why they really don't like their calling to much, or they are not to aware of that it is they are to do, or why they feel like there calling is not to important. We, the Missionaries, need to support them in their calling. they are members too, and they need help from the missionaries just as much the other guy. we cant neglect them, but support them and raise them up. also church was good, though i was dead tired. our 3rd hour was combined and we went over the manual "Teaching, No Greater Call" and it was how we prepare ourselves to teach in the Gospel. I really enjoyed what was said about how when we really have done what is required to prepare a lesson and searched the topic and desired to teach something that will be carried to the hearts of the those we are teaching, then we will have the spirit with us and will our minds and heart be guided to what we shall say. After church we went to Teach a 7yr old the restoration, and with her Grandpa present, we had a pretty great lesson, as far as great can go when teaching a 7yr old the gospel. We then headed to pick up Presidente Fuentes and drove to Sonya, our investigator, and we taught about the Book of Mormon, and about how we can find the Truth, and Presidente Fuentes bore a superbly powerful testimony and we felt like we should extend a date, and so i went a ahead and opened my mouth, and it went something like this.....A medida que Dios Contesta sus oraciones y a medida que su fe en JesuCristo crece y desarrolla, se preparara para ser bautizado en el tercer Dia de Agosto....as God answers your prayers, and as your faith in Jesus Christ Grow and Develops, will you prepare yourself to be baptized on the 3rd of august?.....and i know for certain that it could have been me or My companion could have said this, because the spirit was so strong. the only reason i was able to open my mouth is because My companion just finished bearing his testimony and he looked at me and i could see in his eyed that he was thinking and feeling the same thing as me. it was incredible and She accepted it. we walked out of that Lesson with a feeling of Gratitude and also a feeling like weight was just lifted from our shoulders and this weight was the sadness and frustration....we were/are so happy. later that night, we stopped by Amelia and Raisa ferrera to teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but only Amelia was there. so we talked to her about the Book of Mormon, and addressed her fears of praying and getting an answer and she told us this sad story of how she has been praying for 3 years for help for this extremely sad struggle in her life. she has been struggling for 3 years with some guy on facebook and instagram, who has been bullying her....the police cant find him, and this person writes messages to her, or texts her sister from some random number that cant be traced for some reason, but these messages are crude and demeaning and are very sad to hear about, it hurts me to even think about how much she has gone through. she just feels like prayer is so hard to do because she cant ever say a prayer and not think about the negative. so we talked about Joseph smith and read the part about the first vision....about what happened in that moment when he was praying, and how we have to push through and fight for the help we truly desire, and all the while having faith that we will get the answer.. it is so sad that this is happening and were/are devastated. but with the power of prayer and the atonement, she can get through this pain and I know she Can do this.
So people in this world are mean, or scary, or cruel or dark or wicked, and it really takes a toll on those around them. it is simple, Misery likes company and it always has and it always will. it is so sad to see people in the world hurt by those around them because these are all our brothers and sisters, and we are all connected in one way or another, and that Connection is that we all have a Heavenly Father, who loves us indefinitely more than we could ever imagine. this love is greater than anything on the earth, above or below, and with this love we are able recognize that there is Good in this world. we can understand that, though this guy thinks im a loser, or this person across the steet just called me a really harsh word and told me to go home, i have a Godly being who loves me so much and he is proud of me for who i am. and there is a story that was shared with me about how there was a family who was having dinner, and so all of the family was invited, including one of the Sons, who moved out. when the son arrived, the mom went over and hugged him and said hello and did the normal Mom thing. she then asked how quiting smoking was going, and the son said, i started again, im sorry mom, and the mom looked at him, without the essence of any anger or frustration, and simply said its ok, I still love you no matter what, I LOVE YOU. God is the same way with us, he loves us no matter what, and the best part is, he is just a prayer away. when times get tough, we always have a supreme being who we call Father who will always have our back.
Um that's all i got for the week, um I love it out here, my Spanish is slowly getting better, I think, and I truly have found my desire to help those around me. I Love the Mission, I love learning Spanish, though it is one of the harder things I've done, I love you all, I love the Spanish community, especially the Food, and I love my Savior, whose name I bear upon my chest every day!
Cordially
Elder Mason R. Scott
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