[Weston] Anaheim Weekly November 24, 2014

Hello Everyone!

This week was a very difficult one, but I learned a lot. To start off I will talk about our rock star investigator Erik. I have been praying a lot lately for success with somebody In our area, especially with hitting our goal of a baptism for Christmas, and now we are too to get it. For a year the Elders have been working with Erik, who is a former marine, as well as he know a ton about he church because of a buddy he has from the marines. Erik had a huge problem with smoking and drinking, until Monday night. We went over and shared with him a scripture about the Plan of Salvation, and then talked lightly about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and then my companion extended a baptismal date, and for about five minutes we waited, silently. He accepted, and immediately said, I need to get some patches. Meaning he is going to quit smoking. As of today he has made it now six whole days without smoking. There have been instances this week where he has picked up a cigarette, and thought about it for a while, then he just throws it down and says no. His will power is so strong now! Mainly because he is praying and reading the Scriptures! I can't even explain the experiences we are having with him. Literally since Elder Fonnesbeck and I have been seeing him, he has changed so much. He is converted now, because of the knowledge that he has of God answering his prayers when he needs help. 

There have been times when we have decided to stop by unplanned and we catch him at an all time low, and we bring him up to a such a high level because of the Spirit. On Friday we had one of those experiences. We were weekly planning, and we had told Erik that if he ever needed anything he could call us or text us and we would leave whatever it was if he needed us. On Friday we texted him in the afternoon to see how he was, and he immediately responded in Panic Mode that he needed us ASAP. We booked it over to his apartment as soon as possible. He fell asleep with a Nicotine patch on, and apparently they induce terribly real and nightmarish dreams. With him being a marine, he had the most vivid memories and experiences fill his mind. He was scared, he said he broke down to tears, and that he did not know what to do. It was just an hour nap, and we texted him right when we woke up. Imagine that? And he fought smoking until we got over there. We basically save him. 

Erik is changing my life, just like how all of my other converts have changed my life, I feel the spirit strongly in my life. Something that I could not always admit. Erik is going to make it, and he will be an amazing member. Elder Fonnesbeck said the other night, that we are the only two that could have gotten him to this point. No other companionship was able to. Us. Why us? We have been having so many problems, to the point where I have felt he is just a flat our jerk (still do for the most part) but I legitimately yelled at him hard last night. I do not yell, I have not yelled a single time on my mission if I can recall over a year of time. Not once. We had a long companionship inventory for about and hour and a half where we talked exactly about what happened. I was threatened a little, but what came out of it is that we will never be a companionship were we are friends and want to be around each other, or that we even have anything in common, but what we have in common is Erik and the calling of a representative of Christ. We are focusing on that, and being more friendly. 

The District Meeting I taught this week was very difficult as well. I could not teach as well as normal. But this week I think my plan is to teach about Love, and it's relationship to the work. 

We had our Thanksgiving activity this past Saturday as well, in which the missionaries were in charge of everything, we decided several weeks back that we wanted to do a posole contest, and so the relief society took care of that. But in this ward, we missionaries are always in charge. We created this activity about the plan of salvation in which we made the overflow room of our chapel as a airplane cabin set up. We acted out a scenario in which we all died, and that our Heavenly Father had prepared three different places for us to go. We tried to help everyone understand more about the decisions we make here in this life and how they affect us after we die. It was great! We had best plane sound effects, and great presentations about the kingdoms of glory. Very stressful though! Our Ward mission leader is new, and is still learning how to be a leader, so we are being patient with him, it was hard to get him to full on plan and prepare the activity with us. But we got it done. 

So yeah that seems to basically some up the week. During our Elder's Quorum on Sunday we were talking about worshipping and about where and where and how we worship Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Most people were saying through prayer, and through reading the scriptures, and going to church. We read in alma 32 when alma tells the zoramites to be of good comfort because they can worship God in any moment, not just once a week. My thoughts were very interesting, and I Commented that the manner in which we live our lives reflects our worshipping of God. As in we must keep the commandments, and do all we can each day to live according to His will. That is how we can honestly worship. Food for thought. :)

Your Favorite Missionary in So. Cal.!

Elder Weston Scott