3.3.14 - Emotional Roller Coaster

This is an emotional roller coaster! This is ridiculous. I either come home bouncing and elated on a spiritual high or mope into my apartment rejected and dejected. My days are never what I anticipate them to be. We plan out our days the night before for a half hour and then re-hash them for another half hour in the morning before Spanish study. These study preps start with a prayer pleading for inspiration and include where we'll go, who we'll contact, what we'll do if they're not available, and what we'll do if they and the next person after them are also not available and so on for every expected hour. We talk about each individual person, what their personal spiritual needs are, what we'll cover with them and for what period of time. We'll then roll-play the conversation to get a good idea for how they'll respond and revise accordingly. We'll also try and schedule the correct member of the ward to be available at the same to as the lesson so we can have a member with us for every encounter. This effort and then some is exerted for each person we meet so we can know we did our part in progressing the work of salvation. Then the moment we walk out the front door anything goes. We do all we can to let the spirit dictate our thoughts and actions because we know God's thoughts are higher than mans and his ways are higher than ours.

I, at times, feel at literal war with an adverse force to the extent that I can count on a phone going off the moment we've come to a spiritual crescendo and commitment. A baby will wake up and scream. A dog will come by and bark at us from the street. A car will whiz by and someone will yell something profane. (which bring up the point that people have been driving next to our bikes so close I could have reached out my hand to touch them) and this will stopper our spiritual ears to the sweet impressions we'd been feeling from having the companionship of the holy ghost during our conversation. It really stresses the point that the spirit cannot be forced, but must be given a conducive atmosphere and invited.

There is so much good too. Sorry I didn't share all my happy stories this week. This morning we found our car with a flat tire, hahaha, classic. There's never a dull day in the Lord's Service.

Last night we went by to see "O", who we'd talked to a few days ago and shared the story of the Book of Mormon with. A ginormous dirty horse dog we've named Big Blue lives on her same street and follows us for miles whenever he sees us. Big Blue is a whiner and screams (it sounds like a woman's scream) when we don't pay attention to him. He jumps on us and rubs his dirty paws all over our clothes when we try and walk away. He followed us to O's door whereupon she tried to give the Book of Mormon back without having read any of it because her sister told her a few falsities about its origin. We couldn't entreat her to reconsider because she was afraid of Big Blue who was trying to get into her house.

An hour later I really felt like we should talk to her again so I asked Elder Warren if we could go back and he consented.

A blurb about Elder Warren! He is the man! In April we'll celebrate the completion of his 3rd year in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was baptized with his family in California and has just hit his year mark on the mission. He is the x-factor. He is the secret weapon to our teaching. He can so clearly address the concerns of investigators with stories like, "I recall feeling as you do when I was investigating this church with my family..." As I've gotten to know Elder Warren he's told me about the kind of guy he used to be, and I can see the kind of missionary he is now and the positive change confirms each time the power and truthfulness of what we share. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. The gospel blesses families. Individuals are strengthened by the power and merit of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The true church of Jesus Christ is on the Earth today with all of the authority, teachings, ordinances, offices, fruits, and blessings as when established by Christ himself.

I fully recommend the CES devotional given by Tad R Collister January 2014, we just watched it on Saturday with the Elder's Quorum President and him family for a little spiritual pump up.
Back in action, I told Elder Warren I'd take care of Big Blue while he talked to Olga. I pet that dusty drooling dog for 5 minutes while Elder Warren bore simple testimony of the power and truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He talked about how the reading of said book would bring a life, hope, and love into her family never before felt. He said the truthfulness would be made manifest by the power of the holy ghost. Upon inquisition he learned that she'd never felt the holy ghost in all her years in the catholic church. He went on to say the Book of Mormon is of the most sure ways to invite the Holy Ghost into your life. This went on, and as the invitation was offered again to read from the book of Mormon "O" said, "No, thank you, I am happy with my faith." And thus it is. Despite spiritual promptings, decent teaching and sincere testimony, I cannot make anyone understand this message. If there heart is not softened and receptive to the whisperings of the holy ghost my efforts profit me nothing aside from laying seeds and a foundation for future encounters and later missionary work.

Another family that was set for a baptismal date told us when we went by to remind them about church  that upon some research on the internet about Mormons they didn't think they were going to be able to make the change. They slowly divulged what they'd come across and the anti-material they read was so false it was exasperating. We'll go by tonight in attempts to set the record straight.
In my own personal decision to serve a mission I had to look at a lot of faiths and a lot of histories and ultimately the adversary has backed every many up to the wall of faith. Either we read the Book of Mormon and believe it to the word of God or we do not. The Adversary has left us zero wiggle room and 0 gray area to stand on. I do not believe that by archeological evidence the Lord will permit us to believe the ancient record because it would negate the opportunity to exercise faith. Our time on this earth is in short, a chance to uphold our second-estate, it is a time to choose God.

Stay Salty,

Elder Meidell