Hello everybody!
It's funny how God gives us the choicest blessings after trials. Elder Pulsipher and I have had two weeks where we struggled to stay busy. In the past 2 weeks, we've had over 20 appointments cancel on us. Neither of us were OK with just going back to the apartment or anything like that, so we went out and contacted as many less-active/part-member families/inactive members as we could. Well, TRIED to contact these members. We stayed busy, no matter what. One of those stopbys that we made was to a part-member family, the Rileys. Our real intent was to go in and get to know the members better so that we could know how to best help them progress in the future. Their father, the only non-member in the home, mentioned that the Missionaries had come over before, but hadn't really explained the beliefs of the Church to him. (He smokes and drinks coffee, but seeing as he knows all about the Word of Wisdom and stuff like that, they probably just told him that he should stop doing that.) He asked a few questions that Elder Pulsipher and I answered, and we set a return appointment. During that follow-up visit, we watched "The Restoration" to explain why we are Christ's restored Church. During the portrayal of the First Vision, I glanced over at Brother Riley, and saw that he was in tears. After the portrayal, I asked Elder Pulsipher to pause the video. We shared our testimonies of that experience, and told him that he could come to that same knowledge by reading the Book of Mormon. We left the home, with him in tears and the Spirit still strong.
As I type, I'm looking out the window at snow. Not a lot, but just enough to cover the grass. BLEGH. Winter is upon us, and I'm not excited for the humid, cold winds again. At least I have a car to drive, right? :P
For the record, I did marvelously at handling that nasty drink. The family even thought that I LIKED it. So ha!!!
Then, another investigator, Mike, who has struggled to read the Book of Mormon because of a "really busy schedule" (which, in his defense, is pretty crazy. He's been working 16 hours a day), texted us to tell us that he took the time to read, and opened to Alma 32, which he said described his feelings about baptism perfectly. He told us that he felt the seed growing, and knew it must be good, and that he would not neglect it to let the sun scorch it. It was an incredible moment to be a part of, and to see "the salvation of God" working in the lives of those we have come in contact with.
We hope to extend another 4 baptismal dates this week, so I'll have to let you guys know how it all goes!
-Elda Boone
(I, Alex's mom, became "friends" with Elder Pulsipher's mother on FaceBook. On her wall she had a link to Elder Pulsipher's Blog, which consists of letters from her son. The following is a portion of his letter home. Strange how Alex did not mention this in his letter ;))
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