1. How are you increasing in "wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man?"
I'm getting to the point where everyone realizes I'm finishing my mission soon. The members are already saying goodbye to me. Other missionaries are counting down the days for me. As for me, I just keep going. I don't keep track of the days. I don't think too much about home. Ever since I left home it feels like I'm on another planet, and it still feels that way. I'm so thankful that throughout my mission I've worked and focused in a way that I can get almost to the end and not feel "trunky". It's a lot easier that way.
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
For me, it was the "emergency lesson" we had with Enrique (name changed). We stopped by his apartment one more time (3rd attempt that day) and found him outside, standing by a half finished 6-pack of beer. We expressed our disappointment as well as the hope we had for him. We taught him about the power of prayer to fight temptation. We all shared experiences about how prayer/the Atonement gave us peace when we were sad, angry, or afraid. I shared an experience that was near and dear to my heart, the start of my true conversion. The Spirit was really strong and we recommitted him to live the word of wisdom. Enrique offered a kneeling prayer, and I know he will remember that moment forever. And he happily let us take his remaining beer and throw it away. It was so satisfying to smash those beer bottles against the inside wall of the dumpster...
3. What successes have you had in reaching your weekly goals?
I don't know about successes in reaching key indicator goals, but we definitely had some successes.
Firstly, we took our less active/new member to get a white shirt and tie. It was fun and he really appreciated us being there for that little milestone. He is well on his way to being a fully active member. And I'm so grateful that we can go with him to do baptisms for the dead. We've been there for every spiritual milestone in the last few months (for example he insisted that we come up with him to the stand when he gave the bishop his first tithing) and I wouldn't miss this one for the world.
And it was interesting how we made our weekly goal for 2 member homes. It was sunday evening and we didn't have anything planned in order to have that 2nd lesson in a member's home. Then we went to our 7 PM appointment with a new investigator. We found him walking out to his car, dressed up to go to a party. He must have forgotten our appointment... We caught him just in time and we were talking about church. The idea came to my mind to offer to give him a church tour. He seemed to be interested in that. My companions were scheduling a time to do that later. And before I could think about what I was saying, I said "It just so happens we have the keys to the church (we usually don't since we have to borrow them from the elders). We could show you the church right now if you want." Surprisingly, he said yes! The tour went really well and we got to teach about baptism, the sacrament, and the Holy Ghost, and show him the baptism font. The Spirit was strong and he seemed touched/intrigued. I am so glad we did that. If not, I think he would have just turned into yet another no-showed appointment. I'm excited to see what happens from there!
4. Have you experienced any disappointments and how did you overcome them?
This week was one of those odd weeks where we did our best and worked hard but the results didn't show it. For example, we had 5 exchanges and only had 2 lessons with a member present. We had plenty of plans but most of them fell through.
Also, our 2 investigators with a baptism date moved just outside of the mission. Literally, on the other side of the street. I'm reluctant to turn them over to the Dallas missionaries. We decided to keep teaching Enrique until his baptism date and just meet with him somewhere other than his apartment, but that never worked despite all the calls and texts and looking everywhere. And the one time we did find him, we found him with a 6-pack of beer... And he didn't make it to church. I don't think Enrique's getting baptized on the 10th... At this point I'd just be happy to find him again.
Though on the bright side, this is only one week. I've seen worse. I've had entire transfers like this before. I endured through that and I'm stronger for it. And every day, the Lord gives us little tender mercies to keep us cheerful and optimistic.
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