Forgiving Friday!!! May 29

Today was hard because we took Mark out to Bro Stradling's house to be taught a new member lesson. Bro Stradling did not want to do the teaching, but just wanted to add his two cents, which he did. I got kind of impatient with Bro S. because he kind of takes over things and just kind of "yanked" Mark out of our hands. He is kind of that way. But he is a good man and just trying to do his job. It is just hard to invest that much time in our people and then these members just don't understand our attachment to them.

We have found two new investigators this week. Amber has been telling her friend, JoAnn, about the Gospel, so we are meeting with her tomorrow. We will also be meeting with Alan tomorrow. We also need to see if we can find some more less actives in the First Ward if they are home.

Our second new investigator is a less active older fellow who is married to a non-member and we went to meet them and invited her to hear the discussions. She seemed very excited about that. They were very nice people and will be a great addition to our ward. The Lord led us to them and we were just blessed. They are good people and she just needs friends who can fellowship and bring her into the Gospel.

On a downer, we met the Butterfield family today. They are also older. He was baptized when he was young and lived in Utah. He fell away from the church in his youth and has never come back. He is also married to a very strong non-member and in fact attends her church with her. He was such a nice guy, but no depth of testimony. He said that he had joined the army and just got into some bad habits. He is now on oxygen and has COPD which his cigarettes have contributed to. I invited her to be taught the Gospel and she turned that down cold, so I started asking her about the things her church believed.

She kind of had a difficult time with that, usually because they don't totally understand their own beliefs. I asked her about their beliefs about the God Head and how they got the Holy Ghost. I also asked her bout what happened after we die. She told me we either go to Heaven or Hell. So I said, "what about the man who is inbetween that, he was not 'saved', but he did many good things? He doesn't really deserve to go to hell, that doesn't seem fair." She agreed to me that it certainly didn't seem fair. I just wanted her to think about it and I think she was. We parted with a hug and she invited us back anytime, so that was good.


Saw Christy and Boyd today and told her that in order to go to the Temple she would have to wear a dress or a skirt. It did not go over big. She does not like others to make her rules. But after she thinks about it, she will soften her heart. I know she wants to go to the Temple in a year. They are still without jobs, but things are beginning to open a little.

I think I am growing tired. As much as we love our mission and working with the spirit, sometimes I just get tired and feel like I need a break. I would not trade anything in the whole world for this experience, but sometimes I feel discouraged with all the situations and members we have to deal with. Maybe I am just getting tired of Sherman. And yet this is the place we have grown and really learned a lot. Maybe it is because we are getting to know the members a little more, and that can be good and bad!! HA! HA!

Everything is totally in Heavenly Father's hands, we will do whatever he asks.