Semana 15: Thanksgiving holla!!!

 

HELLOOOO everybody!! I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving! There is so much to be grateful for, especially during this time of year. This week has been filled with finding, teaching and baptizing per usual with a few extra laughs and funny stories. I really enjoy being out here and my testimony and love for God grows every single day. 

Grub

I finished the Book of Mormon again this week and oh my goodness I learned so much. It took me slightly over a month to finish and this time reading was definitely the most meaningful. I never realized how much I zoned out reading the Book of Mormon back at home it felt like it was my first time reading it hahah! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and I invite all of you to read it!

Thanksgiving was a great day for multiple reasons... first off we got to grub out on some bomb food courtesy of our beloved branch council! They let us keep the change so I guess you can say we are prettyyyy rich! We did a pie bake over zoom with President Vest and his daughter which was fun... we made banana cream pie. 

Comps and grub

Elder Wilson got caught lackin' in the back

Oh YEAH my mission president's credit cards got hacked by this guy in Las Vegas and his credit card company got a hold of this man's address so he contacted the mission president in Vegas and he's sending missionaries to guys house to teach him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Karma! Well good karma because his life is about to be changed for the better.

  

We made a pie! 

We had this amazing devotional over zoom with Elder Groberg! He is the missionary from "The Other Side of Heaven" and he told us so many amazing stories and experiences he had with the people in Tonga. He was such a cool guy and he definitely has a lot of missionary experience under his belt so he was able to give us some killer advice. 

Anyways, Thanksgiving was my 100th day on the mission so that was great! I told my Dad that and he laughed so I guess that means I still have a long ways ago... but that is a great milestone to hit and I am so excited for what's ahead.

 

I made a punching bag

 

WE PUT BOBBIE ON DATE!!! AH that was the highlight miracle this week! She was really struggling with priesthood authority and baptism and she told us she was reading the Restoration pamphlet and the Book of Mormon at like 4:30 in the morning and she told us that she felt the Spirit so strongly. We told her that was the Spirit testifying of truth and she was so eager to learn more. We taught her the last half of the Plan of Salvation and she knew what we were teaching was true. We read from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon with her. She is on date January 2nd and we couldn't be more excited! She is so elect.

We dropped off a Book of Mormon to two of our friends, Francisco and Rachel. Francisco is this massive dude who is kinda crazy and really funny. He asked us to smoke with him and we were like nah and we dropped off a Spanish Book of Mormon for his mom. Every time Elder Wilson would try to speak to him, he would start laughing hysterically and point at him and say "I like this guy". Elder Culebro and I were dying laughing it was so random but funny ahaha. Rachel, on the other hand, is so elect and she will definitely be on date by next week! She loves the Book of Mormon and has been on our church website trying to learn more about our church!

One of our ex-friends (he didn't want to meet with us anymore), Leonard, was reading through the Index this entire time and got bored so he didn't want to meet with us anymore. We tried to explain to him that we said page 308 and not 608 and he was still like "meh" so we stopped teaching him. 

I was talking to Sister and Brother Huffine at church. They are literally so ancient lol. Apparently Sister Huffine got hit by a car last week and it actually fixed her hip problem so now she doesn't need to use her walker anymore. God works in mysterious ways.

We all got caught lackin'

Moroni 7:45-47
  "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
  But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."

I love these verses so much and as I finished the Book of Mormon this week, charity has been one of the key principles that really stuck with me. Being out here in New York quarantined all day has taught me two things, patience and charity. I learned a pretty hard lesson that the Lord works in His timing, not ours. That's why we need to put our trust in Him and recognize that he is setting ourselves up for something greater in the future and all we need to do is focus on what is in front of us and he will provide the rest. I have developed that pure love for Christ for everyone around me, including my friends and companions. We are all God's children and the longer I am out here the more meaningful that is to me. 

I love you all! I am so grateful for your amazing influences in my life and I hope you have a splendid week! Emails are greatly appreciated! 

-Elder Scown