Week 11

Andrew Wendell Larsen if I get home to find you still single, or hear any sort of complaining or excuses about the thousands of chances you didn't take, I will personally beat your nalgas. I will not have this. Do I need to come over there with a stick? Cover you with bruises so everyone can see what a disobedient daughter you are? Let's hope not. Anywho, sorry for the scare Mom, we had to switch up our pday schedule due to some appointments on Monday and then splits on Tuesday. I like that story. There are days I wouldn't mind just reading from the scriptures all day, but it's only by going out and serving others that I can actually make a difference. Elder Bednar gave this talk about how the main characteristic of Christ is that he always turned outward, even in times of temptation and suffering. I've discovered a good way around asking people how they're doing, Lisa. At least in terms of public transportation. Rather than asking them how they're doing, I ask them if they think it's weird when someone asks them how they're doing. It's actually been pretty effective so far haha. In Germany you're technically not allowed to proselyte in public transportation but if you can get a good conversation starter and try to relate things to the gospel you can kinda step around it. I was feeling bad for you Joey, about not being able to attend Pauls temple marriage but then I realized that not only was I also unable to attend, I've never attended anyone's temple marriage. That is pretty rough though. Unfortunately dad I was nowhere close to winning the 5k, haha. Us missionaries were (supposed to be) talking to other runners and handing out cards.

So this week was pretty sweet. At the end of a somewhat uneventful companion exchange with the Berlin Spanish elders (we spent the whole time searching apartments for people with Spanish-looking last names to very little success) we came back to end the exchange. We got to our meeting place a little early, so we went out and did 20ish minutes of finding. In doing so we found one new investigator and a couple other guys gave us their phone numbers. May not seem like a ton, but that's more than what typically happens with like 2 hours of street finding. Also this week, one of the members invited this guy to church. He came, and told us that 6 or 7 years ago he had investigated the church, but then had to move somewhere else. We refreshed him on the restoration, and he committed to a baptism date! Nothing beats those unexpected miracles.

We were able to have some interesting conversations while finding this week. It's sad to see the different ways that Satan works to deceive people. One man was of the opinion that there is no God, there are only people who make money, and people who are dumb. Another thought that if there was a God, He wouldn't want to hear or listen to her prayers. A third decided that it was religion that causes wars and contention (guess it's similar to the concept of guns killing people, rather than people killing people). It's sad! So many people have been blinded by lies and darkness. That's the beauty of missionary work, giving people the opportunity to see the truth and light of the world. But it's up to them. One accepted the invitation to learn more, the other 2 didn't. But at least we gave them the chance.

It all comes down to us being willing to sacrifice our pride and give God a chance. Whether you've been in the church your whole life, or never heard of it, it's the same. Are these people willing to let go of their false views and at least give room for an experiment of the truth? Am I willing to let go of my fear/pride/laziness and share the gospel with everyone I meet? I think the key to happiness and progress lies in making the correct choice to questions like those. Let's do it shall we? Let's make these uncomfortable, difficult decisions and allow Heavenly Father to work wonders in our lives, and the lives of others.

Have a great week!

Elder Larsen