I have not heard from Parker yet due to the rolling P-days in the MTC, but I got a great letter from Ethan today! He is doing well and very focused. Here it is!
Hey Mum!
So this week was a week of spiritual highs. It was super cool the kind of spirit that just accompanied us all throughout the various ups and downs that we had going on. I needed that a ton.
It definitely wasn't a perfect week by any stretch of the imagination. We had a lot of cancellations. I think we might have to drop a lot of the people that the missionaries here have been teaching just because they don't really progress. I've really been trying to focus more on finding and teaching the elect, since there are bound to be people who are put in our path to more or less waste time :P President Toombs told me that once. But its okay cause we have a couple of people on deck for this week that should be really promising.
So Monday was a great P-day. We got to chill a bunch at the Stake center with everyone in the district, and then we went to the Aurora Mall and I bought some new shoes. Those 20 dollar Wal-mart ones that I bought wore out really fast in Southlands haha :P
Then me and Elder Lee went thrift shopping. We found a couple of pawn shops with basses to play with, so that was fun. It had been a while since I had jammed. The cool thing about that though is that Bro Mata'ele's reggae band is going to play at the missionary Luau in July, and they're gonna let me sit in with em. That'll be sooo sick its ridiculous haha.
Ate dinner the Ross-Hagar family. They're an older couple who got married later in life, so they kept both of their last names. They were super funny. I love old people sometimes. She was nice enough to offer to mend some of my pants, which was desperately needed. Plus she has some kind of at-home dry cleaning kit that she offered as well. Pretty sweet. Then we visited with the Cordner family and informed Sister Cordner (young women's pres) about an investigator that we are teaching that is going to girls camp. They are gonna make it happen.
Then that evening we went home early so i could call Parker. I was so glad President let me do that. It was a great conversation even if it was short. I always get a little choked up at goodbyes, so I hope that didn't get to him or anything. I'm really proud of him. its a tough thing to do what he's doing. But it'll be great.
Tuesday was cool. We got to go do some service at the Crisis Center in Downtown Denver. Lots of homeless or transient people there. We mowed the grass and picked up trash for em. Then after lunch we taught a lesson with an investigator named Jeff Green. Great guy who likes Bruce Campbell movies haha. But he doesn't really seem to be progressing towards anything. Its super important that you establish expectations with people that you teach, otherwise you may find yourself with investigators who had no idea that your goal for them was baptism :P
Did some finding and ate dinner by ourselves. Then we taught a horrendous lesson with the Smiths. Great family, but man are they difficult to teach. I'll put it this way, in that one lesson we had polygamy, excommunication, outer darkness, AND women holding the priesthood all come up as conversation topics. It was brutal, especially when Sister Smith went off on her feminist rant. Oyy.... They really should be handed off to ward members to teach. Its not our job to teach the new member lessons anyway.
The Sisters had a baptism that night that we went to. This one was for the 9 year old named Alyssa that I interview on Sunday. Great service. Then we had correlation meeting with the Bishopric. They made the comment that we were some of the best missionaries that have been in the ward in a while.
Wednesday was the best day of the week if you ask me. It was Temple Trip day, and we managed to get in to the session with the newest film. It was sooo sick. I had only seen it once before, but man it was powerful. Then as soon as I went into the Celestial room, guess who i ran into? Sister Pitts! And Annie! It was so cool to be able to see them again. Annie is going on a mission to Germany in July, and the Eastlake Ward is killing it in missionary work. So happy to hear. I told Sister Pitts that I wished i was still back up there, and her words were "You are what started it. You'll always be our first missionary." Well that made me feel good haha. I left the Temple feeling so energized and ready to go baptize the world haha.
We were a tad late in getting started at district meeting since there was bad traffic off of Colfax road. But it was a great district meeting. I gave the training on how to begin teaching people, and we set some goals for the rest of the transfer. It was sweet. We even had the AP's drop by for a bit.
Ate lunch, and then resumed normal missionary work until dinner. Afterwards, we visited the Hess family, just in time to get inside from a massive hailstorm. But it was good. They had a ukulele there so I played some primary songs and we all sang to them. It was super fun. then we went with Brother Hess to give Brother Hagar a blessing. Apparently they were replacing the battery in his pacemaker the next day. It was a good visit and a good night.
Thursday was cool too. We did some more service in the morning and then we taught a lesson to Will Chavez, a returning less active. Good guy, but tough family situation. Its tough to quit smoking when your wife doesnt want to quit, and when you work construction :P
Then we went on a bit of a blessing spree with Brother Mata'ele and the sisters. They had a bunch of people that they were teaching that needed em. We did like 3 or 4 that day. Then we ate dinner, and went to the Salazar family's home. They are a less active-part member family, and they were super friendly. Invited them to come to church, and invited her to learn more! Great lesson. Then we were cancelled on by the Rowley family, so we did some list names for the rest of the evening.
Friday was all planning aside from dinner, a failed appointment with both a potential and another investigator, and a lesson with Jacob Perea, a recent convert. We may not have accomplished much that day, but man we made our upcoming week look sooo good haha.
Saturday was the day that was kind of a bust for us. We had like five lessons scheduled and none of them happened. Otis cancelled, Ernestine rescheduled, the Lakes cancelled since Sister Lake just got out of the hospital (understandable haha) and then our active member cancelled. Man it was lame. but we did do some moving service for a part member family that came into the ward. They are going to take us out to Chili's today! We'll invite them to take the lessons when we go.
Then Sunday was a lot like Saturday. We had meetings that morning, and then we had like three people that we had committed to come to church, who all bailed. Laaammmmmeeeeeeeeee. Oh well. After church we ate dinner with the Spohn family. They're cool, but they seem a little liberal for my taste haha. Then we went with Brother Mata'ele to give yet another blessing to a recent convert in the ward, Sister Nord, who is going through a divorce because she joined the church. Man thats gotta be tough. Then we went to the General Priesthood meeting that evening. Great meeting, but i would have rather been teaching people :P
Well this next week ought to be awesome since we have so many appointments. I am so ready to just conquer the world with these last five months that I've got left. I am determined to finish my mission in this ward and turn it around for the Elders here.
Anyways, Wish me luck with this week! and wish Parker luck in the MTC for me too!
Elder Efan
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