Cut to the Heart

So To break the bad news the Christmas present I really wanted to send home was way to expensive to ship =(. The Elder that I replaced left a (I think it's called a ) Drifting Trike. This 15 lb aluminum scooter for adults , equipped with hand breaks. The thing is SO COOL! I found it in the apartment and then went to a park and bombed some hills just like I would on a long board. The next day i found out that that was actually against the rules..... so I decided I would just send it home, to keep the missionaries more obedient you know =p. So I brought it there and it would have been $140 to ship it. I thought it was cool but sorry not that cool. But to be fair I labeled the address to be a present for me ha ha. It was nice being able to go down a hill and slow down when you were unsure of a turn though. I don' t know how much it's worth but I don't suspect that buying it would be to much less than that. 

Thanks for the new shoes, I like them a whole lot, I can't believe my old shoes used to look like the ones you sent me! comparing them is really funny.

On Thanks giving day we were door knocking and a lady answered and when I reached to shake her hand  I saw a little star of David tattooed to her hand. After we left, we talked about how interesting it would be to teach a Jewish person, we fantasized about it for a while. We got a referral way out to the southernmost part of out area, WAY out in the Boonies. The guy requested both a Bible and Book of Mormon. We got there Turns out he was Jewish! That was a really interesting lesson, It was up 
there with the time I taught a Buddhist. We picked him up as a investigator so we'll see what happens.

Or not, Transfer calls are this week. I am not putting my money on the idea that I could be staying here. Since my comp will be done training I would be shocked if they kept me here and shipped him away.

I came back from district meeting and started to set up our church house for the branch Christmas party like we were asked to. A member from the Family History center came out to talk with us and watch us work. I caught on immediately what he was doing. He comes in "Whats your favorite Starwars figures?" the way that was put made me super suspicious, I shot a lame answer and he walked back to the center. I then realized what I just did, I am gonna get some starwars action figures for Christmas and he wanted to know what to buy me. We stumbled into him again and I changed my answer =p. He then came back in a few minutes later... "wait when is transfer calls?" He wasn't even cleaver about it ha ha.

This sunday I swear was Missionary appreciation week in testimony meeting. several people testified of how we helped them, how we brought the spirit into their homes/lives, taught them things. A member who comes out with us just about every week said "If these boys worked out like they did missionary work they would look like Arnold Schwarzenegger" ha ha.

Last week we came to email and when we did every computer except 2 were taken, there was one computer separating the two of them, and because of time we emailed anyways even though you need to be able to see your companions screen because if I leaned back I could see his. That went well until people left and my companion got feeling really guilty and asked me to get a new computer pass so we could sit together... I begrudgingly went to do it after like 2 minutes and then I was actually really impressed how I was blessed for being obedient immediately. I went up to the table and a guy said "are you the new missionary here" I said I was and he told me that he was almost baptized a year ago but had to cancel a few days before, I got his info=p. I then no longer was irritated that I had to pause my emailing ha ha.

I have been going hard on my companion this past two weeks to prepare him to not have me as a companion. I haven't told him I have been doing it on purpose, I just slyly put more and more pressure on him one day at a time. I have been basically having him be Sr. companion and leading out in everything. I don't ever suggest we start comp study I just sit there patiently, I had him do all of weekly planning and I listened but I pretended I was to busy updating records (which I was but...) and would only help when he asked my opinion, He's led all of daily planning, and starting up lessons and teaching. I basically have played like a district leader would when he comes to a area that's not his for a trade off. But because of that the only things I have been writing in my planner are the appointments we set up with people.

So last week I talked about us teaching a guy and him being "pricked" in the heart by the spirit and got him to commit to everything, This week we tried it again. We tried it on one of our investigators who was baptized but never confirmed a member of our church. He has been giving us every lame excuse he could think of, he was super afraid of what his family would think If he did join, and we wanted to have basically a do or die lesson with him. 

We went in there and I didn't write anything down in my planner and I had no clue what we planned ha ha. I caught on when my companion led out with that acts chapter 2 verse that says pricked in the heart and said "today we are planning on you having that experience" I popped the restoration video into his DVD player and watched it until we both felt the spirit. We then stopped the video right then and pointed out that we all felt it. He seemed a little shocked but didn't deny it, he couldn't. We had him. I then invited him to be baptized again. He thought about it and battled within his mind and then vocally contemplated it.  

Eventually he turned though and said "I can relate to what you guys are feeling....but" and then started sharing why he feels like he doesn't need to change and how God will allow him to stay the same person, and then said "I have all of these problems with your church, but I don't want to ruin this feeling so I won't tell you". After he reacted a bit more unfavorably to the spirit. 

I then told him I only have 9 months left on my mission so I intend to spend it on people who will actually progress, and we followed the example of Snoop Dog and  dropped him like he was hot. He said he would call us still, thats what every one says though. 

We have now dropped 23 investigators in the last 3 months. For some reason I still have 11 people on my board! But those ones are ones we wanna keep. It was cool though I now got to see both reactions to the "Pricked in the heart" deal  the ones who gain courage from it and those who get "cut to the heart" when they feel it. I am glad I didn't have to go through what Stephen did though; luckily I was not bit, or hit by rocks.

We have zero snow at all, infact I didn't even wear my thermals a few days ago, the rest of the state is getting it though from what I have heard.

Well I gotta go 
Bye I love you have a good day!
Don't get shot!

- Elder Truman Rex Crockett