Is that my bike?

When sis p had me punch in your phone number to send you that picture, I accidentally did it wrong. We quickly got a text back " you got the wrong number, but im Mormon too, GO ELDERS!!!" ha ha. 

This week has been a week.

My companion likes to make fun of me, it's because I forgot how to tie a tie. My knots used to be really nice, but I forgot how to do that and now they are very one sided and awkward looking. You would think after two years of tieing a tie a person would never be able to forget how to do it well.... my life is so hard!

My companions bike got stolen. We on p-day changed in the zone leaders war-torn apartment that was damaged by the sprinklers from the fire alarm going off. While there, my companion lost our keys there and we left not knowing we didn't have them. It was easy enough for me to break into my apartment complex at the end of that night so we really had no need. The Zone leaders said they'd come over and give them to us in the morning... Yup the Zoneleaders never came, I guess it's in their job description because thats how it is with every zone leader ever. SO because of that I opened the garage with out a key so we could get out bikes out and we left. Yup... we also didn't have they key to the Disk Detainer bike lock, and there was no way I would be able to pick that so we didn't use it because we couldn't. Yup and his bike went missing eventually. Again they stole the broken down girls bike that could only use it's front breaks and half of it's gears; it also had a sticker of Jesus on the handle bars, I hope they can live with themselves as they continue to see that sticker. But yes they left the fully functional road bike, my pride, my joy, my ability to race cars was the only thing they took because now I had to walk with it so my companion could keep up.

Now every where we go there are two comments made when we see a bike. "Is that my (your) bike?' or when ever we see a bike without a owner "free bike?!!!". 

I don't think I can accomplish my goal anymore. The only way I could is if other people who I used to teach miraculously join the church in another area. But it all depended on one lesson this week, let me tell you about it:

We had been struggling to keep in contact with F since she got her new job. We always seem to contact her if we sit at a bus stop and call people. So we called all the people on our to do list while sitting at a bus stop. A bus pulled up and I said here she is.... nope. Not 30 seconds later did she walk around the corner and walk up to us ha ha! 80% of the time, it works! We got in contact and we set up a appointment at the library the next day. We called the lady who I wanted to be her fellowshipper and we got it arranged right then and there, It was a miracle! I have tried that for over a month now and it hasn't worked this whole time!!!!!! I was so excited I was thinking it through: we finally contacted her and she now has a schedule so we can learn it and meet regularly, she has a fellowshipper now who is going to bring her to the YSA activities like F wanted. and the lesson for her was perfect and would have helped her progress loads. THis was perfect, the deck was STACKED!!!! From there the only outcome I could see was her joining the church soon after I left if not before. 

So we showed up the next day and found her at a computer like usual. She was a little busy and so she had us go get the key to the study room. I did and we waited for her in the room. Like 15 minutes passed and we went out and asked her to join us, she snapped "give me privacy, I am busy!" as she was watching a youtube video of a guy singing and facebook messaging. 

Not wanting to make a public scene we went back into the room. We waited..... I went out and told her we only have a half hour before we have to go somewhere else and she could do that after our lesson, she told me she was busy and she could only do it now, as she continued to scroll on facebook. I went back and like 5 minutes later I was sick of it and went to invite her to the YSA pokemon dance that night and to leave the building to actually go do work. When I walked out she wasn't there anymore.

I was ticked. we left like we planned. I was so ticked. That was the lesson. that was the deal breaker. That was the one lesson that was a for sure we had in the bag to help her become converted. I was so ticked. I thought the whole rest of the day and ever since about that, it still frustrates me. Because of her inability to abstain for 30 minutes it ruined the lesson, it ruined her path to conversion, it ruined our contact again, it ruined my goal,.....But it taught me a valuable lesson that I had only had slight promptings to. 

Christ-like attributes are essential to some one becoming converted, and some one can't be converted if they do not exercise those attributes. Because of her inability to be Temperate she wasn't able to progress, same with every one because of their inability to be Humble they don't accept correct principals and they don't progress. Because of their lack of work Ethic they don't know How to be diligent enough to get a answer to a prayer.

That ran through my head the whole rest of the day.

That night Sis P took us out to one of her investigators she picked up when she was a ward missionary. ( a amazing example of a member missionary, not only did she know how to teach and what PMG says but she had her own teaching pool too!!! It was a Missionary present lesson, not a member present. I want that.). And I was able to get one of them to spit out his concerns, all of which were questions of the soul that he didn't understand that I slayed tactfully. '

But He got ticked (i didn't recognize this but Sis p did) because he didn't want to believe what I just expounded from the scriptures Sis P then helped him recognize he was being prideful and then taught him how to be humble and he then accepted my teaching that it could be true. I was in AWE! I had been thinking about that all day long and it was a perfect example of how to teach some one the Christlike attribute they needed so they can become converted. If F didn't create a need for that concept I probably wouldn't have learned from that at all, which would have been terrible because I have been studying that for over a year now.

My problem now is I am struggling to find out all of the attributes and their opposites and how they are expressed and I have been racking my mind about it all week since, and today I am in a bad mood because in my personal studies I thought I was gonna answer all of my questions, but no I kicked over like 30 more rocks and found endless tunnels when I thought I was reaching the bottom of it all. I just wish I had a smart phone, it would make it possible to find these things out and life would be so much easier! 

That same day we had a appointment with a Messianic Jew who we door knocked into in a Rich neighborhood. We got there and he was there, he let us in, he prayed that he could be Humble and receive our message, at the end of that lesson I determined he has all the attributes some one needs to be converted and If he gets a answer to his prayer I am pretty sure he will join the church in a matter of weeks. I haven't stopped knocking Rich neighborhoods ever since =p. We've been having good success there too which is funny because most missionaries hate knocking those places because they aren't compelled to be humble, but we've done pretty good and I believe all you need to do is understand correct principals of finding in order to have success there.

I have 6-7 p-days before I got home. 2 this week, 1 next week, and 2 my last week and then all the other time that after transfer calls take place I assume will be a p-day too.

Well I gotta go

Bye I love you have a good day!

Don't get shot!
 (I had a dream tonight that my companion shot some one, it was terrifyingly realistic! I was relived when I woke up) 

-- 

- Elder Truman Rex Crockett