Have I ever said how much I love Thunderstorms? We've been getting
rainstorms every evening for the past couple weeks. I think that's just what
happens during summer time in Ohio, hence the reason it's so green. We've
been caught in a couple nasty ones and we've gone through a few umbrellas.
But I LOVE LIGHTNING. Here it goes nonstop. It's not like a flash and
then pause and then another flash. It's like constant camera flashes that
go off like a hundred people surrounding you taking pictures. It's
sweet. You just have to experience it. We live by the church kind
of on top of a hill so we can see it light up all around us. A couple
nights ago a tree by the church was struck with lightning. I'll attach the
photo I took after church.
Oh, before I forget, I will probably need another journal in the
next couple weeks. It's about full! I've been writing in it in Spanish
recently so hopefully when I'm 60 years old I'll still remember Spanish so I
can understand it...
So as I said last week, Monday was a fun time at the Zoo.
Tuesday we got to go with the zone leaders to the mission home.
We had breakfast and personal study with President Porter; it was sweet! He
invited us to go during our interviews with him the week before.
Wednesday we had district meeting and then did exchanges. I
brought Elder Wells to Norwood because he had opened up the area with Elder
Arveseth several months back. So he showed me some new potentials and former
investigators. President is really happy with our area right now. The Lord has
really blessed us with some good success recently.
Thursday we exchanged back and we had hamburgers with
Brother R… and then taught C… about the Book of Mormon. He's our
age and we've become really good friends with him. We invited him to
be baptized and he wants to do it! He'll be preparing for baptism in
the coming weeks but we need to help him with some word of wisdom
issues first :)
Friday we taught the G….. We finally taught them a full lesson
about the restoration and the spirit was there but boy oh boy was the
adversary really working against us. During that lesson there were lots
of distracting phone calls and crying children and extra noises
and stuff, especially in the critical moments of teaching the first vision
and extending baptism. But hey, that's just another testimony that this
work is true otherwise why would there be so much opposition against
it! It's going to be hard for them to make some changes from their
previous traditions, but they are going to get there
if they just keep working at it I just know it! We played soccer with them
that night and had a good time anyways.
Saturday a rainstorm stopped just in time for the pioneer
primary activity. After helping out by running the snow cone machine for a
couple hours we went to help a less active. This particular less active member
has a nonmember wife that has been resistant towards any contact with the
church in the past. So we took an Ammon approach and decided to just
serve them first. But with Elder Garcia's broken wrist and the member's
bad lungs, guess who got to move the washer, and refrigerator, and 200
lb. TV out of their basement after hauling tons of old wood and bricks and
cement to a garbage bin? Yep, this guy. So I woke up with a pretty sensitive
back Sunday morning. But all is well now and we really got to know the family a
lot more and it was actually a lot of fun. And they sent us home with
tons of food :)
Sunday I fasted for our investigators. They've all been
doing really well and they are starting to progress nicely but there is
opposition that each of them are facing. We went to church and C…
never answered so he didn't come but for the first time ever, the entire G…
family came! They came and we knew they would! So we are happy for that.
Later in the evening we taught J… about the Fall and the reason why
we need a Savior. I love being a missionary. I get to just study and
teach the Doctrine of Christ all the time, 24/7. Then before the end of
the night we met with one of our investigators' husband. He and she have been
having marriage struggles for years but they are both wanting to come to
church because they think that will be good for their family. They couldn't be
more right. But it was a rather interesting visit because he was
drinking with some friends. He was more sober but the friends were on
either side of us falling on their knees and, pointing to our white
shirts, telling us we were angels, and then one of them burst into
inconsolable tears and just cried the rest of the time haha. But angels or
not we were there to help them and give them some support and words of
guidance.
Well the lady that is next to me is now talking to herself
really loud and it's super distracting so that's probably my cue to get
off. All in all things are going well, and with transfers coming up next week I
actually hope that me and Elder Garcia get to stay here for at least another
transfer. I could see myself finishing my mission here. I want see
these families progress and I want to see a Spanish branch get started
here! But anyways, you're in my prayers and I love you all
tons, adios! :D
Elder Graf
