JAN_15_19_JOHN_TOW_From Mom
Hey there Mom!
This week has been kind of up and down. We had the opportunity to meet a lot of the part member families in our area, which is great for us. Part Member Families are always an excellent source of finding people to teach, as oftentimes they have kids who want to be baptized, as well as spouses or friends who are curious about the church. That proved true, and we actually have dinner appointments with two of them this next week! So hopefully those go well and we are able to begin teaching their families soon!
Bill came to church yesterday, which was awesome! He liked Sunday school quite a bit, but wasn't a big fan of Sacrament Meeting
He told us that it was... boring. Which I guess I can understand. This ward's Sacrament Meetings are pretty boring. The two speakers yesterday talked about genealogy and the name of the church. Not really the most exciting topics. And we asked Bill how he felt while he was there and he said, "I just didn't feel like I was in the house of the Lord." NOT really what you want to hear.
Everybody did a really good job of fellowshipping him, and he seemed to like the people there. Elder Foster and I think that he just doesn't really know how to recognize the Spirit. Which really sucks because we've been trying really hard to teach him how, he just doesn't seem to get it. We believe that he has already received his answer that the Book of Mormon is true, he just doesn't realize or acknowledge it. It's causing me quite a bit of stress, primarily because he's the only one of our Investigators that we see consistently. I don't know why the Lord still hasn't made it clear to him that the Book of Mormon is true, but if HE CIULD GET ON THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT. It's starting to try my patience.
The earlier part of this week was not super fun either. Elder Foster and I had FOUR Investigators drop us due to concerns about polygamy. Apparently they read a ton of stuff on the internet about us and didn't want to meet with us anymore. For a little while there, Elder Foster and I had a ton of people to teach from our own efforts, but just like that, they disappeared. It's been kind of a discouraging week, but I have faith that next week will be better! Like you said at the end of your email, I've just got to make it that way!
I've recently been having a lot of difficulty receiving revelation, which is kind of a big problem as a missionary. Almost everything that we do should be directed by revelation. But I feel as though there's this barrier between me and the Spirit for some reason. I used to be pretty good at teaching, but recently I haven't known what to say. I used to have good ideas regarding what to teach to Investigators, but now I have no idea. This past week, I gave probably the worst District Council Training I've EVER given. I kind of just threw it together last minute, because I had NO idea what to talk about. Right up until the day of District Council, my mind was still blank. Thats never happened to me before.
Im sort of at a loss of what to do. There are some obvious adjustments that need to be made, and so I am going to start with those. Maybe I need to be more obedient? More charitable? Maybe I've become too stagnant as a missionary? I was reading in my patriarchal blessing recently and it mentions setting goals. It says, "For you, the Lord will answer your diligence and faithfulness as you set worthy and righteous goals for yourself. Set goals that are obtainable. Goals that are Spiritual. As you are faithful and work hard, the Lord will help you. You will be made stronger and more capable in your callings and stewardships that will be placed upon your shoulders. Remember He is there to support His worthy sons and daughters in the righteous desires of their hearts."
Maybe that's the answer? Maybe I need to be more driven, maybe I need something to aim towards? Maybe I need to evaluate the weaknesses in my character and set goals to make those strengths? I feel like that may be the answer. I feel that maybe I've become content to go through the motions as a missionary, and need to focus on improvement. Without getting discouraged and depressed, of course. That'll be the key.
Anyways, sorry for this super long rant. I think I just needed to get it all out of me to determine a solution.
Anyways, I've got to go shopping! I love you Mom!!
Elder Jake Gonzales
This week has been kind of up and down. We had the opportunity to meet a lot of the part member families in our area, which is great for us. Part Member Families are always an excellent source of finding people to teach, as oftentimes they have kids who want to be baptized, as well as spouses or friends who are curious about the church. That proved true, and we actually have dinner appointments with two of them this next week! So hopefully those go well and we are able to begin teaching their families soon!
Bill came to church yesterday, which was awesome! He liked Sunday school quite a bit, but wasn't a big fan of Sacrament Meeting
Everybody did a really good job of fellowshipping him, and he seemed to like the people there. Elder Foster and I think that he just doesn't really know how to recognize the Spirit. Which really sucks because we've been trying really hard to teach him how, he just doesn't seem to get it. We believe that he has already received his answer that the Book of Mormon is true, he just doesn't realize or acknowledge it. It's causing me quite a bit of stress, primarily because he's the only one of our Investigators that we see consistently. I don't know why the Lord still hasn't made it clear to him that the Book of Mormon is true, but if HE CIULD GET ON THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT. It's starting to try my patience.
The earlier part of this week was not super fun either. Elder Foster and I had FOUR Investigators drop us due to concerns about polygamy. Apparently they read a ton of stuff on the internet about us and didn't want to meet with us anymore. For a little while there, Elder Foster and I had a ton of people to teach from our own efforts, but just like that, they disappeared. It's been kind of a discouraging week, but I have faith that next week will be better! Like you said at the end of your email, I've just got to make it that way!
I've recently been having a lot of difficulty receiving revelation, which is kind of a big problem as a missionary. Almost everything that we do should be directed by revelation. But I feel as though there's this barrier between me and the Spirit for some reason. I used to be pretty good at teaching, but recently I haven't known what to say. I used to have good ideas regarding what to teach to Investigators, but now I have no idea. This past week, I gave probably the worst District Council Training I've EVER given. I kind of just threw it together last minute, because I had NO idea what to talk about. Right up until the day of District Council, my mind was still blank. Thats never happened to me before.
Im sort of at a loss of what to do. There are some obvious adjustments that need to be made, and so I am going to start with those. Maybe I need to be more obedient? More charitable? Maybe I've become too stagnant as a missionary? I was reading in my patriarchal blessing recently and it mentions setting goals. It says, "For you, the Lord will answer your diligence and faithfulness as you set worthy and righteous goals for yourself. Set goals that are obtainable. Goals that are Spiritual. As you are faithful and work hard, the Lord will help you. You will be made stronger and more capable in your callings and stewardships that will be placed upon your shoulders. Remember He is there to support His worthy sons and daughters in the righteous desires of their hearts."
Maybe that's the answer? Maybe I need to be more driven, maybe I need something to aim towards? Maybe I need to evaluate the weaknesses in my character and set goals to make those strengths? I feel like that may be the answer. I feel that maybe I've become content to go through the motions as a missionary, and need to focus on improvement. Without getting discouraged and depressed, of course. That'll be the key.
Anyways, sorry for this super long rant. I think I just needed to get it all out of me to determine a solution.
Anyways, I've got to go shopping! I love you Mom!!
Elder Jake Gonzales
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