JAN_21_19_MOM_TOW_From Mom
Hey Mom!
President Bednar allowed us to decide if we wanted to have P-Day today or tomorrow due to the snow storm. Elder Foster and I determined to have it today, since we had already planned some appointments for Tuesday. So that's why you're hearing from me today.
Yup, the storm hit Towanda pretty dang hard. We were expected to get about 2 feet of snow, but only ended up getting about a foot. That's okay with me! President Bednar ordered that all of the vehicles be grounded for the past few days, which has left Elder Foster and I at a loss of what to do. We've been shoveling a ton of our neighbor's driveways, which has been fun, but exhausting. I think I can now safely say that I am an expert snow shoveler.
It's supposed to be so cold today. The high is going to be 9 degrees, with a low of - 30 with wind chill. This will undoubtedly be the coldest weather I've ever experienced. Before now, the coldest I had been in was - 12. That sucked. So we'll see what proselyting is like tonight. Hopefully we can get some appointments so we won't be tracting and finding for three hours in that type of weather. Apparently you can get frostbite as quick as 10 minutes when the temperature is this low. That doesn't sound pleasant.
We had a little bit of a scare with Bill this week. We met him on Thursday, and he seemed to be very discouraged. He has been going through a lot of crap at work, and will be getting transferred to a different location soon. He feels as though he has been doing everything we've been telling him, reading the Book of Mormon, praying to know its true, etc. And yet despite all of that, his life is going to crap. He feels that God has abandoned him, and is refusing to answer his earnest prayers. I thought he was going to drop us and tell us to get out of his house.
Anyways, I shared with him the story of Abraham and Isaac. We all know the story. God commanded Abraham to kill his beloved son, Isaac. Despite the fact that Abraham loved his son more than life itself, he loved God more. He took his son up the mountain, tied him up, and placed him on the altar. Abraham then unsheathed his knife and raised it high over his head. Just as he was about to bring the blade down, an angel appeared and commanded him to stop. Why do you think God waited so long to stop Abraham? He could have stopped him as they were climbing up the mountain, or as he was tying up his son. But no. God waited until the last possible second, when the knife was raised. God knew that Abrahm would kill Isaac. But Abraham didn't know that.
Sometimes, we go through trials in our lives that seem unbearable. We pray earnestly for God to take away our burdens, to give us a moment of relief. But he doesn't. He allows the trial to linger. And linger. And linger. Only at our lowest point, when we can't get any lower, does the Lord relieve us. The Lord knows what we are capable of handling. He knows what we're made of. But we don't. That's why we are given prolonged trials. So that WE can see what we're made of. And to strengthen us going forward.
I hope that makes sense. Anyways, it seemed to help Bill. Towards the end of the lesson, I felt prompted to make him a promise as a representative of Jesus Christ. I told them that if he read the Book of Mormon each day for the next week, that he would recieve the answer he was looking for. It's a bold statement, I know, but it felt right. Bill agreed, and has been reading a TON these past few days. He's been texting us updates on what he's reading, and it seems like he's finally beginning to recieve his answer. The scriptures in Alma 36-40 really seemed to speak to him. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for him this week.
Like I said above, he will likely be moving soon, to an area of Pennsylvania outside of our mission. That's a little discouraging, but I have faith that the next missionaries will be able to pick up right where Elder Foster and I left off. Bill is a sincere seeker of truth, one of the most sincere I've ever met. God has a plan for him. I know it.
Jason and Chelsee, the couple we have been meeting with for a while, FINALLY seems to be progressing!! They have been very slow to understand the things we've been teaching them, but Elder Foster and I had the idea to make a game out of the first lesson, and that seems to have made a difference! We've seen them quite a bit these past few days, and they seem to be getting more comfortable with us and telling us their concerns. They would have come to church again yesterday, but it got canceled.
But that's okay! They'll come next week! We're planning on committing them to be baptized at some point this week!
We were knocking at this apartment complex this week that was SO SKETCHY. The sad part is, it reminded me of my first apartment on the mission, in Lewisberry
Anyways, despite the fact that the apartment was so sketchy, we were able to find four new people to teach there! But then the landlord came out and told us that we weren't allowed to solicit in that apartment complex. Too little, too late my friend. We had already gotten 4 return appointments! THE SEEDS HAVE BEEN SOWN.
So yeah. That's basically my week at this point. Sorry I haven't sent any pictures in a long while! I just haven't really had too much motivation to take them recently! But I'll try to improve on that this week!
I love you!
Elder Jake Gonzales
President Bednar allowed us to decide if we wanted to have P-Day today or tomorrow due to the snow storm. Elder Foster and I determined to have it today, since we had already planned some appointments for Tuesday. So that's why you're hearing from me today.
Yup, the storm hit Towanda pretty dang hard. We were expected to get about 2 feet of snow, but only ended up getting about a foot. That's okay with me! President Bednar ordered that all of the vehicles be grounded for the past few days, which has left Elder Foster and I at a loss of what to do. We've been shoveling a ton of our neighbor's driveways, which has been fun, but exhausting. I think I can now safely say that I am an expert snow shoveler.
It's supposed to be so cold today. The high is going to be 9 degrees, with a low of - 30 with wind chill. This will undoubtedly be the coldest weather I've ever experienced. Before now, the coldest I had been in was - 12. That sucked. So we'll see what proselyting is like tonight. Hopefully we can get some appointments so we won't be tracting and finding for three hours in that type of weather. Apparently you can get frostbite as quick as 10 minutes when the temperature is this low. That doesn't sound pleasant.
We had a little bit of a scare with Bill this week. We met him on Thursday, and he seemed to be very discouraged. He has been going through a lot of crap at work, and will be getting transferred to a different location soon. He feels as though he has been doing everything we've been telling him, reading the Book of Mormon, praying to know its true, etc. And yet despite all of that, his life is going to crap. He feels that God has abandoned him, and is refusing to answer his earnest prayers. I thought he was going to drop us and tell us to get out of his house.
Anyways, I shared with him the story of Abraham and Isaac. We all know the story. God commanded Abraham to kill his beloved son, Isaac. Despite the fact that Abraham loved his son more than life itself, he loved God more. He took his son up the mountain, tied him up, and placed him on the altar. Abraham then unsheathed his knife and raised it high over his head. Just as he was about to bring the blade down, an angel appeared and commanded him to stop. Why do you think God waited so long to stop Abraham? He could have stopped him as they were climbing up the mountain, or as he was tying up his son. But no. God waited until the last possible second, when the knife was raised. God knew that Abrahm would kill Isaac. But Abraham didn't know that.
Sometimes, we go through trials in our lives that seem unbearable. We pray earnestly for God to take away our burdens, to give us a moment of relief. But he doesn't. He allows the trial to linger. And linger. And linger. Only at our lowest point, when we can't get any lower, does the Lord relieve us. The Lord knows what we are capable of handling. He knows what we're made of. But we don't. That's why we are given prolonged trials. So that WE can see what we're made of. And to strengthen us going forward.
I hope that makes sense. Anyways, it seemed to help Bill. Towards the end of the lesson, I felt prompted to make him a promise as a representative of Jesus Christ. I told them that if he read the Book of Mormon each day for the next week, that he would recieve the answer he was looking for. It's a bold statement, I know, but it felt right. Bill agreed, and has been reading a TON these past few days. He's been texting us updates on what he's reading, and it seems like he's finally beginning to recieve his answer. The scriptures in Alma 36-40 really seemed to speak to him. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for him this week.
Like I said above, he will likely be moving soon, to an area of Pennsylvania outside of our mission. That's a little discouraging, but I have faith that the next missionaries will be able to pick up right where Elder Foster and I left off. Bill is a sincere seeker of truth, one of the most sincere I've ever met. God has a plan for him. I know it.
Jason and Chelsee, the couple we have been meeting with for a while, FINALLY seems to be progressing!! They have been very slow to understand the things we've been teaching them, but Elder Foster and I had the idea to make a game out of the first lesson, and that seems to have made a difference! We've seen them quite a bit these past few days, and they seem to be getting more comfortable with us and telling us their concerns. They would have come to church again yesterday, but it got canceled.
We were knocking at this apartment complex this week that was SO SKETCHY. The sad part is, it reminded me of my first apartment on the mission, in Lewisberry
So yeah. That's basically my week at this point. Sorry I haven't sent any pictures in a long while! I just haven't really had too much motivation to take them recently! But I'll try to improve on that this week!
I love you!
Elder Jake Gonzales
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