Another Email - 4/20/10

Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 7:43 AM

There are days when it´s hard for me to believe that spark still exists in some people. There are days when, honestly, I don´t have patience for some of the people I meet. I can´t believe, sometimes, the things I see men who are older, and ought to know better than I how to respectfully treat others, doing. It´s one thing when someone doesn´t want to hear. That´s frequent, and there are a good number of people who know how to respectfully excuse themselves from any committment with God, or His servants. But I often find myself tested in patience when someone, proclaiming loudly to be religious, proceeds to profane the name of the very Lord they claim to serve.

For example, one day we stopped to talk with an old man, sitting outside in the shade. No sooner had we said hello, than he replied "I´m catholic, and I don´t want to change." We responded that no one had even mentioned religion, and kindly asked him to point us in the direction of where we were going. He played the silent game and, used to this, we offered him the last chance, asking again. He simply got up said "I´m gonna go now." and took his chair with him.

I´ll be honest. This kind of thing ticks me off. I felt somewhat like James and John, who wanted to call down fire on the cities which rejected the Lord. However, I´ve always got to remind myself, it´s not I, but the Lord, who will judge them.

There are, also, many good people, who are willing to listen. Every day we find someone new who, even if they´ve just a small particle of faith, we try and take them as far as their faith will allow, and try to raise their faith up. An excellent example is Eliana, who we baptized during General Conference, who now invites her family to come and visit the church on Sunday, or Ireno, called Bishop, the neighbor of one of the sisters in our ward, who we´ve been calling out to church for a good time now.

The secret of Missionary work is this: Seek out the good, and leave the bad where you found it. Grampa always taught about rocks that ought to be left where their found. That´s what the bad part of the world is. But those who really want hear, those are the ones whose memory we´ll carry home with us. Who wants to hear, those are the ones Our Father will carry back home to Him.


If President´s putting me with people to straighten them out, I don´t think so. Rather, I think he´s putting ME with people, to straighten ME out, haha. Usually President only sends Missionaries to do such wacky things when they´re APs, as I´m not, I just take care of the city where President puts me. Until now, things are going fairly well, though we´ve still got a good fight to fight before the end of the month.

Speaking of which, I´ve got to send off my report to President Tobias now, so that everything can be put in order, then I have to run after a few forms. Oh, and, if time lasts, we´ve got to paint the house, haha.