Week Ten

OK first off I sent some pictures last week and that's all I got. So sorry!

We met with Zach and he does not want to take the lessons anymore nor come to church anymore so that was  little sad but I will live. We have this other Investigator named Brittney, she has been investigating the church for many years but this time she has made a ton of changes she is trying a lot harder to stop smoking and is doing good at it, she came to church this past week and loved it. She is going to try to make it more and more, so that is good. 

This week felt a bit longer then the others idk why but it was. But cool a thing happened I got my driving card so I drive the car, which is the best thing ever because my comp does not like driving and he's not the best at it ether! So yea!! Other then that this week was pretty uneventful. One cool thing though since it's the end-ish of the month we are out of money and food, so we were like crap, because not every many people feed us down here and it's funny we only get like $1.60 per meal so it's hard to make it last. But when we were almost at the end of our food supply we had a knock at the door and sister Horner handed us a big plate of sandwiches, then the next day they (Elder And Sister Horner) asked if we were doing OK on food and we said we were good, but they knew we were lying too, (and we were lying because we would have felt bad if they spent their money on us) but they took us to the store and bought us what we needed to get by for the rest of the month. so I learned that if you have faith you will not starve you will just get close too it. Other then that this week was good but long, I am trying to find a good sleeping pattern, and I am trying to fallow the rules the best that I can and I am trying to get better every day. Anyway love you all and miss you mom!

Love Elder Gordon     

Week Nine

Ok what happened this week... first off we had Monday, P-day which is always kinda fun, we almost always go up to Alexandra to hang out with the other missionaries and play some sort of game like volleyball or four square or just kick the ball around. We come back for dinner, we have a lesson or  two then plan for the next day. On Tuesday we would usually have district meeting but we had other meeting later in the week so we just had a normal day, so regular studies in the morning then out to go and teach, then planing.  Wednesday was just like Tuesday but we had seminary and bible studies. On Thursday we had Specialized training which is a big meeting with he whole Zone. The mission president comes down and talks with us and we all teach something cool, it is also when they inspect our cars see if it is sill all there, it was fun but very long. Friday was good we had a lesson with Zach and it went killer and we went to see more of our other people that we see. We went to go see the Brown's they're an older couple that just got reactivated  in the church, and they love having us over to talk and get to know us better, but they have this massage chair that is so wonderful to sit in, so I really enjoy our visits with them. Saturday was a lot like Friday, had study then had another lesson with Zach and it also went good then we also had a lesson with Rodney and he fed us lunch, it was some super good red beans and rice. Then came Sunday Church was nice, the talks we on keeping the Sabbath day holy and it was good but after sacrament  meeting Zach had to go. which is kinda sad but we thought  oh-well. Once we got home we got a call from Zach and he said the he does not want to get baptized anymore that he does not want to change and he wants to go back to his old church. so that turned my Sunday to crap. We are still planing on seeing him later this week to hopefully fix any doubts that he may have had, but we'll see. Other then that I am just keeping it real and trying my best.

Love y'all much,

Elder Gordon

After a little harassing Ryan sent me some pictures.

 

Week Eight

OK first off I keep forgetting to take pictures because there is not that many things to take pictures of. It is flat with lots of trees and because it humid here the lens on the camera just fogs up the moment I bring it outside, so I will have to find a way to fix that. I will keep trying and I forget to bring my camera with me Monday mornings to send pictures, but here are some from the other day.

OK what is a normal week? ( if ya'll even knew what that's like lol) it is the same as always. I went to Alexandria to hang out with the district and we ended up working out then we talked forever, then we went to Walmart to get food, we watched "On The Lord's Errand", which is an awesome movie if you don't know what it is about, look it up. We went on with our week, Wednesday we fasted for what felt like forever because on Wednesday we have seminary at 4 then at 5 we have bible study which go's until 6:30ish so by the time we got home or to a place to eat it's like 7 at night. But it's always a blessing, because on Thursday some Elders from up in Pineville were at Walmart doing whatever, and  this guy came up to them and had asked the elders if they belong to the church of Latter-Day Saints and of course being a missionary they talked to this guy and the guy asked if there was a building down in Marksville and that's where I am at. SO the elders gave us his contact info and we called him up and set up a lesson, and holy cow this guy is so ready to learn. We taught him the first lesson of course, and talked about his background with churches, he grow up as a Catholic but did not like them much he tried out Baptist and did not like them at all, but he had met Mormons before and he liked how happy they were. ( so even if you not a missionary you're still a missionary because even though you don't know it there are people noticing us, noticing what we do and how we do it) So he (Zach) started to read about us, then he found the missionaries up in Pineville. It's kinda funny because he got a Book of Mormon from the other elders the day before, and he told us that he was sorry because he had only read one chapter of it, and we were like " oh my " because no one reads especially before their first lesson. But anyway, we are teaching him and it going amazing. Then I had had an impression to ask the big Q (which is if he wants to be baptized) and he is set to be baptized Oct 7, YA  that's killer for sure!!!!!!!!! ( this was on Saturday) Then on Sunday he came to church on time AND he brought a friend who also wants to hear hear about the church!!!! They both stayed for all 3 hours and loved every minute of it. He had told us that he will be coming to this church for the rest of his days ( he is 21), SO that made my weekend, I just felt the power of God so strong and many answers to many prayers!!! 

Other then that, being in a small branch I had to speak again on modesty, it went really well I spoke for about 11 minutes and had a very powerful message behind it.  Other than that life is good for sure.

I am loving it down here.

Love,
Elder Gordon

Week Seven

Ok first off I did not remember that the scripture I now love was the mutual theme for this year and that Noelle sang that song! But ya absolutely I want that scripture on my plaque because it applies to so much in our life,  in everyone's life!

It's crazy to think about the time and how fast it is moving. It feels like just yesterday that I was driving my car fast, riding bikes, and not caring about time; now I am not driving, and I have to worry about time quit a bit.  I did have a cool experience, we went on splits (where we trade missionary's for a day) so I went and stayed up in Alexandra Thursday through Friday. Up there they don't have a car so I got to bike yay, too bad it was on a hot day and my shirt was so wet with my sweat it was insane, but I still got to ride my bike!  The splits were also super fun we went knocking on doors down this rich neighborhood over in Alex and not one person opened the door. It was funny because they all believed in Jesus Christ but did not want to hear our message or what we had to say. After splits we had ZTM ( Zone Training Meeting ) on Friday and that was cool it is where we gather all the missionaries in our Zone and talk, get to know one another better, and talk about new things that have or are coming up in the mission.

This Sunday was fast Sunday and I never thought that I would fast twice a week, since I fast every Wednesday too. I have now done it and it's not bad at all. My testimony of fasting and the power of it has grown so much. I can see the blessings that come from it. 

I can't think of very many weird things that happen to me down here, I don't know why but it's pretty normal here. However, we do come across many different people with many different stories, like the other day we knocked on this one house and an older black woman came out all excited, she was all like "Hey I am a  missionary for my church too!" She goes on telling us about her church and  what she believes in and trying to counter our beliefs, Down here a lot of people believe in the trinity (where there is only one God, no Son nor the Holy Ghost) which is strange to me because the trinity does not make sense at all. When we try to teach her/other people, how there is a God the Father, and a son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, all they do is get louder and louder saying, "There is only one God" and at this point, there is no point in trying to teach them because they don't want to be taught so we leave. 

Something that was cool -  Way last week during P-Day in the stake center me and some other missionaries started to do some works-outs, that is going to become a usual thing now, this is good! At the end of the work-out we did yoga that was so fun because I am not getting fat out here, it is not going to happen, no sir. Other than that I cannot think of anything exciting to share with y'all.

OK last but not least, ya I picked up my package and by the way I am in apt 21 not 1 but I got it. Thanks for the socks I am going to try really hard to make sure that they will last the two years. The fig bars were a nice touch because I love them and I can't find that kind here. Also thank the Canadians for the candy eggs even though they were in a million pieces, they were still the bomb. Also the talks you sent are dope to have.

I am not sure about the next package yet,  but I will let you know for sure next week.

It is funny, I am playing chess at lest twice a day and I am getting pretty good, same with the yo-yo I got a cool yo-yo from Amazon and it is super fun to play with. Other then that I am living life and pressing forward!

Love,

 Elder Gordon