Monday, July 29, 2013 - "And we go..."

Hola Mi Familia! Well, this week has been a bit bland. Nothing really too exciting happened. It has also been kind of a frustrating week with investigators. However, we have recently had a Branch Mission Leader called and this week we had our first meeting with him and we are all excited to work and change some things in the branch and get this district moving so that in a few months they can reach STAKE! The lady and kids....have kind of been drying up. They aren't really keeping their commitments that we give them and we think they are losing interest and are not really wanting to be baptized. We watched the powerful Joseph Smith Movie with them Tuesday and it was really neat and at the end they were all excited and began to ask questions and one thing led to another and they began playing games while we were teaching and some left and weren't paying attention and when we got their attention we said that we wanted to kneel down right there and have them give a prayer and that they asked about if what we were teaching was true and if Joseph Smith really was a true prophet. We kneeled and decided who was going to offer the prayer. The prayer began and in the middle the kids began laughing and were laughing the whole way through and it just wasn't a good experience. We left feeling quite down and annoyed that they were taking things seriously. We have been talking and we think that they really don't want to progress and know for themselves if baptism is what they should do. They are just too set on their beliefs about baptism and they don't want to understand the Restoration. Well, we have done all we can, but in the end I think we may just have to leave them. We have had the opportunity to teach the message of "The Restoration" this week. We are beginning to share it with everyone: investigators, less actives, and members. I am loving teaching this message in particular. The spirit is so special and so strong when we teach this fantastic message. Sometimes you can see like a light go on in people's eyes when they realized that this message is familiar or that it is true. We have seen some special experiences this week with people being really excited to say a pray and to ask if it is true. Like it says in Preach My Gospel: there are so many people looking for the truth, but they just don't know where to find it and sometimes they don't even know they are looking for it, until they find it and then they know. Well, last week you wanted to know about our funny lady so I must tell you a little. She also has been kind of drying up. She work Sundays and so it is really hard for her to go to church and sometimes she has the opportunity to work Saturdays so that she can go to church on Sunday. But she has flat out told us that it just works better for her to have her day off be Saturday than Sunday and she just doesn't like working Saturdays and having days off Sunday. She really isn't understanding how important it is to go to church and sometimes make a sacrifice. We aren't visiting her as often now maybe once a week if that. This week I have been reading "The Miracle Of Forgiveness" by Pres. Kimball and I have just been loving it! I am going to finish soon and lately I have been reading about forgiveness and how amazing of a thing it is. It is really necessary for us to forgive other to want to progress in this life and receive an eternal reward in the life to come. I have read many stories of people of people who have gone so far as to forgive others who have killed loved ones. That is truly amazing! I would want to think that I could do that, but that just seems really hard and I bet it takes a lot of charity and courage to be able to do that. One of the greatest miracles of forgiveness is that of what our Heavenly Father and our Savior give us. Think of all the sins and disobedience we commit each and every day and they are always willing to accept us back and to give us forgiveness for everything we do. And I even like that God says that he "remembers it no more". That is truly a miracle of forgiveness. Well, sorry if my email is a little dry and short this week. And with no questions it is even shorter. We will try and make something more fun and exciting happen for next week! Enjoy the rest of you vacays! I love and miss you all tons! ¡Yo sé que vive mi Señor! Con Mucho Amor, Elder Joyner