getting colder

No heiiiii!!

 

Another week of thrills and chills has past in the adventures of Elder Watson and Co. Time for a lil filler-in of the highlights of this past week:

 

-It was my birthday!! I took myself and my comp out to lunch at a restaraunt called Amarillos . . .it's kinda like a Mexican Grill. Pretty good. All in all, it was a good one. I'm especially grateful that I was able to spend it here in the service of others. I can't believe I'm 21 . . . like I said in my most recent letter home . . . I think I could still pass as a 16 year old, haha.

-I had to translate one day for the seminary class. The usual teacher was sick, so Elder Berg, the senior missionary here, was asked to teach . . . .so I had to translate for him, both the things he taught, and the things the class would say back to him. It was pretty fun.

-I think I have mentioned in the past, but we have a great group of recent convert members. We were able to meet with a few of them this past week and just refresh their minds of the things they learned before their baptisms. One of them just came back from China, and he presents the most heartfelt questions about the gospel I have ever seen. It's noticable he thinks about this all the time. Another convert from Africa is struggling to make a living here and won't ask for help. He starves himself because he has no money and he is waiting to be accpeted in the local university in the winter. The branch brought him groceries and will continue to do it. I think he is one of my most favorite people I have met on my mission. His name is Prosper, from Tanzania, and he is extremely musically talented at the guitar and piano . . . . he can just listen to something and mimic it on the guitar or piano perfectly! He is so humble and so nice, a great example to me. I'm glad to see he is getting helped out.

-We found out that one of our investigators, Deo, plays basketball once a week with a bunch of friends . . . so . . .in an effort to meet these friends we tagged along with him on Friday night. Most all of them are foreigners, but most all of them were pretty good at basketball. We made good friends with them and hopefully we can meet with a few of them soon. My comp and I even got to shoot some hoops with them and I have to say, even though they were good . . . we still represented the USA pretty well, despite the fact that it has been nearly 2 years since I've played!! haha

-We had a DA with a part-member couple that served us Root-Beer Floats for dessert!! It was a big surprise and very yummy. Root Beer is scarce here, and many don't even know what a Root Beer Float is. haha, random thought I know

-We set a Baptismal Date with one of our newer investigators!! For now it's just set as a goal. He's from India, and he's been coming to FHE and YSA activities and even came to church yesterday!

 

I think that's enough updates for now . . . . .time is always short.  This week we are driving to Oulu for a Specialized Training Meeting for the whole zone. I'm excited for that! Then, of course, Yleiskonferenssi!!!! (General Conference) I'll only miss the Sunday Afternoon session.

 

I've been humbled a few times this past week to see the hand of the Lord guiding me in this work. In one instance, at a door, there was a woman whose mother had just died the night before. I tried to tell her of our conforting message about eternal families, but she graciously declined. He can place us in the right places, but He cannot force the results we always desire . . .people have thier agency. But it was cool to see how we were placed there for her at that time. Another instance was yesterday. Our plans got all mixed up and we ended up driving around looking for places to knock doors. I almost parked in one place, but didn't feel good about it so I drove on and finally ended up parked in a big parking lot in front of a huge apartment complex. Instead of starting in the A stairwell, I felt we should start in the B stairwell instead. The first door we knocked just so happened to want to let us in AND she was a good friend of the man with whom we set a baptismal date the day before! 

 

I know the Lord stands at the head of this work. I bear witness that it is true. I love it. I love my mission and the time, lessons, and experiences He has given me. I know Jospeh Smith to be the Prophet of the Restoration in these latter days. The Lord took a boy who had never prayed vocally in his life (see JSH. . .I never knew that!) and turned him into a powerful instrument in the hands of God.

 

Love you all. Kiitos kaikesta!

 

Rakkaudella,

 

Vanhin Watson