Monday, June 11, 2012

Forgiveness

Hello!

Sorry there won't be pictures this week, but the only place that's 'approved' doesn't have the capability to attach a camera by USB. So, we may have to wait a while for pictures. I'll try.

Well, it was a rough week. We don't have any investigators to teach and it seems like the Summer season has fired people up against us. But we can only take what we get and just continue to serve.


I did have one neat story this week. It was really a good learning experience that I'm sure I won't forget.


We were standing on the street yesterday, waiting for a marshutni to take us to church, when this one lady (about 40) walks up to us and yells "You have no right to do this!" We stand there for a second and then Elder Smith said "No right to do what?" and then she went off. She started by telling us we destroy whole countries and that we were from Satan and that we worship Satan, regardless of the badge we wear. Elder Smith pulled out a picture of his family and said "Do they look evil to you?" and she said "Are they part of your religion?", he said yes. Then she said "They're all from Satan too!" and then she went on to say that we're just trash in their country and even got a 60 year old man next to her to take sides with her and they both started yelling at us telling us they were sure we got paid well to come and lie to them all. The marshutni came and it was just our luck she was going the same direction as we were. Elder Smith got to go up front, but I was stuck in the back facing in her direction. She started up again as soon as we were going and started yelling to everyone else in the Marshutni about how we don't believe in Christ and don't believe in churches and should eat with the swine (that's a big insult here). She then said "You're not even going to church are you?" and I said "We're going right now to church," and she was like "Oh, YOUR church. Where you worship Satan". I couldn't take it anymore and just looked out the window, and began to cry. Not out loud, but I couldn't help but let tears go. It had been such a rough week just walking around and getting yelled at, and I was so excited that morning to get up and go to church, and then this lady had to come and ruined my day. I would have been able to handle it if it was both of us, but Elder Smith was up front and everything was poured onto me.


 So I just sat, and cried (Whatever. Men can cry. I can still do 50 push ups in a row and I like going to air shows and watching planes blow things up). Arguing wouldn't do anything, I learned that early in my mission. Eventually the lady just stopped. And right before I got off, she turned to me and said "Boy? I'm sorry. I hope you'll forgive me. I won't remember you poorly after this." I smiled in forgiveness and got off, still pretty emotionally messed up and not being able to get stable words out.

 Later I thought of the scripture in Alma, Alma 24:20-26 where The Anti-Nephi-Lehis buried their weapons of war and let the enemy slaughter them when they fell upon them. That single act caused the Lamanites to be swollen in their hearts for what they had done and "...repented of the things which they had done". And in that day, more people were added to the people of God than those who had been slain.  So the Lord works in mysterious ways :)

But yeah, anyways, my mood lifted as soon as I smelled a new book at church :)

Plus, that afternoon there was a double rainbow :)

Also, there was a wedding right outside our window a few days ago. It was way interesting :) We saw one of our members actually right in the middle of it.

Another guy tried to J-walk. The cops blew their whistle. The guy started yelling "I'm walking here! I'm not freaking (word substituted) walking down to that crosswalk all the way over there! Who do you think you are?!" then continued to walk across the street. The cops walk away :p You can tell there's not much respect for the police over here.


Had a zone conference this week too. Favorite line of the conference: God knows our weaknesses, but he also knows our strengths, and uses them. :) You are a puzzle piece to many different puzzles. Imagine how frustrated you get when just one puzzle piece is missing. It ruins the whole puzzle.


Love you all :))


Elder Hammer 



Part of Jared's letter to me:

...So that one craft that our member does is embroidery I think. Not the cross-stitch. She wants to be able to make temples for everyone in the mission because that's really all she does at home. So I don't know if there are online things or books, but I just wanted a cheep gift like that for her because she makes them for the missionaries for free (I'm getting an LA temple one with 'Los Angeles' in Armenian :) )

About the fruit though, they have lots of it here. It's amazingly good, but I'm not sure how nutritious it is. The food here in general doesn't have vitamins because they don't rotate crops here properly and they don't put in the effort to change their ways :/ But oh well.

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