We did something that has not been done for quite some time in this ward... We had a new investigator at church! I will give you the back story as to how we were able to find him and how we got him to come to church. We got a text from church headquarters with a name, address and a first name, Brian. We put it off for a few days and forgot about the whole thing, but one night we didn't know who to go by. We couldn't think of anyone that really needed us to stop by. Then Elder Allen remembered about the referral! We called him to see if we could swing by and he was so excited! He told us to come right away and talk to him. We drove over and he was sitting out in his garage waiting for us with chairs set up. We found out that he was drunk. But not like the sloppy making no sense drunk but enough to be noticeable. The visit went great besides that. He is just a little lost. He is not happy with his life at the current stage and he wants to find the happiness and joy that only God can give him. It was neat to see this tatted, pierced up guy break down and see that he wasn't reaching his potential. We are way excited for him and the path he wants to go down. He came to church on Sunday and he was a little nervous because he has only been to church once in his whole life. But everyone was super nice and made him feel welcomed. People were excited that we had someone new there so that made it easier for them to fellowship him.
I really hope that is finding this new investigator will get the members excited and help them to find the desire to do missionary work themselves. It is hard to be so passionate about something that I do not have total control over. That has been a big learning experience for me. I am finding that it takes a lot of love and even more patience. I would love to just be able to find tons of new people to teach every week but the best teaching opportunities come from the referrals that members give us. If the investigator is referred from a member they have an immediate friend, support and someone to turn to. They know they are loved and the experience is all around better. I am excited for the day that we all work together and are on the same page.
Elder Allen and I have been getting along great! We are laughing a ton and really figuring out how each other works. We are a bit different in our approaches but that is a good thing in most cases. Because of that we can work with groups differently and apply what we want in a way that best suits their needs. We live with another set of missionaries that are just as wild as we are so its a party every time we are together. Sometimes it is a bit distracting and we have to slow it down a bit but we are figuring it out.
We had a huge mission wide service day this week. We all got together in the dirt of Avondale to help paint six pretty run down homes. It was a blast to get to serve such humble people but every better to see all of my friends from the mission and catch up.
In other news I am learning how to play basketball haha. Me and a ball don't go together as well as some handlebars but Elder Allen is being awfully patient with me. The roommates I have now all love to play so if I don't play I am left out! So I am having to take baby steps and just get better each time. It's a work in progress for sure.
Well I love you all and hope you have a great week and a great time trick-or-treating on Friday night. Thank you for everything you do. Keep it up!
Until next week,
Elder Cole Safford
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| The household. Left to right. Fackrell, Allen, Searle, me |
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