Blessings in Disguise

Howdy y'all! Another week has passed in the mission and it was pretty normal, so I'll just jump right into it.

Monday: Elder Phabia had another eye appointment, so we got to hang out with Elder Collier for a little while. It was pretty chill. After that we just went back to the flat and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Tuesday: We started the day off with going to see a recent convert to help her understand and get started on some family history work. She's very excited to go to the temple and it's very amazing to see one with so much faith! After that we went to find a media referral. It turns out that she's a young girl who wants to be taught but can't because of where she lives. After the small high from earlier, this was very disappointing. After that we taught the same family who's progressing very well. A day of ups and downs.

Wednesday: Wednesday was a bad day, as both me and my companion were feeling a little off. When we got to the area, we both began to feel really sick and had to sit at the chapel praying to feel better so we could work. Eventually the other elders showed up and we were able to have some nice conversations with them. They joined in on the prayers and eventually we started to feel good enough to get on the bikes. After that we went to hopefully go teach many lessons, all of which ended up canceling. It was a very rough day. Even with all that, just wait for the spiritual thought!

Thursday: We started this day off with DCM, ending on a poor note. My companion got a little frustrated with the decision our DL made to reward a different area for their productivity. The reason he gave it to someone else and not us was because our daily reporting wasn't fully 100% accurate. My companion was very annoyed and so it miffed DL a bit. District lunch was a little awkward after that as I tried to apologize. The rest of the day was spent just trying to find people and lessons.

Friday: Zone Conference! For this special Zone Conference we had a guest, Elder and Sister Silva of The Seventy! He spoke after the wonderful messages given by President and Sister Holmes. He spoke all about finding through members, both active and inactive. He also spoke about a very helpful way to find as we teach, whoever may be sitting across from us. It was very insightful! The rest of the day was spent in the area, and I made sure to report every little thing accurately!

Saturday: Saturday was a very productive day. We went to the area a little earlier than normal, hoping to use the extra half hour to find someone new. We started off with a visit to a member, helping them to find what was wrong with their washing machine. Then we went to a media referral's place and taught them the Book of Mormon! She loved it and promised to read. She seemed genuine and we have good hopes for her even though she went out of town for maybe this week. After that we went to another media referral and taught him about the Great Apostasy. He might've been hung over but we think he understood everything well. After that we spent our time with members and found another person who wants to introduce us to their family! It was a great day and I also made sure to report everything super accurately, down to the minute!

Sunday: Coming to church, we didn't expect much. It was a little rainy and gray, but we were proven wrong. We had made a goal to try to see 12 recent coverts at church, but instead we had 17 show! We were very excited to see them and they seemed equally excited to see us! There was some disappointment, though, because the family that we put on date for the 29th of March were unable to attend this week. We missed them, but it seems they missed us just as much because they texted us and profusely apologized for missing. Forgiveness, NEH!? Anyways, we ate our meal with a member and then went home, teaching a couple lessons on the way out. A few hours later I started to feel sick and spent the rest of the night in bed, not eating anything for dinner. A good start to a less than good end.

Spiritual Thought: On Wednesday, when the other elders came to the chapel, the spirit that was with them was so powerful! Elder Phabia and I almost immediately gained some energy and were able to have those good strong conversations. Some of the things we talked about were enough to give us the energy to push through the day and get some work done, even though it ended up being mostly fruitless. The power of the Spirit is so strong!