Monday March 18, 2019
Dear Mom,
This week was another good one involving Zone Conference, an FHE, Interview with President, an exchange, star gazing, and a great Sunday.
Monday was a goo P-day and it was fun to talk on video call over Facebook Messenger with the fam! I loved also getting Rachel and Rebekah on there too :) That evening we went to the hospital and helped a member give a blessing to a lady that was not doing so well. We then visited some people.
Tuesday was Zone Conference. The AP's picked us up and we headed over to the Denham Springs Stake Center. We had a great Zone Conference with some really great and funny presentations. We had some really good discussions and also some great role-plays and then we had lunch. President then talked to us and we had some more great presentations. We then stayed until the AP's drove us back. We were ble to visit with other missionaries for a while. Elder Carson, who is still serving in the New Iberia (my last District) brought his Frisbee so we threw that around in the gym for a while. The AP's then drove us back and we drove over to the south part of our area and we followed up on a return appointment we made with a guy we had met in the street a little while ago. We had a great lesson with him and his friend and then we walked over to the apartment of a less active guy we have been visiting lately. His fam, who are not members, were there and we talked to them a bit and got to know them better than the previous short encounters would permit. His step-son was in the kitchen and randomly popped out asking us if we wanted to try a souffle that he had made. We said yes and he gave us some really good sweet potato souffle. We then talked with him for the next 30 minutes or more. He is a chef and he is only 19. Super cool guy.
Wednesday we worked out as usual and we took Henry (a member's dog) out on a walk as we have been doing for about a week. This member asked us to go over to his apartment every morning and night to feed his dog and take him out for a walk and to use the bathroom. It has been fun cause he is a cute little dog and he gets crazily excited whenever we open the door. We did some studies and ate lunch and then went to the church for weekly planning and interviews from President. It was good to talk to President, he is so awesome. We then drove to Gonzalez and visited some potential people to teach and cleared up some records for old addresses of members. We then went to a member's house for an FHE. It was the family of the return missionary that came to a lesson with us on the last Saturday. The family that she helped us teach came to the FHE and it went really well. We left so we could get home on time and they were all still there talking and having a good time.
Thursday we went to the Library in the afternoon so Elder Parker could figure out some stuff with his bank account. We also printed out some primary songs for some lessons we were to have. We then drove to a part-member family's house for dinner and a lesson. There was a lot of traffic so it took us about an hour instead of half an hour. They fed us some really good tacos and then we had a great lesson on facing fear. We then went to some appointments we had, a few fell through so we tracted a little around them and then we went to our last appointment which went really well.
Friday we had exchanges with the LSU Elders. I was with Elder Ritchie in their area (LSU Campus) and Elder Monson went with Elder Parker in our area. Elder Ritchie and I had some funny experiences. We biked to an area where we tried to contact some people and they weren't there but while there we met a dude in passing and scheduled a time to come back. We then went to another place to contact a guy and he wasn't there but his roommate drove up at that moment and eventually let us in. It took him a bit because he thought we were the Feds. So many people think we are the Feds which is really funny but I never met someone who was so convinced and skeptical. After talking for a bit and telling him at like three different times that we weren't the Feds, he let us in. We talked some more and he asked again like 2 more times. Then while in the middle of teaching about the Restoration, he talked about some stuff and then asked again and said "cause I got weed". He then went to his closet and brought it out to the table to role up a joint, lol! At that time his friend showed up too. We continued a little bit of conversation and then excused ourselves and set another time to come back. We walked outside and died laughing, he was a super funny guy and never has anyone straight up done something like that. It was pretty funny. we were then about to leave and we saw a girl struggling to do something at her car so we rode our bikes over and asked if she wanted help. Get this, she actually said yes! Not many people do that, it's kind of a rare occurrence, haha. We helped her put a protector on her seats for her dog and then she went and got her dog and we met it and then talked with her for quite a while. There were a lot of really cool connections, like her being form the same place Elder Ritchie was from, and her being a religious major, and being the President of the service group, and a bunch of other things. We had a good talk and then we biked back over to LSU Campus for a lesson with a recent convert. We read in the Book of Mormon and at the end we were talking about it being Elder Ritchie's B-day and Hughs, the recent convert, asked if we were doing anything special for his birthday, or if there were any events we were going to. Elder Ritchie said nothing planned yet but do you know of anything good? Hughs said yeah there are a lot. Elder Ritchie then clarified appropriate events. Hughs then counted like nine things and cancelled them off the list. That was really funny, we told him it was probably not the best idea to go to parties as missionaries, haha. But then he told us about a get together he was going to for those from Africa and stuff. He invited us to come and since he was going and there was going to be an investigator there, we made an appearance. We played an Uno game with them which was a lot of fun and then we went to the food court and got Smoothie King. We then changed and biked over to the soccer fields. Lucky for me, Friday night is soccer night where they play soccer with some people they are teaching and make more contacts. That was a lot of fun and we met some cool people. We then biked back home for the night.
Saturday we switched back in the morning and Elder Parker and I went to Branch Correlation at a member's house with the Sister Missionaries and the members fed us breakfast as usual. We then took out Henry for a walk and then did some studies. In the afternoon we drove down to Gonzalez and we had a great lesson with the same family that we had come to the FHE on Wednesday. We then knocked doors in a trailer park down there for a while and made some good contacts. We drove back up to the south part of our area and we had a few good lessons there. We also drove up to another part of our area to have a quick lesson with a family and invite them to church.
Sunday was really good. That family we invited to church on Saturday night came! All 6 of them:) They really enjoyed church and said they would come to the Easter Activity on Saturday and to church next Sunday. We then came home, ate lunch, did studies, and then drove up to the north of our area and brought our bikes with us. We made some visits and then biked from that place to another neighborhood and we had a good first contact lesson with a guy there. We then biked back to the car and drove back home. We then walked over to Brother and Sister Albert's apartment (the same people we have branch correlation with) because he invited us over to look through his telescope that night.
It was a pretty great week and this next week is going to be crazy because we have 3 exchanges!!! Until next week!
I love you Mom!!!
Love,
Elder Acton
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Monday, March 11, 2019
Week 80 Mini Miracles
Monday March 11, 2019
Dear Mom,
This week has been full of little miracles. Miracles involving food and also miracles regarding people to teach.
Monday was a good P-day with the District. We went to TopGolf and spent some time hitting golf balls. the Gonzalez Elders know the guy that owns it and he let us go for free. That night Elder Parker and I went to visit people down in Gonzalez. We were able to talk to a decent about of people in a trailer park as we tracted but we didn't have any crazy success. We tried to visit a former investigator in another trailer park and at the end f it there was a dirt road into the woods. It was dark, cold, and rainy but we decided to follow it briefly. It soon turned into a mud bog so we turned around. On the way back our light rested on a very spooky looking building in the woods with graffiti and creepy stuff on it. Mini Miracle #1; nothing bad happened, lol.
Tuesday after studies and lunch we did our weekly planning. We got some really good plans in for some of the people we are teaching. That evening we went up into the northern part of our area and contacted former investigators up there. We tracted a little bit and talked to some people that said we could come back but we didn't have any lessons. We met some people outside cooking some Chicharron. They had met missionaries before and came to church a few times. They gave us a little bit of the Chicharron and we set a time to come back. We then went to a Hispanic store called Ideal to do some store contacting. While there we checked out their food cause we were hungry but it was a little expensive, we decided against it. Then while standing back a bit just looking, a guy asks us why we are not getting anything to eat. We told him it was a bit too expensive and he told us he would pay for us. He was a super cool guy who was a member of the Catholic church. He had us get a big plate of food and bought us a nice meal and an horchata to drink. He didn't want to hear a message and said he wasn't interested but he has talked with missionaries before and wanted to do something nice for us because he respects us. Mini Miracle #2; A nice guy blessin us with food :) We ate our dinner and then we drove to the hospital and met the Sisters there so we could give a lady a blessing.
Wednesday we had District Council. That morning we got a call from Brother Foster, the President of the Elder's Quorum in Lafayette and also the Ward Mission Leader. He asked if we could help a lady move into an apartment because no one in the ward was available. After our District council our whole District drove up and we helped him and the Lafayette Bishop, Bishop Nelson, move all this lady's stuff into her apartment. It was awesome to see them again and then afterward they took our whole district to lunch at P.F. Changs, an expensive Oriental Restaurant. The food was great! I got Bibimbpa which I ejnoyed very much. Mini Miracle #3; Our whole District getting treated to expensive oriental food. We then came back to the apartment and did our studies. That evening we spent contacting former investigators and had some lessons with people we had met the week before. There was one lady we had met who had previously said we could come by the next week and she let us in for a lesson. This time instead of teaching the restoration or plan of salvation or anything like that, we showed her Family History and talked about what it is. It is a very different and weird feeling approach and almost feels like you aren't actually teaching them like you should be, but that is because it is a little bit more of a long term better result than a short term not as high probability result. She is kind of our guinea pig for our Family History efforts. We then drove to another area/apartment complex where we are teaching people and we had a few really good lessons there. Mini Miracle #4; a night full of lessons.
Thursday we went to the Church and learned from the Stake Family History Consultants how to do more of Family History and how to help other people do theirs. It was cool to learn how to do some of that stuff and at the same time do some work on our own lines. Mini Miracle #5; Family History Work. That evening we spent our time contacting people in the south part of our area and then we drove out to give a less active member a Come Follow Me book. We didn't have hardly any success and it was a pretty bleh night.
Friday we had to make a quick emergency run to Walmart because we were scrubs and with poor planning forgot to go to the store on P-day. . . We then stopped at the Church and I started preparing my talk for Sunday. We then came home and I did a little more preparation. We then received a call from a guy that Elder Parker had met 3 months ago and briefly talked to and gave a card. The guy said he wanted us to come over and teach him. Mini Miracle #6 (Part A); someone actually calling our number from the cards we give out and requesting a visit from us.We did the rest of our studies and ate dinner, because our dinner fell through, and then we visited people in the north part of our area. We had little success that night.
Saturday we walked over to a member of the English ward's apartment in our complex and he trained us in how to take care of his dog while he is gone for a week. We then came back for studies and lunch. We then drove out to Gonzalez for a lesson and we had a YSA sister who is a return missionary meet us there to teach with us and fellowship the family. We had a really good lesson on prayer and they are really solid people. Mini Miracle #7; an awesome member-present lesson with a great family. We then stayed in Gonzalez and drove to some potential investigators we felt we should contact and found some new areas where we can find more Hispanics to teach. We then headed back to the south end of Baton Rouge and contacted people over there. We then came home a little early and I worked on my talk more. And admittedly I ended up spending most of the night on it too. . .I was up til 3:16 working on it. . .and since it was daylight savings time it was totally like 4:16. . .lets just say my battery was a little low on Sunday, lol.
Sunday went well even though I was a bit tired. Mini Miracle #8; I was not near as tired as I shoulda been. My talk ended up going really well even though I felt it wasn't going to. I was able to speak the language very well as I read my talk. Mini Miracle #9; the Gift of Tongues. After church we came home and did studies and again admittedly during our comp study, while laying on the couch, we joked about studying a legos dream and our nap ended up taking up our whole study. . .Elder Parker was tired too because he had stayed up with me until about 12:00. We then ate dinner and went out to make some visits for the night. We ended up meeting a number of cool people and having some great conversations/lessons with them. We then had a super awesome convo/mini lesson with the guy that had called and requested a visit from us. Mini Miracle #6(part B); the guy that called was super solid!!! We then ended the night by taking dramatic pics in front of the most lit Chinese buffet sign ever!
It was a great week and I look forward to another great one!
Love,
Elder Acton
Dear Mom,
This week has been full of little miracles. Miracles involving food and also miracles regarding people to teach.
Monday was a good P-day with the District. We went to TopGolf and spent some time hitting golf balls. the Gonzalez Elders know the guy that owns it and he let us go for free. That night Elder Parker and I went to visit people down in Gonzalez. We were able to talk to a decent about of people in a trailer park as we tracted but we didn't have any crazy success. We tried to visit a former investigator in another trailer park and at the end f it there was a dirt road into the woods. It was dark, cold, and rainy but we decided to follow it briefly. It soon turned into a mud bog so we turned around. On the way back our light rested on a very spooky looking building in the woods with graffiti and creepy stuff on it. Mini Miracle #1; nothing bad happened, lol.
Tuesday after studies and lunch we did our weekly planning. We got some really good plans in for some of the people we are teaching. That evening we went up into the northern part of our area and contacted former investigators up there. We tracted a little bit and talked to some people that said we could come back but we didn't have any lessons. We met some people outside cooking some Chicharron. They had met missionaries before and came to church a few times. They gave us a little bit of the Chicharron and we set a time to come back. We then went to a Hispanic store called Ideal to do some store contacting. While there we checked out their food cause we were hungry but it was a little expensive, we decided against it. Then while standing back a bit just looking, a guy asks us why we are not getting anything to eat. We told him it was a bit too expensive and he told us he would pay for us. He was a super cool guy who was a member of the Catholic church. He had us get a big plate of food and bought us a nice meal and an horchata to drink. He didn't want to hear a message and said he wasn't interested but he has talked with missionaries before and wanted to do something nice for us because he respects us. Mini Miracle #2; A nice guy blessin us with food :) We ate our dinner and then we drove to the hospital and met the Sisters there so we could give a lady a blessing.
Wednesday we had District Council. That morning we got a call from Brother Foster, the President of the Elder's Quorum in Lafayette and also the Ward Mission Leader. He asked if we could help a lady move into an apartment because no one in the ward was available. After our District council our whole District drove up and we helped him and the Lafayette Bishop, Bishop Nelson, move all this lady's stuff into her apartment. It was awesome to see them again and then afterward they took our whole district to lunch at P.F. Changs, an expensive Oriental Restaurant. The food was great! I got Bibimbpa which I ejnoyed very much. Mini Miracle #3; Our whole District getting treated to expensive oriental food. We then came back to the apartment and did our studies. That evening we spent contacting former investigators and had some lessons with people we had met the week before. There was one lady we had met who had previously said we could come by the next week and she let us in for a lesson. This time instead of teaching the restoration or plan of salvation or anything like that, we showed her Family History and talked about what it is. It is a very different and weird feeling approach and almost feels like you aren't actually teaching them like you should be, but that is because it is a little bit more of a long term better result than a short term not as high probability result. She is kind of our guinea pig for our Family History efforts. We then drove to another area/apartment complex where we are teaching people and we had a few really good lessons there. Mini Miracle #4; a night full of lessons.
Thursday we went to the Church and learned from the Stake Family History Consultants how to do more of Family History and how to help other people do theirs. It was cool to learn how to do some of that stuff and at the same time do some work on our own lines. Mini Miracle #5; Family History Work. That evening we spent our time contacting people in the south part of our area and then we drove out to give a less active member a Come Follow Me book. We didn't have hardly any success and it was a pretty bleh night.
Friday we had to make a quick emergency run to Walmart because we were scrubs and with poor planning forgot to go to the store on P-day. . . We then stopped at the Church and I started preparing my talk for Sunday. We then came home and I did a little more preparation. We then received a call from a guy that Elder Parker had met 3 months ago and briefly talked to and gave a card. The guy said he wanted us to come over and teach him. Mini Miracle #6 (Part A); someone actually calling our number from the cards we give out and requesting a visit from us.We did the rest of our studies and ate dinner, because our dinner fell through, and then we visited people in the north part of our area. We had little success that night.
Saturday we walked over to a member of the English ward's apartment in our complex and he trained us in how to take care of his dog while he is gone for a week. We then came back for studies and lunch. We then drove out to Gonzalez for a lesson and we had a YSA sister who is a return missionary meet us there to teach with us and fellowship the family. We had a really good lesson on prayer and they are really solid people. Mini Miracle #7; an awesome member-present lesson with a great family. We then stayed in Gonzalez and drove to some potential investigators we felt we should contact and found some new areas where we can find more Hispanics to teach. We then headed back to the south end of Baton Rouge and contacted people over there. We then came home a little early and I worked on my talk more. And admittedly I ended up spending most of the night on it too. . .I was up til 3:16 working on it. . .and since it was daylight savings time it was totally like 4:16. . .lets just say my battery was a little low on Sunday, lol.
Sunday went well even though I was a bit tired. Mini Miracle #8; I was not near as tired as I shoulda been. My talk ended up going really well even though I felt it wasn't going to. I was able to speak the language very well as I read my talk. Mini Miracle #9; the Gift of Tongues. After church we came home and did studies and again admittedly during our comp study, while laying on the couch, we joked about studying a legos dream and our nap ended up taking up our whole study. . .Elder Parker was tired too because he had stayed up with me until about 12:00. We then ate dinner and went out to make some visits for the night. We ended up meeting a number of cool people and having some great conversations/lessons with them. We then had a super awesome convo/mini lesson with the guy that had called and requested a visit from us. Mini Miracle #6(part B); the guy that called was super solid!!! We then ended the night by taking dramatic pics in front of the most lit Chinese buffet sign ever!
It was a great week and I look forward to another great one!
Love,
Elder Acton
Week 79 A Cool Baptism Experience
Monday March 4, 2019
Dear Mom,
This week has been a pretty good week filled with rain and crazy temperature changes and ending with a baptism.
Monday was a pretty chill P-day. We chilled at our apartment for the morning and talked to family and emailed friends and then we went to Little Caesar's and bought some pizza. We stopped at the post office and then went to the Church. We ate lunch, talked to our families a bit more and then went to the Library. We then came back to the Church and shot hoops a bit. We then visited some people in the North part of our area and a lesson with some people we are teaching up there. Then we came home and called members on our Branch roster to confirm addresses and numbers.
Tuesday we were going to go do some service but it didn't end up working out. We drove over to the Old State Capitol and when we got there, we received a text from the lady that we work with, that she did not have anything for us for the day. So we just drove back to our apartment for lunch and to finish our studies. We then drove to a number of different areas to visit people and contact former investigators to see if they are interested in us coming over to teach them again. We had dinner with a less active family in that area and brought them a copy of the new curriculum Come Follow Me and introduced them to it. We visited some other people nearby and then came home.
Wednesday we drove down to Gonzalez for our District Council where we all met at the church building down there. We decided to switch each week so that we are all taking turns driving far for District Councils. Our District Council ended up being really long. Parts of our meeting took a lot longer than they should of and then at the end we remembered that we needed to set goals as a District for the upcoming month of March. As we were prayerfully discussing what our goals should be, we had some different opinions on what they should be so it took a lot longer for us to figure out what our goals should be. After some really good counseling and taking in of multiple opinions, we came up with some really good goals. We decided to go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch but when us four Elders got there, we realized the four Sisters were not with us. We got our food and were sitting down and then found out that they had ended up driving a long ways across town to the other Chick-Fil-A. We went to the one 3 minutes down the road. We were just going to have separate District lunches for the day. Then right as we were finishing up and about to leave, the Sisters showed up and sat down with their food. So all of us four Elders got up and got more food, lol. After lunch Elder Parker and I stayed at Chick-Fil-A and made calls and then did some planning, some language study and a little comp study as we sat out on their patio tables. We decided to go contact and knock doors in a trailer park that is full of Hispanics in Gonzales while we were down there. We were at the trailer park for about a half hour to an hour and we just didn't feel effective. We felt quite bleh. We were talking to people and stuff but we didn't feel like we were really doing something. Like maybe we weren't supposed to be there. It was a weird feeling of no real drive/motivation that we were both feeling and we felt like we weren't getting anything done. It was kind of a feeling of unaccomplishment and like we didn't know what we were doing. So we went to the car and prayed and talked about it and what we were feeling. We were trying to decide where the feeling was coming from and what the message was supposed to be. Maybe it was coming from God through the spirit and telling us we should be somewhere else and that this was not he place we should be. We also had the thought that maybe it was Satan trying to discourage us and keep us from being where we were supposed to be. We couldn't really come up with something so we thought maybe we are supposed to make a decision before we know. We were about to leave when we debated even further that it could very well be that there is someone here we need to find and Satan doesn't want us to find them. So with that thought we got back out of the car and walked back down the street. We were walking and looking around and Elder Parker said "lets knock that house with the red car" so we walked over and knocked the door. A Hispanic lady opened the door and invited us right on in. We went in and introduced ourselves and explained what we do. We shared a little of what our message is and also invited her to the English class on Thursdays that the Sisters do. It was late for them so we scheduled a time to come back and she said she would come checkout our Church. It was a cool little experience. We then knocked some more doors and met a couple more people that we scheduled to visit again.
Thursday was MLC (Mission Leadership Conference) and Elder Parker is a ZL (Zone Leader) so Elder Hawks, who is now a ZL as well but down in New Orleans, came up with his companion, Elder Hernandez. Elder Parker and Elder Hawks drove to the Mission Home for MLC and Elder Hernandez and I stayed to work our area on exchanges. Not too long after they left they called us and told us that we were actually supposed to go the Mission Home too because an Elder, Elder Leach, was supposed to be in a trio with us for the day. We got in the car and I drove us to the Mission Home and when we got there they were all still eating breakfast and President Varner invited us to go in the kitchen and get a little food to eat as well. We definitely took him up on that offer and Sister Varner made sure to make some more waffles for us and make sure that we got fed well. We had some of the leftover yogurt cups, eggs and hash browns, waffles with fruit, her famous caramel syrup, and whipped cream and orange juice. We helped her clean up as all the other missionaries and President Varner started MLC. We then left and came back to the apartment so Elder Leach could change into service clothes. We drove to the USS Kidd, a battleship/museum where the missionaries do service. When we got there we were told to go out to the battleship and someone out there would direct us in what to do. We were then told to walk down the side of the ship and then to go down to some lower levels to meet a guy who would give us something to do. We got down to him and he was very stressed due to all the extra stuff he had to worry about since the replica ship of the Santa Maria that Christopher Columbus sailed on was docked up with them for the week. He told us since he didn't have anything we could do while all the mayhem was going on and since we were all new to the ship, we should take a tour and be on patrol for anyone who was not where they were supposed to be and then to tell the group of Veterans up top if we found someone. He said that would be like sicking a pack of Pitbulls and German Shepherds on them. He also told us that some of those guys have served on sister ships to this one and would not be happy if people were disrespecting the ship and that even thought they were in their 70's, 80's, and 90's they wouldn't be afraid to throw people off the ship. Now that would be a sight and if you were the person getting thrown off, quite an embarrassment, haha. That was the assignment he gave us. And then when we were done, we were to come back to Sam at the front. We toured the ship, then came back, went over to a lady selling stuff for the Santa Maria and we helped her do inventory and work out all the kinks and organize what she was selling. We then were invited to tour the Santa Maria, which was really cool too. We then left and drove back home to change back into proselyting clothes. We got a call that MLC was over so we drove back to the Mission Home and switched companions back. It was cool to see some missionaries I haven't seen in a long time. Elder Leach and Elder Wiscombe and Elder Parker and I then went to Olive Garden for dinner. It was some very good food I do have to say. Elder Parker and I visited some people for the evening.
Friday we had our studies in the morning, lunch and then we went to the Church and we did some weekly planning. We learned a lot about Family History and we watched some devotionals and stuff on it because we are going to be kind of like the Family History Consultants for the branch to help them become more missionary minded. It will help introduce them to missionary work so that we can start working with them in a better way. We got super hyped about it as we were watching devos and stuff. That evening we went over to a part-member family's house and we ate dinner with them and talked more about Family History and got to know them and hear their conversion stories. We then went to a family that we are teaching and a YSA member who is a return missionary and is Hispanic came with us and was a great help in our lesson.
Saturday we walked over to a member's apartment in our complex for Branch correlation. Tehy feed us and the Sisters breakfast and then we talk about our people. Afterwards, Elder Parker and I went to the Church to learn more about Family History from the Stake Consultants that are there at that time on Saturdays. We got there and nobody was there, so that was disappointing. We tried to learn a bit on our own but it was difficult on our phones so we did some studies. Later we went back to the Church and set up for baptism and filled up the font. A family we have been visiting has an eight year old daughter who was going to be baptized. The father is not a member bu the mother is. It was a member baptism but they asked that one of us would baptize her. I was given that privilege and it was a really cool experience to baptize her in Spanish. The baptism went well and afterwards we all ate some tostadas and refreshments. We then cleaned everything up and went to visit a less active member that we met earlier in the week. We met his family and shared a little message with them.
Sunday we were suppose to have multiple people come to church but none of them actually came. . .sad day. We did have Abril's whole family there for her confirmation though which was good. We also had a really good Sunday school class with lots of discussion. We came home after church and did some studies and a lot of language study. While at the apartment it rained super hard and flooded the swamp next to our apartment and also the parking lot. In the morning until afternoon it was in the 70's but by the evening it was in the 40's, it dropped about 30 degrees in a matter of hours. That evening we visited some people and then we knocked at one apartment complex we found where Hispanics live. We then went to Abril's house and filled out the baptismal form/record.
It was a really good week and it rained many times though it definitely rained the hardest on Sunday. Until next week!
Love,
Elder Acton
Dear Mom,
This week has been a pretty good week filled with rain and crazy temperature changes and ending with a baptism.
Monday was a pretty chill P-day. We chilled at our apartment for the morning and talked to family and emailed friends and then we went to Little Caesar's and bought some pizza. We stopped at the post office and then went to the Church. We ate lunch, talked to our families a bit more and then went to the Library. We then came back to the Church and shot hoops a bit. We then visited some people in the North part of our area and a lesson with some people we are teaching up there. Then we came home and called members on our Branch roster to confirm addresses and numbers.
Tuesday we were going to go do some service but it didn't end up working out. We drove over to the Old State Capitol and when we got there, we received a text from the lady that we work with, that she did not have anything for us for the day. So we just drove back to our apartment for lunch and to finish our studies. We then drove to a number of different areas to visit people and contact former investigators to see if they are interested in us coming over to teach them again. We had dinner with a less active family in that area and brought them a copy of the new curriculum Come Follow Me and introduced them to it. We visited some other people nearby and then came home.
Wednesday we drove down to Gonzalez for our District Council where we all met at the church building down there. We decided to switch each week so that we are all taking turns driving far for District Councils. Our District Council ended up being really long. Parts of our meeting took a lot longer than they should of and then at the end we remembered that we needed to set goals as a District for the upcoming month of March. As we were prayerfully discussing what our goals should be, we had some different opinions on what they should be so it took a lot longer for us to figure out what our goals should be. After some really good counseling and taking in of multiple opinions, we came up with some really good goals. We decided to go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch but when us four Elders got there, we realized the four Sisters were not with us. We got our food and were sitting down and then found out that they had ended up driving a long ways across town to the other Chick-Fil-A. We went to the one 3 minutes down the road. We were just going to have separate District lunches for the day. Then right as we were finishing up and about to leave, the Sisters showed up and sat down with their food. So all of us four Elders got up and got more food, lol. After lunch Elder Parker and I stayed at Chick-Fil-A and made calls and then did some planning, some language study and a little comp study as we sat out on their patio tables. We decided to go contact and knock doors in a trailer park that is full of Hispanics in Gonzales while we were down there. We were at the trailer park for about a half hour to an hour and we just didn't feel effective. We felt quite bleh. We were talking to people and stuff but we didn't feel like we were really doing something. Like maybe we weren't supposed to be there. It was a weird feeling of no real drive/motivation that we were both feeling and we felt like we weren't getting anything done. It was kind of a feeling of unaccomplishment and like we didn't know what we were doing. So we went to the car and prayed and talked about it and what we were feeling. We were trying to decide where the feeling was coming from and what the message was supposed to be. Maybe it was coming from God through the spirit and telling us we should be somewhere else and that this was not he place we should be. We also had the thought that maybe it was Satan trying to discourage us and keep us from being where we were supposed to be. We couldn't really come up with something so we thought maybe we are supposed to make a decision before we know. We were about to leave when we debated even further that it could very well be that there is someone here we need to find and Satan doesn't want us to find them. So with that thought we got back out of the car and walked back down the street. We were walking and looking around and Elder Parker said "lets knock that house with the red car" so we walked over and knocked the door. A Hispanic lady opened the door and invited us right on in. We went in and introduced ourselves and explained what we do. We shared a little of what our message is and also invited her to the English class on Thursdays that the Sisters do. It was late for them so we scheduled a time to come back and she said she would come checkout our Church. It was a cool little experience. We then knocked some more doors and met a couple more people that we scheduled to visit again.
Thursday was MLC (Mission Leadership Conference) and Elder Parker is a ZL (Zone Leader) so Elder Hawks, who is now a ZL as well but down in New Orleans, came up with his companion, Elder Hernandez. Elder Parker and Elder Hawks drove to the Mission Home for MLC and Elder Hernandez and I stayed to work our area on exchanges. Not too long after they left they called us and told us that we were actually supposed to go the Mission Home too because an Elder, Elder Leach, was supposed to be in a trio with us for the day. We got in the car and I drove us to the Mission Home and when we got there they were all still eating breakfast and President Varner invited us to go in the kitchen and get a little food to eat as well. We definitely took him up on that offer and Sister Varner made sure to make some more waffles for us and make sure that we got fed well. We had some of the leftover yogurt cups, eggs and hash browns, waffles with fruit, her famous caramel syrup, and whipped cream and orange juice. We helped her clean up as all the other missionaries and President Varner started MLC. We then left and came back to the apartment so Elder Leach could change into service clothes. We drove to the USS Kidd, a battleship/museum where the missionaries do service. When we got there we were told to go out to the battleship and someone out there would direct us in what to do. We were then told to walk down the side of the ship and then to go down to some lower levels to meet a guy who would give us something to do. We got down to him and he was very stressed due to all the extra stuff he had to worry about since the replica ship of the Santa Maria that Christopher Columbus sailed on was docked up with them for the week. He told us since he didn't have anything we could do while all the mayhem was going on and since we were all new to the ship, we should take a tour and be on patrol for anyone who was not where they were supposed to be and then to tell the group of Veterans up top if we found someone. He said that would be like sicking a pack of Pitbulls and German Shepherds on them. He also told us that some of those guys have served on sister ships to this one and would not be happy if people were disrespecting the ship and that even thought they were in their 70's, 80's, and 90's they wouldn't be afraid to throw people off the ship. Now that would be a sight and if you were the person getting thrown off, quite an embarrassment, haha. That was the assignment he gave us. And then when we were done, we were to come back to Sam at the front. We toured the ship, then came back, went over to a lady selling stuff for the Santa Maria and we helped her do inventory and work out all the kinks and organize what she was selling. We then were invited to tour the Santa Maria, which was really cool too. We then left and drove back home to change back into proselyting clothes. We got a call that MLC was over so we drove back to the Mission Home and switched companions back. It was cool to see some missionaries I haven't seen in a long time. Elder Leach and Elder Wiscombe and Elder Parker and I then went to Olive Garden for dinner. It was some very good food I do have to say. Elder Parker and I visited some people for the evening.
Friday we had our studies in the morning, lunch and then we went to the Church and we did some weekly planning. We learned a lot about Family History and we watched some devotionals and stuff on it because we are going to be kind of like the Family History Consultants for the branch to help them become more missionary minded. It will help introduce them to missionary work so that we can start working with them in a better way. We got super hyped about it as we were watching devos and stuff. That evening we went over to a part-member family's house and we ate dinner with them and talked more about Family History and got to know them and hear their conversion stories. We then went to a family that we are teaching and a YSA member who is a return missionary and is Hispanic came with us and was a great help in our lesson.
Saturday we walked over to a member's apartment in our complex for Branch correlation. Tehy feed us and the Sisters breakfast and then we talk about our people. Afterwards, Elder Parker and I went to the Church to learn more about Family History from the Stake Consultants that are there at that time on Saturdays. We got there and nobody was there, so that was disappointing. We tried to learn a bit on our own but it was difficult on our phones so we did some studies. Later we went back to the Church and set up for baptism and filled up the font. A family we have been visiting has an eight year old daughter who was going to be baptized. The father is not a member bu the mother is. It was a member baptism but they asked that one of us would baptize her. I was given that privilege and it was a really cool experience to baptize her in Spanish. The baptism went well and afterwards we all ate some tostadas and refreshments. We then cleaned everything up and went to visit a less active member that we met earlier in the week. We met his family and shared a little message with them.
Sunday we were suppose to have multiple people come to church but none of them actually came. . .sad day. We did have Abril's whole family there for her confirmation though which was good. We also had a really good Sunday school class with lots of discussion. We came home after church and did some studies and a lot of language study. While at the apartment it rained super hard and flooded the swamp next to our apartment and also the parking lot. In the morning until afternoon it was in the 70's but by the evening it was in the 40's, it dropped about 30 degrees in a matter of hours. That evening we visited some people and then we knocked at one apartment complex we found where Hispanics live. We then went to Abril's house and filled out the baptismal form/record.
It was a really good week and it rained many times though it definitely rained the hardest on Sunday. Until next week!
Love,
Elder Acton
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Week 78 Transfers
Monday February 25, 2019
Dear Mom,
This week has been a week of change. It has been both sad and exciting.
Tuesday was our P-day and sadly we weren't able to get any pictures with the people we were teaching. We ended up spending most of the day at the clubhouse at our apartment complex because it was raining and wouldn't be a good day to go to the park. We had dinner with some members that night and then finished packing up.
Wednesday was transfers. In the morning we cleaned up the apartment, packed the last things up and loaded them in the car and then waited for some other Elders to arrive so we could make the switch and leave to Hammond. We drove up to Hammond, talked to some other missionaries, switched our stuff to the cars they needed to go to and said bye to others. I then had Elder Monson, a newer missionary, come with me and I drove us over to Baton Rouge. We grabbed some Subway on our way over and then met our companions at the LSU Institute building. There was a baptismal interview that we were there for and then Elder Parker and I left. We dropped off Elder Monson's stuff at their apartment and then went to some appointments that evening. Then we came home and I unpacked a little bit.
Thursday we did some service in the morning at the Old Baton Rouge State Capitol. We just cut thing sand laminated it for them. They gave me a free shirt from their Gift Shop, which was cool. We then came home and did some studies and ate some lunch and then planned for the transfer. We then went out to visit some people. We went to this one kid's house and had a sad drop lesson with him. He was a super awesome kid but he wasn't keeping commitments and showing desire to improve so we had to stop seeing him. We tried to visit some other people and then we went to a less active member's house whose husband isn't a member and they invited us in for dinner. We ate some really good tacos with them and talked about all kinds of mission stories and stuff. It was fun. The mom talked to us about helping her daughter prepare for Baptism and also said she would be at church Sunday.
Friday we had District Council in the morning. We had a great meeting and got to know all of our District members. There are two Elder Companionships and two Sister Companionships. We then went to the mall for lunch and I had some Raising Cane's fried chicken, which was good as always. We then came home and did some studies. The AP's then came to our pad to do some studies while they were in the area, to save miles and they took us to our appointment we had. We had a short little lesson and then the AP's picked us back up and took us to someone they have been teaching so Elder Parker could do a baptismal interview. We then stopped by their apartment and filled out some of the paperwork. They then dropped us back off at our apartment and we drove over to a neighborhood where we do a lot of work. We tried to visit former investigators, we street contacted and talked to a lot of people and then came home.
Saturday we decided to bike a lot. We did a little bit of studies in the morning and then had lunch and headed out to an appointment we had. They weren't there and totally lied to us, so we dropped them since they were obviously not interested. We then tried to contact people in the area but had little luck. We came back to the apartment for our language study and while there we had a long phone call with someone we are teaching as he explained a situation he is in and how it is affecting him and his feelings towards the Church and stuff. We then drove into the north part of our area and parked so we could bike around up there. We biked quite a ways up to an area where we wanted to contact some people. After working there for a bit we biked over to a different area and worked there for a bit. Then we biked to a really big Hispanic Market called La Morenita. We bought some tacos and then contacted people there. We talked to this one lady and she was really funny. We then biked back to our car and then drove home.
Sunday was good, our branch is about 20 people and so we help out a lot. The Sisters are in the Branch as well but they also cover an English Ward and they had to do some stuff over there so they couldn't be in the Branch. They asked me to lead the music since they couldn't so I did, but one thing Elder Parker and I overlooked was that if I was leading the music and he was playing the piano, no one would be preparing the Sacrament. . .luckily one of the members of the Branch Presidency noticed and stepped in to save the day, haha. So that was good. A close call there. We then had a good Elder's Quorum meeting after Sacrament. We drove home after church and did some studying and then went to a couple appointments really quick and they all fell through. We then drove up to an appointment with the same less active family we ate with a few day previously and we had lunch with them. They served us pesole which was quite good. We talked with them about crazy foods and then we had a lesson with them and taught their daughter about baptism. They are a super awesome family. We drove over to another area and knocked some doors for a bit and then went to the AP's apartment, which was really close by, so we could do some studies without having to go back to our apartment. After studying for a bit, we drove to a different neighborhood and contacted some people there. We were able to talk to a number of them. We met with this one guy in the street who was higher than a kite, talking about how he was hungry for the word of God. It was quite hilarious, super funny guy. We then tried to have a lesson with this one lady but she basically just talked our ears off for a while. She told us some stories and stuff though that were funny. We then drove back home.
So far so good here in Baton Rouge. There is a lot of Spanish people here and I definitely could speak better Spanish. Some people are very difficult to understand.
Here is my new address:
Elder Marc Acton
7250 Perkins Rd. Apt. 1025
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Love,
Elder Acton
Dear Mom,
This week has been a week of change. It has been both sad and exciting.
Tuesday was our P-day and sadly we weren't able to get any pictures with the people we were teaching. We ended up spending most of the day at the clubhouse at our apartment complex because it was raining and wouldn't be a good day to go to the park. We had dinner with some members that night and then finished packing up.
Wednesday was transfers. In the morning we cleaned up the apartment, packed the last things up and loaded them in the car and then waited for some other Elders to arrive so we could make the switch and leave to Hammond. We drove up to Hammond, talked to some other missionaries, switched our stuff to the cars they needed to go to and said bye to others. I then had Elder Monson, a newer missionary, come with me and I drove us over to Baton Rouge. We grabbed some Subway on our way over and then met our companions at the LSU Institute building. There was a baptismal interview that we were there for and then Elder Parker and I left. We dropped off Elder Monson's stuff at their apartment and then went to some appointments that evening. Then we came home and I unpacked a little bit.
Thursday we did some service in the morning at the Old Baton Rouge State Capitol. We just cut thing sand laminated it for them. They gave me a free shirt from their Gift Shop, which was cool. We then came home and did some studies and ate some lunch and then planned for the transfer. We then went out to visit some people. We went to this one kid's house and had a sad drop lesson with him. He was a super awesome kid but he wasn't keeping commitments and showing desire to improve so we had to stop seeing him. We tried to visit some other people and then we went to a less active member's house whose husband isn't a member and they invited us in for dinner. We ate some really good tacos with them and talked about all kinds of mission stories and stuff. It was fun. The mom talked to us about helping her daughter prepare for Baptism and also said she would be at church Sunday.
Friday we had District Council in the morning. We had a great meeting and got to know all of our District members. There are two Elder Companionships and two Sister Companionships. We then went to the mall for lunch and I had some Raising Cane's fried chicken, which was good as always. We then came home and did some studies. The AP's then came to our pad to do some studies while they were in the area, to save miles and they took us to our appointment we had. We had a short little lesson and then the AP's picked us back up and took us to someone they have been teaching so Elder Parker could do a baptismal interview. We then stopped by their apartment and filled out some of the paperwork. They then dropped us back off at our apartment and we drove over to a neighborhood where we do a lot of work. We tried to visit former investigators, we street contacted and talked to a lot of people and then came home.
Saturday we decided to bike a lot. We did a little bit of studies in the morning and then had lunch and headed out to an appointment we had. They weren't there and totally lied to us, so we dropped them since they were obviously not interested. We then tried to contact people in the area but had little luck. We came back to the apartment for our language study and while there we had a long phone call with someone we are teaching as he explained a situation he is in and how it is affecting him and his feelings towards the Church and stuff. We then drove into the north part of our area and parked so we could bike around up there. We biked quite a ways up to an area where we wanted to contact some people. After working there for a bit we biked over to a different area and worked there for a bit. Then we biked to a really big Hispanic Market called La Morenita. We bought some tacos and then contacted people there. We talked to this one lady and she was really funny. We then biked back to our car and then drove home.
Sunday was good, our branch is about 20 people and so we help out a lot. The Sisters are in the Branch as well but they also cover an English Ward and they had to do some stuff over there so they couldn't be in the Branch. They asked me to lead the music since they couldn't so I did, but one thing Elder Parker and I overlooked was that if I was leading the music and he was playing the piano, no one would be preparing the Sacrament. . .luckily one of the members of the Branch Presidency noticed and stepped in to save the day, haha. So that was good. A close call there. We then had a good Elder's Quorum meeting after Sacrament. We drove home after church and did some studying and then went to a couple appointments really quick and they all fell through. We then drove up to an appointment with the same less active family we ate with a few day previously and we had lunch with them. They served us pesole which was quite good. We talked with them about crazy foods and then we had a lesson with them and taught their daughter about baptism. They are a super awesome family. We drove over to another area and knocked some doors for a bit and then went to the AP's apartment, which was really close by, so we could do some studies without having to go back to our apartment. After studying for a bit, we drove to a different neighborhood and contacted some people there. We were able to talk to a number of them. We met with this one guy in the street who was higher than a kite, talking about how he was hungry for the word of God. It was quite hilarious, super funny guy. We then tried to have a lesson with this one lady but she basically just talked our ears off for a while. She told us some stories and stuff though that were funny. We then drove back home.
So far so good here in Baton Rouge. There is a lot of Spanish people here and I definitely could speak better Spanish. Some people are very difficult to understand.
Here is my new address:
Elder Marc Acton
7250 Perkins Rd. Apt. 1025
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Love,
Elder Acton
Baton Rouge
Me and my comp, Elder Parker
Tacos
Week 77 Transfer News
Tuesday February 19, 2019
Dear Mom,
This week was pretty good until the end. . .
Things have been going pretty well, our area is doing great. We had some lessons and progress this week but then we found out we are all being transferred out which is a real bummer.
Monday morning was pretty normal at the apartment. A bit before noon Elder Bowser and I drove to the Library and did our emailing and stuff there and then we drove to Wendy's for some lunch. We then drove to Girrard Park to meet the other guys. Elder Bowser plugged it into the GPS but apparently there are two parks with that name so we ended up driving somewhere else and as we got near to the park we weren't recognizing anything. So I searched the GPS for Girrard Park and found a second one lower on the list. We drove there and met the other Elders. We threw the Frisbee around for a while and then played ultimate Frisbee. It was a lot of fun. We had some really good catches and I had one catch that was super awesome, I was quite proud of myself haha. I jumped pretty high in the air to the side and I spun around a little to catch the Frisbee and I actually caught it! It was sweet. Anyway we had a good day at the park. We then drove back to the apartment, changed and showered and went to a dinner appointment with some members and then we shared a message with them and then played with their kids a little bit which was fun. Then we drove home. I drove for the whole day and that was also really nice. I really hadn't driven in about 8 months so when I first got in and started driving I was little rusty and it was pretty funny because the brake was a lot more touchy than I thought haha.
Tuesday we were on exchanges with the Opelousas Elders and Elder Cline was with Elder Bowser and I while Elder Bagley was with Elder Pedersen. We had some appointments in the afternoon at the library that we went to and then we had to come home late afternoon so that I could go with Elder Bagley down to Abbeville for a dinner appointment with some members and to contact some people down there. Elder Pedersen wasn't feeling good at all and needed to sleep. We were about to leave and they cancelled on us so we didn't go down there cause we didn't have any appointments and its a far drive. We then decided to go do some contacting at the mall because we hadn't done that in a while and wanted to get better at talking to people. While there a lady pulled us to the side of her booth type thing in the middle of the hall and started talking to us about skin care stuff. As missionaries we can't be the slight bit rude to people because its not just us we represent but Christ as well so we just listened instead of denying her offer/conversation with us. She sat us down and showed us some skin care stuff and did a demo on our wrist and stuff. It was an interesting experience, lol. Elder Bagley and I were trying not to laugh. She then said we could buy some right there and then and said its only One ninety-nine. . ninety-nine. We heard the first part and I was thinking "No way, its only $1.99" and then she said ninety-nine again and I was like Woa!! Then she said the moisturizer was the same price and Elder Bagley and I just briefly looked at each other and we knew exactly what the other one was thinking. She then said she would give us the first for $130 and the second totally on her. We then had to explain that we literally didn't have any money on us and we kind weaseled our way out of her thinking we didn't really care about it at all, haha. It was interesting. . . as we walked away we laughed cause it felt like she was also hitting on us at the end. Strange situation, glad we escaped that one. We then decided to go grab some dinner.
Wednesday we had District Council and we had a great lesson from Elder Pedersen and he had a cool object lesson where we all had to go outside and find a rock. You would be surprised how stinking difficult it was to find a rock!!! We spent like 30 minutes looking for one, they must have cleared the whole church property of all rocks, haha. We then had lunch and Elder Bagley and Cline and I got Subway and a Cane's drink. We then came back to the church and ate lunch there. Elder Pedersen and Bowser and I then had a lesson at the Library which went really well. We then drove to a family's house whose kids we are helping get baptized. We taught them a really big overview lesson and they fed us as well. We then went to the church for ward correlation and we had a lesson and then later played a little dodge-ball with the youth.
Thursday we did service at the nursing home in the afternoon. It is always fun to spend time with the elderly folks there. We then had dinner with a member and then we went to the Church for our basketball night. It was actually a really good turn out and we had a lot of fun.
Friday we drove up to the top of our area and while in a lesson we heard honking and stuff and a neighbor came over to us and told us our car was being towed. Sure enough it was being towed. We ended our lesson and went over to the apartment office and talked with them. There was apparently some signs that said "resident parking only" that we did not see. Luckily the guy said he would let us off since we didn't know and he said he has a heart. It was very kind of him. We made sure to move our car to the visitor's section and then we went to another lesson. We then went to the Library again to meet with a guy. Then we went into town and got Smoothie King for late lunch/dinner.
Saturday we picked up some pants a guy from basketball night left there and got them back to him and then we went to an appointment at the Library which was really long. We then came home and the recent convert kid that goes out with us came and picked us up and we drove out to Rayne and visited people out there for the night.
Sunday was a good day of church and we had great attendance. Later in the afternoon we found out that we were all being transferred out of Lafayette so that kinda put us into bum moods. We then went to the Bishop's for the YSA dinner ad we studied "Come Follow Me" with them and had dessert for dinner.
Monday we spent a good portion of our afternoon packing up our stuff and getting ready to leave. We visited with a few people that evening at the Library and then the New Iberia Elders came to get some signatures from us on a baptismal form and they had a popped tire on their new car we had to fix. They had just taken their car to Baton Rouge to get fixed because it had what appeared to be a bullet dent or small rock dent in the roof of the car. Then on their way back they got a flat on their new car from a stick that somehow got jabbed into the sidewall. We went out there and helped them put their spare on and then we drove to our dinner appointment at Golden Corral with some members.
It's been an eventful week ending with a big change.
Love you!
Elder Acton
Dear Mom,
This week was pretty good until the end. . .
Things have been going pretty well, our area is doing great. We had some lessons and progress this week but then we found out we are all being transferred out which is a real bummer.
Monday morning was pretty normal at the apartment. A bit before noon Elder Bowser and I drove to the Library and did our emailing and stuff there and then we drove to Wendy's for some lunch. We then drove to Girrard Park to meet the other guys. Elder Bowser plugged it into the GPS but apparently there are two parks with that name so we ended up driving somewhere else and as we got near to the park we weren't recognizing anything. So I searched the GPS for Girrard Park and found a second one lower on the list. We drove there and met the other Elders. We threw the Frisbee around for a while and then played ultimate Frisbee. It was a lot of fun. We had some really good catches and I had one catch that was super awesome, I was quite proud of myself haha. I jumped pretty high in the air to the side and I spun around a little to catch the Frisbee and I actually caught it! It was sweet. Anyway we had a good day at the park. We then drove back to the apartment, changed and showered and went to a dinner appointment with some members and then we shared a message with them and then played with their kids a little bit which was fun. Then we drove home. I drove for the whole day and that was also really nice. I really hadn't driven in about 8 months so when I first got in and started driving I was little rusty and it was pretty funny because the brake was a lot more touchy than I thought haha.
Tuesday we were on exchanges with the Opelousas Elders and Elder Cline was with Elder Bowser and I while Elder Bagley was with Elder Pedersen. We had some appointments in the afternoon at the library that we went to and then we had to come home late afternoon so that I could go with Elder Bagley down to Abbeville for a dinner appointment with some members and to contact some people down there. Elder Pedersen wasn't feeling good at all and needed to sleep. We were about to leave and they cancelled on us so we didn't go down there cause we didn't have any appointments and its a far drive. We then decided to go do some contacting at the mall because we hadn't done that in a while and wanted to get better at talking to people. While there a lady pulled us to the side of her booth type thing in the middle of the hall and started talking to us about skin care stuff. As missionaries we can't be the slight bit rude to people because its not just us we represent but Christ as well so we just listened instead of denying her offer/conversation with us. She sat us down and showed us some skin care stuff and did a demo on our wrist and stuff. It was an interesting experience, lol. Elder Bagley and I were trying not to laugh. She then said we could buy some right there and then and said its only One ninety-nine. . ninety-nine. We heard the first part and I was thinking "No way, its only $1.99" and then she said ninety-nine again and I was like Woa!! Then she said the moisturizer was the same price and Elder Bagley and I just briefly looked at each other and we knew exactly what the other one was thinking. She then said she would give us the first for $130 and the second totally on her. We then had to explain that we literally didn't have any money on us and we kind weaseled our way out of her thinking we didn't really care about it at all, haha. It was interesting. . . as we walked away we laughed cause it felt like she was also hitting on us at the end. Strange situation, glad we escaped that one. We then decided to go grab some dinner.
Wednesday we had District Council and we had a great lesson from Elder Pedersen and he had a cool object lesson where we all had to go outside and find a rock. You would be surprised how stinking difficult it was to find a rock!!! We spent like 30 minutes looking for one, they must have cleared the whole church property of all rocks, haha. We then had lunch and Elder Bagley and Cline and I got Subway and a Cane's drink. We then came back to the church and ate lunch there. Elder Pedersen and Bowser and I then had a lesson at the Library which went really well. We then drove to a family's house whose kids we are helping get baptized. We taught them a really big overview lesson and they fed us as well. We then went to the church for ward correlation and we had a lesson and then later played a little dodge-ball with the youth.
Thursday we did service at the nursing home in the afternoon. It is always fun to spend time with the elderly folks there. We then had dinner with a member and then we went to the Church for our basketball night. It was actually a really good turn out and we had a lot of fun.
Friday we drove up to the top of our area and while in a lesson we heard honking and stuff and a neighbor came over to us and told us our car was being towed. Sure enough it was being towed. We ended our lesson and went over to the apartment office and talked with them. There was apparently some signs that said "resident parking only" that we did not see. Luckily the guy said he would let us off since we didn't know and he said he has a heart. It was very kind of him. We made sure to move our car to the visitor's section and then we went to another lesson. We then went to the Library again to meet with a guy. Then we went into town and got Smoothie King for late lunch/dinner.
Saturday we picked up some pants a guy from basketball night left there and got them back to him and then we went to an appointment at the Library which was really long. We then came home and the recent convert kid that goes out with us came and picked us up and we drove out to Rayne and visited people out there for the night.
Sunday was a good day of church and we had great attendance. Later in the afternoon we found out that we were all being transferred out of Lafayette so that kinda put us into bum moods. We then went to the Bishop's for the YSA dinner ad we studied "Come Follow Me" with them and had dessert for dinner.
Monday we spent a good portion of our afternoon packing up our stuff and getting ready to leave. We visited with a few people that evening at the Library and then the New Iberia Elders came to get some signatures from us on a baptismal form and they had a popped tire on their new car we had to fix. They had just taken their car to Baton Rouge to get fixed because it had what appeared to be a bullet dent or small rock dent in the roof of the car. Then on their way back they got a flat on their new car from a stick that somehow got jabbed into the sidewall. We went out there and helped them put their spare on and then we drove to our dinner appointment at Golden Corral with some members.
It's been an eventful week ending with a big change.
Love you!
Elder Acton
My District
My Comps and some Members
Apartment full of Elders
All packed
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