Date
January 9, 2017
Area
Brighton, Colorado
Companion
Elder Hansen
My first week here in Brighton (week before last week) was a tough one. I had to get used to everything and tried to meet the members and investigators. This past week was significantly better! It has been an interesting but great week! We contacted a lot of people we didn't know, and we set up many appointments for this upcoming week. It is shaping up to be an awesome week!
We were hit by a ton of snow from Wednesday to Thursday, and we could not drive for half of the day Thursday. We decided to do our weekly planning that day instead of Friday, so on Friday we were able to work all day.
The dumb thing I did this week happened on exchanges with Elder Merkley. We were waiting at a house for a family to get home so we walked across a frozen pond.... We had a stick that we were hitting on the ice to make sure it was frozen nice and good. Don't worry, it wasn't very deep... I don't think it was anyway.
As I said, it was an interesting week... I went on exchanges with two sets of missionaries this week. We went to their wards to see how they were doing. A few companionships are missing the mark of what is important. They are focusing on trying to get fancy numbers, even if there is nothing real behind the numbers. I’ve been struggling with that this past week, and at times, I felt very alone in my focus and motivation. I have been praying for guidance on how to help change the mentality. An answer to my prayers came when one of the assistants gave a training in the Mission Leadership Council about what our true motivation should be. I will be training the missionaries in our zone about that this, later this week. I am excited, because I think it will be a great opportunity to speak openly about why we are here, and hopefully correct some of the things happening!
This past week, we went to a 7th Day Adventist Church meeting on Saturday. It was a cool experience. My companion, Elder Hansen, struggled because he has never been to a different church service, other that an LDS one. In the end, I think it was good for him. I loved it. They were very kind, and we were able to speak with the Pastor for a few minutes, which was nice. One lady came up and asked us for a copy of the Book of Mormon, so we ended up giving her a copy. We were careful not to try and teach or anything, but they had questions. We have been teaching one lady who attends there, and we have met her daughter and hope to begin teaching her. We have had some great conversations with them, and they have some family who are members.
Nothing too crazy has happened. We were able to give a woman a priesthood blessing. She is a member of our Church and visiting her in-laws for the holidays. Her non-member mother was present for the blessing. She seemed touched by it, so we are hoping to go back and visit her again. Her son (the husband of the woman, to whom we gave a blessing) joined the Church 4 or 5 years ago, so we hope the mother’s heart has been softened.
I will close with a thought from a Fireside we attended last evening for Young Adults. President Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke. He said many things that truly touched my heart. He talked about President Monson, and his unceasing effort to follow the promptings of the Spirit. He mentioned a quote from President Monson, that I have heard before: "If the Lord needs something done, I want Him to know He can count on Tom Monson to do it." That is an attitude I am working on developing. There are so many times I decide to follow my own will and my own thoughts. I am now trying to focus more on following God’s will and His thoughts.
As always, I love you all! I appreciate each and every one of you!
Elder Steven Richards
We were hit by a ton of snow from Wednesday to Thursday, and we could not drive for half of the day Thursday. We decided to do our weekly planning that day instead of Friday, so on Friday we were able to work all day.
The dumb thing I did this week happened on exchanges with Elder Merkley. We were waiting at a house for a family to get home so we walked across a frozen pond.... We had a stick that we were hitting on the ice to make sure it was frozen nice and good. Don't worry, it wasn't very deep... I don't think it was anyway.
As I said, it was an interesting week... I went on exchanges with two sets of missionaries this week. We went to their wards to see how they were doing. A few companionships are missing the mark of what is important. They are focusing on trying to get fancy numbers, even if there is nothing real behind the numbers. I’ve been struggling with that this past week, and at times, I felt very alone in my focus and motivation. I have been praying for guidance on how to help change the mentality. An answer to my prayers came when one of the assistants gave a training in the Mission Leadership Council about what our true motivation should be. I will be training the missionaries in our zone about that this, later this week. I am excited, because I think it will be a great opportunity to speak openly about why we are here, and hopefully correct some of the things happening!
This past week, we went to a 7th Day Adventist Church meeting on Saturday. It was a cool experience. My companion, Elder Hansen, struggled because he has never been to a different church service, other that an LDS one. In the end, I think it was good for him. I loved it. They were very kind, and we were able to speak with the Pastor for a few minutes, which was nice. One lady came up and asked us for a copy of the Book of Mormon, so we ended up giving her a copy. We were careful not to try and teach or anything, but they had questions. We have been teaching one lady who attends there, and we have met her daughter and hope to begin teaching her. We have had some great conversations with them, and they have some family who are members.
Nothing too crazy has happened. We were able to give a woman a priesthood blessing. She is a member of our Church and visiting her in-laws for the holidays. Her non-member mother was present for the blessing. She seemed touched by it, so we are hoping to go back and visit her again. Her son (the husband of the woman, to whom we gave a blessing) joined the Church 4 or 5 years ago, so we hope the mother’s heart has been softened.
I will close with a thought from a Fireside we attended last evening for Young Adults. President Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke. He said many things that truly touched my heart. He talked about President Monson, and his unceasing effort to follow the promptings of the Spirit. He mentioned a quote from President Monson, that I have heard before: "If the Lord needs something done, I want Him to know He can count on Tom Monson to do it." That is an attitude I am working on developing. There are so many times I decide to follow my own will and my own thoughts. I am now trying to focus more on following God’s will and His thoughts.
As always, I love you all! I appreciate each and every one of you!
Elder Steven Richards
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