Date
April 19, 2018
Area
West Jordan, Utah (Salt Lake City South Mission)
Companion
Sister Faddis
Missionary Roller-Coaster Ride!
Hello EvErYBODy!! Hope you all had a FaBuLouS week because my week has been an up and down rollercoaster!
"Bryan and the Upside-Down Roller-coaster": As you all may know, Bryan has been one of my long-term investigators these past two months being in the mission field....and man, it has been a ride!
To begin with, Bryan doesn`t communicate at all whenever we try to text or call him. But, when we MiRaCuLouSly see him in person...he smiles and wants to talk to us and learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is sooo weird. Well a miracle happened this week and we were FINALLY able to set a returned appointment with him and see a little beneath the Iceberg. Bryan is a good man, but boy he does NOT communicate. At the returned appointment, we did a paper magic trick based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And he absolutely LOVED it. Then we had him think and write down a vision he wants for himself, along with goals and planning. In short, we gave him a Commitment to pray about a date for baptism on April 28th and made a plan to go the Temple Open House this week. He also, said he will plan on coming to church this week and asked us to save him a seat...
Well, we saved him a seat that Sunday, gave him a reminder (He AnSweReD his phone & said 10 minutes before that he is on his way)...30 minutes later in church (He didn`t show up), texted him (no response). We were sooo confused. Long story short, Bryan did walk into the sacrament meeting for one second and then turned around immediately after he walked in because he started to have an anxiety attack! We called him and he told us he was able to have the courage to go to another meeting, but doesn`t want to be baptized anymore...I was DEVASTED. He finally told us what was beneath the Iceberg with him. I was grateful, but at the same time my heart was COMPLETELY broken.
(Beneath the Iceberg: He has a drinking problem, HARD depression...wants to end his life, Law of Chasity, prayed for the date but didn`t receive an answer, etc.)
*We put him off date and is planning on taking things slow with him in the future. Now, he is joining the ward for a neighborhood cleanup this Saturday.
PICKED UP A NEW INVESTIGATOR: We went and did a TRC with a young woman in one of the wards. It was sooo nice to have this young woman as another companion...like, she is Amazing! She has already started her mission papers and I just know already she is going to be an OUTSTANDING missionary! Anyway, we OYM'd 5 people outside an apartment complex, knocked on a couple of doors and one of the DOORS opened!! The man who opened it was a person Sister Williams and I OYM`d a couple of weeks ago. (Background: Eric is 22-year-old techno geek that has a mind of learning and wanting to understand new things. One of them is wanting to learn more about Jesus Christ`s church...he lived in Utah all his life and grew up part Christian/Catholic...didn`t go to church and has little knowledge of Jesus Christ.)
Long story short, we had a lesson with Eric about the Restoration with a member present with us and was able to put him on date for Baptism on May 12th!! Eric`s understanding of the Atonement clicked when I shared a personal story of being an angel in the Easter Pageant. He is AmAzInG.
*SAD NEWS: He said he`ll come to church and he didn`t!! (Tear, tear.)
Sunday MuSiCals: A 13-year-old girl sang "Peace in Christ" in two of the wards I am over and she was AmAzinG. I felt like she was the ginger lady from the Greatest Showman singing, Never Enough. She has ginger hair and kept moving her hands with such emotion at the pulpit. It was AWESOME. Then on top of that, a high school choir group sang in one of the wards and their voices were Flawless. Just FLAWLESS.
Follow A Prompting: As Sister Faddis and I were riding our bikes to the apartments...I noticed a man sitting under a canopy alone at the church building. I immediately felt prompted to turn around and go talk to him! I cried out to Sister Faddis in front of me and told her to turn around. Sister Faddis followed my lead. We locked up our bikes and began to walk towards him. We began to call out to him with a friendly hello and knew something was wrong. His hands were clasped on his face and was crouching helplessly on one of the benches. He was in tears. Sister Faddis and I instantly began to comfort him with words of encouragement...We asked why he came to this spot out of all places and he told us he came to ponder. This man lost EVERYTHING. He lost his children, his home and now the cops are after him. He says he is innocent. We asked if he would like to meet the Bishop (He said no), be given a priesthood blessing (Answer still was no) or even attend church with us the next day (No). Long story short, we gave him pictures of Jesus Christ and he vanished right afterwards in tears. We never saw him again and left a Book of Mormon from where he sat with our testimony of the Atonement.
*We are hoping he will come back and find it.
SPIRIT: The night, when Sister Faddis and I tried to find the man that was in serious trouble. Decided to give in and go back from where we came from...we came upon a fence with two BEAUTIFUL horses on the other side of it. One of the horses showed off for me and skipped next to me went I skipped. The other horse completely turned its butt around and POOPED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.
Less Active Miracle: We visited a Less Active couple and they told us they might be able to go to the Temple Open House if their relatives go!! It was a miracle because the last time we saw them they said they did NOT want to go at all! Then on top that miracle, they let us share a message video about David A. Bednar talking about Patterns of Light. The spirit was sooo strong. I felt it and I know Judy and Leroy felt it. Judy got teary eyed and Leroy left the room. (I have a feeling he was like Joseph and the Coat of many colors in Genesis 43....he was trying to hide his emotions. Leroy is a grumpy/stubborn man that doesn`t like to show his emotional side.)
Decor For ALL: Sister Faddis and I helped a member family decorate cupcakes and decorations for their daughter`s 10th birthday party! (It was a dark chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting & Reese’s pieces on top.) Then right after we finished, we found out they are selling furniture that cost like 2,000 dollars just for one rolling chair! It was CrAzY and there were tons of furniture inside and outside of their house. (Background: The Household member`s boss gave them all his furniture to sell...from Draper.) In the end, I got to go on a truck elevator and it was soooo much fun!! Ha-ha
Sister Riggs' Missionary Thought: I learned the importance of humility and that humility is not a sign of weakness. Instead, it is a sign of spiritual strength! I guess it took me awhile to recognize it and know that trials are good for the soul.
Love you all!
Sister Riggs