This week was really hard on Jason. We taught him the best that we could and helped him to feel loved, and we've spent so much time working with him. Every time we visited Jason it was an hour bus ride there, an hour lesson, and an hour bis ride back. That's our entire evening block of time, mostly because of the bus system, and we visited him 2-3 times a week. He went to church last Sunday and he was going to go this Sunday. We were going to help him move on December 1st. But Friday he gave us a call and told us that he didn't want to meet with us any more. It was awful. I don't even know what happened to make him feel that way and there was nothing we could do or say to help him feel otherwise.
Jason said that it was too much change and it didn't feel right. But he broke up with his girlfriend and made plans to move out just so he could join our church. I told him he payed for the ticket without going on the cruise. He's already made the sacrifice. There isn't anything more to work through. It doesn't make sense to me. But it seems like Satan has convinced him to change his mind. How can I adequately prepare my investigators to overcome the temptation that the adversary throws at them? They have a lot of hurtles that they have to go through to be baptized, more than we know, and Satan knows what he is doing; he's done it for thousands of years. And I'm just a rookie 19-year-old. But I know that I have been called of God, and that he will prepare the way for me to accomplish what he wants me to accomplish.
In other news, American Thanksgiving went well over here. We got fed a couple of really good Thanksgiving dinners by members that celebrate both Thanksgivings. Which is something that I'm definitely going to do when I'm back in the states. Two thanksgivings? Yes, please!
Last night we taught a Muslim guy named Sayid, in his home. That's the only Muslim name I knew before I came here, due to worldly entertainment of the past. He was very hospitable and reminiscent of the Hindu couple we taught in Walkerton, aside from his religious views, which are different but not unpraiseworthy. We explained to him what the Book of Mormon is and how its purpose is to convince people of all nations that Jesus is the Christ. I'm not really sure how to adjust our teaching to meet the needs of someone from his faith, other than teaching about the Book of Mormon, and I'm not sure if we will teach Sayid again--at least for a while. Too much information when someone isn't ready for it or unwilling to accept it can turn a good seed into a bad seed and this situation is very delicate. It's definitely something I'll be praying about this week.
December will be a new month, and I am hopeful that it will bring new success. We are learning every day how to become better teachers and the improvement within myself is exciting to see. I love you all and have a great week!
--Elder Wade
