This week we spent a lot of time working with members. We have a great crew here in Stayner. On Sunday we got to see them all at once; there are about 40-50. I was surprised during Elders Quorum to see the Branch Presidency, the Branch Mission Leader, the Elders Quorum President, and us making up almost the full body of priesthood. That's pretty disproportionate compared to the number of people that attend sacrament. There are a lot of part-member families and families where the husbands are less-active.
This week we were tracting a street during the evening and a tall red-headed man opened the door. He looked just like Dwight Schrudt. Anyway, he looked at us and reluctantly told us to come on in. We kind of hesitated for a second and he told us to come in, take off our shoes, and shut the door. He even gave us slippers once we took our shoes off. Elder King and I had no idea what was going on. I saw a picture of Jesus Christ on the wall and thought "Oh no, he's a preacher and he wants to verbally destroy us!" But then I heard a lady's voice say, "Oh, are these the new elders?" Phew. It all makes sense now. They thought that we had dropped by there has to share a message, but we were actually tracting and had no idea who they were. The husband is an OPP officer (Ontario Provincial Police) and is less-active. Because of his position their address isn't listed on our ward roster.
We had zone conference this week! I got to see Elder Cozzens and Elder Bennett. It was like a district reunion almost. Elder Eatchel was there too. We learned a lot of teaching skills that can help our investigators progress. But we don't have any! Well, there is one. His name is:
Earl. He's been investigating for 4+ years. He has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. And he should, because he's read it twice. He's also read the Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, Preach My Gospel, History of the Church(!), Our Search For Happiness, and a few other books. Holy smokes! What's his hold-up? He's living with his girlfriend and they have 4 kids. She's a Jehovah's Witness and wants a giant, fancy wedding. Yikes! The past two generations of missionaries have set wedding dates for them but they've all fallen through. This is a tough situation for sure. Elder King and I won't be able to accomplish much. Unless, of course, we have the creator of the universe help us out! And nothing less than divine intervention will do.
And that's my week in a nutshell. Stayner is a great area. We have a car and we can drive 2400 kilometers a month, which is a ton.
I love you all!
--Elder Wade
