This week went really well. We taught 15 lessons to less-actives and recent converts, which is the most I've had my whole mission. We also got 3 new investigators, which is normal for most of a mission but a miracle for us. Two of the investigators live in Elmira, the horse and buggy town. We found Shyan while street contacting. She opened her door right as we were walking by, and I was pretty tempted to just keep walking but I turned back and started talking to her. I'm glad we did! Situations like that have happened a lot on my mission, and it always seems like the ones that are easily missed are the ones that are interested. We also taught a member referral in Elmira. Only the wife was there, but if she reads from the Book of Mormon, it could lead to her entire family being baptized.
We taught the stop-smoking workshop to Mike again, because he has been struggling to stop smoking. Cigarettes...they're terrible. He's had to quit some pretty bad drugs but he says that smoking is the hardest to quit. Nicotine patches and the like are trash; I wouldn't be surprised if they were made by the tobacco companies. But Mike has a really great fellowshipper this time. A member that is a good friend to others is one of the most valuable resources that we can have in missionary work. I hope to be like him one day. There are a lot of great members in this ward, which makes it easier for us to focus on missionary work. I've come to love the less-active members. Most of them are great people that are just going through tough times and need encouragement and help. While we all work out our own salvation, I wonder if our salvation is determined in part by the way we have helped our brethren, or the way we haven't helped at all. Everyone at some point will need help from others; it's a fact of life.
Earlier this week, we read Alma 32 with a less-active sister. When we read this scripture, it really stood out to her: "But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out." I gained the following insight: though nourishing the tree(our testimony) will help the tree to withstand the scorching heat, the scorching heat is still there. Watering a plant has never stopped the sun from shining. God, most of the time, will not take away our trials, but he can and he will give us the strength to endure them.
Have a great week, and help those around you do the same.
--Elder Wade
