So we officially picked up Hector as an investigator again this week. He still seems solid. He said that when his mom was living with them (remember she was a member from Mexico) he felt tons of pressure from her, so now he can do all this on his own. We had a lesson that went super well then there was some poor communication, so we missed the second lesson. Then on Saturday he called us and said, "Hey I'm coming to church." And I started thinking, "Somebody that's willing to act! I love it!" Unfortunately, he didn't end up coming. Not sure why. We weren't able to get a hold of him.
So yesterday was a day full of experiences. We had the first counselor in the mission presidency, President Gutierrez, come and teach the 5th Sunday class. He told a story about a time that he got lost in the mountains overnight and tons of people came looking for him. He related it to how we treat people that are less active or who are trying to come back. We should never say, "Oh, he decided to leave. He didn't have a testimony." "Oh, his faith wasn't strong enough to get him through his problems." In Pres. Gutierrez's story, nobody was criticizing him. Nobody said, "Well you really should have stayed with the group. You shouldn't have sat down for a rest. You shouldn't have been out there with so few resources." Nobody said that. When they found him, it was all, "It's so good that we found you." "How can we help you." "Thank goodness you're safe." He said he had friends fly out from Idaho to come try to find him. Then the question, "How would our ward be, if we had that same drive to find those among us that are lost." It was awesome. His story made the news if you want to check it out. Google: Brian (maybe Bryan) Gutierrez missing hiker Forest falls. The members received that message SO well. He said that he'll be coming back in the next month or so to teach them more.
After that, I asked him to talk for a few minutes about everything I've been feeling during the last few weeks and months. He gave me some of the most inspired words I've ever heard. It was perfect. I was able to see myself in a way I haven't been able to see myself in a while. To sum everything up, I need to work on bridging my logical self and my spiritual self. I need to be able to go at a problem willing to figure it out myself, but at every instant, be willing to hand it over and ask what God wants. Right now, I see a problem and I buckle up and go, go, go until I beat it to death. I've been getting distracted doing things the way I think makes logical sense. God has caused all the wheels to fall off so I could stop and realize that I've been distracted by my own logic. "Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? And if it be by some other way it is not of God." - D&C 50:17-18
Then he asked me one of the most inspired questions I've ever heard. "What do you want to see here that would make you believe you were successful here?" My mind started going. "Recent converts that are still active and progressing, members being missionaries, members helping out with fellowshipping and lessons", and my mind kept going on that track. Then he said, "let me tell you. You will know that you were successful here when you look back and can say, 'Fletcher is where I learned to trust God.'" So there were some other super helpful things in our talk. The five minutes I asked for quickly turned into 20 minutes. But it was really an answer to prayers. One last quote, "Stop worrying too much. The baptisms will come."
So ya, this week was definitely an important one for that reason. It feel like a new beginning. I'm SUPER excited for conference this upcoming weekend. I should get to see Raul and Rosy there at the stake center. According to the missionaries in that ward, they're still doing awesome. Speaking of that ward, my first ward just got split. Raul and Rosy fall into the stronger part of the ward, which is comforting.
Love you all and thank you all so much for the prayers.
Elder Christensen
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