Greetings from the great OCM!
So I have some great news, I got a buck this year! The only downside is I hit it with the car!
We
were driving on a two lane highway at 1 in the afternoon, when a buck
jumped between the opposite traffic. I slammed on my brakes, but it was
not enough to stop us from plowing into the deer. Killed the deer
(definitely the biggest buck I have ever killed), and luckily the car
had minimal damage (there is a dent on the front of the hood). Other then
that the car looks great; the bad thing is that the church keeps their
cars pristine and so we do not have a car right now, and we will not
have one until Thursday. So all this happened the middle of last week
and we have been wearing the tread off our shoes. We have also had 2
flat tires on our bikes so they are not up and running at the moment.
Overall though, good things happen when you are out and about and able to be seen by the community. . .
On
Friday evening we were having dinner with the Weavers (Amish converts)
and we decided we would walk home up Black Road. Black Rd. is where lots
of Amish live including a large portion of Brother Weavers family, many
of whom are bishops and deacons in the Amish church. We began our 2
mile trek back and it was amazing how many Amish people the Lord placed
in our paths. We did not teach anything, but we did get to meet them.
Brother Weaver's dad who is the leading Amish bishop was out spraying his
weeds along the road when we walked by and had a very brief
conversation. We also met his brother, and further down the road his
sister, not to mention the many buggies that kept passing us by. I can't
help but wonder what they were all thinking as they saw us near all the
Amish homes. For all they know we could be teaching people (since the
Amish community did not know that the Weavers were baptized "Mormon" until
about 6 months after the fact). Brother Weaver kept us up late that
night talking on the phone. The man was so excited that we simply met
his dad. "There is no other way you could have met him" he says, "There
is no way he would have talked to you if you would have came up to the
house, and you just happened to catch him spraying weeds along the
road!" Definitely no coincidences, and we would not have walked that
road if we had not hit that deer.
Interviews with President Daines happened right
after church on Sunday, which was great because he came to the Amish
group and we had tons of investigators there. We had a family of 4, 2 of
their friends, and 2 other investigators come. It was a good day.
President Daines continues to amaze me. Interviews
were great. He really took the time to get to know me and asked me lots
of great questions. I really love that guy! I feel like I know him
better than I ever got to know President Nilsen. I can tell he really
cares, and goes out of the way to do things for his missionaries. And
Sister Daines is "not a whit behind him" (reference from the Book of
Mormon). President essentially told me that I will be staying next
transfer (since Elder DuBose is leaving) and Elder DuBose tells me he
suggested to him who my next companion should be and he wrote it down!
Part of me is nervous about this next transfer
because I have been with Elder DuBose for 6 months, and I love that guy.
I hope I get an awesome companion, and I hope the transition won't be
rough. Elder DuBose and I are definitely hanging out after the mission.
He is a good friend.
Sounds like life is crazy right now with the whole
grandpa situation. One thing that has been on my mind lately is a
passage from Alma 32 where Alma talks about how blessed people are who
humble themselves without having to be compelled to be humble. Now that
is tough! Humbling yourself without a trial is in my opinion one of the
hardest, but no doubt greatest Christlike Attributes to learn. Nothing
happens until we are humble.
Great week, and another great one ahead. Don't get
caught up in your worries so much that you fail to recognize the voice
of the Lord. Sometimes when our thoughts are constantly shouting at us
we fail to hear the simple whisperings of our Father in Heaven.
Love You!
Elder Beutler
