This week was unique
from the recent weeks here in Xenia. Last week everything seemed to go
exactly the way it should. I taught some of the most powerful lessons of
my mission, 2 people accepted a baptism date, and life was good. This
week the Lord decided to humble me a little bit. . .
For
some reason it was very difficult setting up appointments with people
this week, and the result of which was a lot of spare time to find. We
spent most of that time knocking doors in Beavercreek (the wealthier
part of our area) and it was not a pleasant experience. People just did
not want to talk to us every time we were there to find. I probably have
never knocked that many doors on my mission without finding someone to
teach. Day after day we seemed to have more and more time to go out and
find and we would not find anyone. It made me wonder to myself, "Why is
it so hard, it hasn't been this hard to find people previously on my
mission." I remembered days, as a very very unskilled missionary when we
would go out, totally relying on the Lord for help, and we would always
find someone. Miracles would happen all the time, but this week just
seemed dead. We tried harder than I ever have before and the results
were poor. The 2 people we had on date for baptism fell off date, our
progressing investigators did not make any progress, it was cold and
rainy, then snowy, then rainy again.
The
pinnacle of this hard week came on Sunday when the 4 investigators we
had committed to come to church did not show. I sat there during the
sacrament contemplating how much I hated the gift of agency sometimes.
It is a two edged sword. Because of agency we can grow, but it requires
putting up with the poor choices of others. All I want is to bring
people into the gospel, but they have their own choice, and though I may
testify, teach, and invite, the decision is still ultimately theirs.
During
the ordinance of the sacrament it also gave me time to contemplate what
I can improve on. Sometimes it takes weeks like these to figure out
what it is we need to change, and the sacrament is how we access God's
power to change. I am grateful for a loving Father who provides us with
circumstances to humble us, so that we might seek those changes in our
lives. I may be an "old" missionary but I still sure do need to change
myself often to improvement. (Ether 12:27)
So with a renewed vision and stronger faith, I am ready to tackle this next week! And "keep pluggin!"
One
terrific thing that happened this week was in Mission Leadership
Council on Tuesday. Here President Daines presented a few council items
which we (the zone leaders and sister training leaders) debated and
analyzed until we came up with a conclusion. One of the items we
discussed was family history.
Previously, we
were permitted to use family history so that we would have a personal
testimony of it and might use it as a resource in our finding and
teaching. The question we were debating was whether or not we should
still be permitted some time throughout the week to work on our own
personal family history (finding people). And the Council and President
decided that we will now have 2 hours a week for Family History!!! So,
get prepared to see more names appear on my family search account!
I love you!
Elder Beutler
