James letter 12-17-12

This week was great. Its weird to think that it is already week 4 of this transfer. Time is going by so fast, it seems like we hardly have time to do anything sometimes because we are so busy. Monday put us off to a great start. We ended our P-day a little early so we could meet with a part member family in the Raleigh Hills ward. The lesson went great. They have three young daughters, two of them qualify for baptism, one as a convert, and one as a child of record. The boyfriend is also not a member. We taught about the restoration, and did it simply so that the children could understand. We repeated the pattern of prophets and apostasy several times to help them understand that God works by patterns, and then when the time came for the restoration we asked them what the next step in the pattern was, and they told us what would happen next. When we talked about the Book of Mormon the boyfriend bore his testimony on how it can help you in your life, and he isn't even a member yet. We were able to set a baptismal date with them for January 12. They didn't make it to Church yesterday though, which was disappointing. We are meeting with them again today. 
Tuesday we were able to meet with the new senior couple, and pass on to them a few of the people that we have a hard time working with. They were able to get appoinments set with a couple of them. It is great to have someone that can help us teach some of the single sisters that we couldn't see by ourselves. The branch has welcomed them right away, and they are making a nice addition to the small branch family. Also that night we were able to teach the L family. They are starting to come back to Church, and it was a great time to be able to get to know them and share with them a message about prayer and scripture study. They were really fun, and we are going to start meeting with them as well. 
Wednesday we were able to see D. He is progressing well. At first he wouldn't read more than a couple pages from the pamphlet, but during the lessons he asked a ton of good questions. As we met with him he told us that he had gone on mormon.org, and it had been able to answer more of his questions. He really liked the website, and when we left we were able to leave him with a Book of Mormon, and a chapter to read. It was a big step for him, and I am excited to see what happens next.  That night we were also able to meet with a disillusioned member. He is disabled, and feels discriminated against. He wants to come back to Church, but not it Raleigh Hills, he is not a fan of the bishop. He told us that he got permission to go to West Hills ward, but that the bishop won't call him back, or give him home teachers. He hasn't been able to get any answers about this from anyone, so he asked us to help. I'm not sure what to do. If he is on the records then he should be visited, and then assigned home teachers, which he says hasn't happened. We were also able to see Ted on Wednesday. We asked him if he believed in God. He isn't sure. He has had a lot of experiences with psychodellic drugs, and "seeing spirits", and doesn't know what real with those experiences anymore. We talked to him about faith, prayer, and scriptures. He hasn't been reading, but we were able to show him how that is the only way to get a testimony of the Book of Mormon is to read it. We went over Moroni's promise, and Alma 32, talking about planting the word in our heart, and Reading, pondering, and then prayer. he understood that he has to do his part to find out. We also met with C. We read through a section in the D&C where he was in his personal reading, and helped to apply it to his life. He is so close, but isn't taking the final step necassary. 
Thursday we had a great day of tracting. In two hours we were able to teach three lessons, and we have one appointment set for this week, and one solid potential to follow up with. The first one was a woman named T. She had a rabbit, and the first little bit we just talked with her about her rabbit, and then were able to share our message. She hasn't had great experiences with churches before, but said that she always starts thinking about it more this time of year. The second was a man named Josh. He has a lot of Mormon friends, and has studied other religions, but doesn't know much about ours. He was open to learning, and accepted a Book of Mormon. We have an appoinment set for this Wednesday. That night we were able to meet with J, we are trying to get him to understand the importance of finding out for himself. He has come a long way, but is not moving very fast. I do believe that he will be baptized though, even if it is a little later on. 
Friday we had a lesson with R. He fed us lunch, and we talked with him about the Word of Wisdom. He has had struggles with that, but he is making good steps. He has come to Church the last two weeks, and he came to the branch FHE, and Christmas Party, as well as the stake choir concert.  We were also able to meet with D and M. She has been sick, and we gave her a blessing. We were able to find out that D isn't sure about what we are teaching, and that we need a bigger focus on prayer for him. She hasn't been doing much to motivate or help him, and we need to help her as well, but she is harder to understand. Wish us luck in resolving her concerns.
Saturday was a very special day. I was able to go back and see S G get baptized into the Rock Creek ward. It was so neat to be able to see them again, and to be there for her as she finally made that step. She is so much happier now, and her husband is too. Both of them have a different aura about them. They were so happy that I was able to make it. I have grown so close to them, and I look forward to coming back in a year to go through the temple with them. We saw K that day, he is doing great, and is excited about his parole ending, because that means he can get baptized. We saw M and B too, the first time that we have met with them since I have been there. B is solid. As we were talking with them she mentioned how she didn't think any of this was good or true at first, and she said " now I believe it, I believe Joseph Smith, and I believe the Book of Mormon." I pointed out the her that from what she just said she had a testimony. She said she didn't, but now we know where she is, and we can help her discover what she knows. We also met with J and S. J is really coming a long way. He is praying regularly, and he has started to read on his own. We are still working on getting both of them to CHurch, but their foundation is slowly being built.
Sunday was great. It was a little slower, and gave us a chance to breath. We were able to go to the stake choir concert, and support our ward and the branch. We sat with S and his parents, who are not members, and R was able to make it as well. As I was leaving I saw the bishops daughter from the Fanno Creek ward, and was able to say hi. She was excited to see me, and said they missed me a lot. I have a lot of great memories from their. It was a great place to be during Christmas last year. After the concert we met with a less active family in Raleigh Hills. They "aren't doing the LDS thing anymore". We got to kow them, and without being forceful taught them about prayer, and invited them to do so as a family. The wife and kids were much more receptive than the husband. 
THis week looks to be just as good. I am so thankful for the blessings that we have had in the work here. We have plenty of people to teach, and we are both getting along great. Elder Lott is such a sincere individual, he loves the people,and the work, and I am sure that as soon as he realizes that he doesn't have to worry about how elequent or smart he is to teach that he will do great things. He has taught me a lot about being humble. 
Love Elder Schultz